Craig Waksler
Member
Board of Directors
Chair, Technology Committee
Co-Chair, Mass Tort Litigation
Overview
Craig Waksler concentrates his practice primarily on the defense of asbestos and mass tort litigation matters and the defense of personal injury and property damage cases. He represents a large number of asbestos defendants in Massachusetts and Rhode Island, though he also represents companies throughout the United States that range from Fortune 500 manufacturing companies to small supply houses that manufacture/sell fluid sealing products, pumps, valves, boilers, water heaters, construction products, electrical products, brakes, engines, and marine products.
Craig also maintains an active insurance coverage practice, in which he has over 25 years of experience providing the country’s leading insurance companies with coverage advice. Also, he represents carriers in coverage litigation and bad faith matters. Moreover, he routinely represents clients/insureds in consumer protection, product liability, premises liability, environmental pollution, dram shop, medical malpractice, and civil rights matters.
In addition, Craig represents several utility companies in regulatory hearings and enforcement actions, as well as licensure and compliance matters. He also devotes a portion of his practice to representing financial institutions and autonomous vehicle manufacturers.
Craig has represented clients in numerous courts throughout the country, including the U.S. District Court for the District of Minnesota; U.S. District Court for the District of New Hampshire; U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey; U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania; and U.S. District Court for the District of Utah. He has also appeared before state courts in Connecticut, Delaware, Louisiana, Minnesota, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Utah.
Representative Matters
- Serves as national coordinating counsel for two international boiler companies in asbestos litigation matters.
- Successfully resolved a “bet the company life” Attorney General Enforcement Action against a retail energy supplier company.
- Currently advising an autonomous vehicle company on incident response, regulatory, employment, and Covid response issues.
- Serves as counsel in a Qui Tam product liability action for a large highway safety manufacturing company.
- Serves as coverage counsel to an international insurance company.
- Represented defendants in the Rhode Island Supreme Court forum non conveniens Kedy decision, which resulted in the dismissal of a large number of asbestos cases that had no nexus to Rhode Island and the adoption of forum non-conveniens as a doctrine in Rhode Island.
- Served as co-counsel for a defendant in an asbestos litigation trial that resulted in a defense verdict.
Professional Affiliations
- Rhode Island Bar Association, Member
- Defense Research Institute (DRI), Member
- Massachusetts Defense Lawyers Association, Board of Directors
Community Involvement
- Zervas After School Program, President and Board Member
- Zervas Elementary Parent-Teacher Organization, Legal Counsel and Board Member
- Windsor Club of Newton, Massachusetts, Past President and Board Member
- Newton Southeast Little League, Board Member and Volunteer Coach
- Newton Athletic Association Basketball, Volunteer Coach
Awards and Recognition:
- Selected for inclusion as The Best Lawyers in America 2024 for Insurance Law; Litigation – Insurance; and Product Liability Litigation – Defendants
- Selected for inclusion as The Best Lawyers in America 2023 for Insurance Law
- Selected for inclusion in Massachusetts Super Lawyers
- Selected for inclusion in New England Super Lawyers
- Attained an AV® Preeminent™ rating from Martindale-Hubbell
News and Insights
Publications
- “Third Circuit Rules Maritime Negligence Claims May Survive ‘Bare Metal’ Defense,” co-author, Westlaw Journal Asbestos, February 2018.
- “An Overview of Massachusetts Asbestos Litigation,” co-author, Massachusetts Defense Lawyers Association Newsletter, January 2012.
News Releases
- “Eckert Seamans Attorneys Named to 2023 Massachusetts Super Lawyers and Rising Stars List,” October 2023.
Speaking Engagements
- “You Found It, Now What? The Strategy Behind Testing Historical Industrial Products,” DRI 2021 Asbestos Medical Seminar, November 4, 2021.
- “Dram Shop Liability in the New England States,” co-presenter, Boston Association of Claims Executives (BACE) Spring Claims Conference, March 2018.
- “Personal jurisdiction issues and defending employers against product-liability claims,” co-presenter, Allianz Resolution Management US, September 2017.
- Annual Meeting of the Massachusetts Defense Lawyer Association, conference co-chair and opening remarks, June 2017.
- “Panel Discussion on Emerging Trends in Billing,” presented at the 2016 Annual Meeting of the Massachusetts Defense Lawyer Association, May 2016.
- “The Garlock Story,” co-presenter, Asbestos Litigation Seminar hosted by multiple law firms, May 2014.
- “Fall out of Law v. Griffith: Addressing Medical Expenses in Discovery and Trial Admissibility Issues,” Massachusetts Defense Lawyers Association Annual Meeting and Spring Seminar in Boston, May 2014.
- “In-House Corporate and Insurer Panel on Financial & Legal Decisions, Managing Claims, Lowering Defense Costs and Settlement Negotiations,” moderator and panel member, American Conference Institute’s 14th National Advanced Forum on Asbestos Claims & Litigation, June 2013.
- “The Navy Cases: Bolstering Your Case from Discovery Through Trial,” American Conference Institute’s Annual Advanced Forum on Asbestos Claims & Litigation, January 2013; January 2012.
- “Massachusetts and Rhode Island Asbestos Primer,” presented to various insurance companies, 2010; 2011.
- “Medicare and the MMSEA Act,” Massachusetts Defense Lawyers Association Annual Meeting, May 2010.
- “Mid Year Update: The Ever-Evolving Asbestos Litigation Landscape and Current Trends Setting the Future of Claims,” American Conference Institute’s Asbestos Claims, June 2009.
- “Considering Trial Admissibility During Discovery,” Massachusetts Defense Lawyers Association Annual Meeting, May 2009.