Christopher Carton has a national trial practice with deep roots in New Jersey. After graduating from Seton Hall School of Law, Chris, a third generation New Jersey lawyer, served as law clerk to New Jersey Supreme Court Justice Daniel O’Hern in the final year of the Court under legendary Chief Justice Robert Wilentz. For more than 20 years, companies have turned to Chris in New Jersey with pressing litigation matters of often unusual complexity in the areas of product liability, catastrophic personal injury and commercial litigation. Along the way, Chris became a member of the New York bar and expanded his practice and office into New York, where he now appears regularly in state and federal courts representing pharmaceutical, medical device, cosmetic, aviation, consumer and industrial product manufacturers.
Chris has appeared as lead trial counsel in 27 trials and has obtained 18 verdicts, 10 of which were jury verdicts. He routinely defends companies in individual claims, consolidated proceedings, mass torts and MDL proceedings, and as lead counsel in class actions, including cases arising from nationwide product recalls. His mass tort experience extends to matters involving alleged exposure to a variety of toxins, including mold, asbestos and talc claims. Chris also has an extensive and varied appellate background, including emergent applications, interlocutory appeals and oral argument. Chris is adept and experienced at many forms of alternative dispute resolution, including mediation and arbitration proceedings under the AAA and ICC rules. Chris has steered hundreds of cases to conclusion well short of trial or arbitration, employing problem-solving and litigation strategy skills to achieve business-friendly results.
Since 2009, Chris has been designated by the Supreme Court of New Jersey as a Certified Civil Trial Attorney, a designation presently held by less than 3% of all licensed New Jersey attorneys, and reserved for those who have demonstrated an “unblemished reputation” for “character and ability” in civil trial law.