Major Litigators, Cohen, Placitella & Roth, Join Forces to Fight for Victims of Environmental and Products Liability Injuries

PHILADELPHIA, June 13 /PRNewswire/ -- The 30-year-old law firm of Kessler, Cohen and Roth, P.C. has taken significant steps to establish itself as a national leader in boutique litigation law and is now COHEN, PLACITELLA & ROTH, P.C.

The merger creates a national law firm devoted to representing plaintiffs -- injured victims -- in mass tort, environmental, pharmaceutical, products liability, subrogation, class action, and personal injury litigation. That means dangerous drugs and pharmaceutical liability, environmental and toxic problems, such as asbestos, lead and chemical poisoning, are at the top of the firm's target list.

In line with the expansion of its practice, Christopher M. Placitella, the nationally known mass tort and class action litigator, has joined the firm. Formerly a partner at Wilentz, Goldman & Spitzer, P.A. and Chair of its Toxic and Mass Tort Litigation Team, Mr. Placitella will head up the firm's Mass Tort and Class Action Team from the firm's office in Red Bank, New Jersey. Through Mr. Placitella, the firm is currently a leader for plaintiffs' attorneys on the liability issues in the ongoing Vioxx litigation in New Jersey, and represents clients from all over the United States.

Listed in The Best Lawyers in America, Mr. Placitella was one of the national plaintiffs' attorneys that negotiated the $3.75 billion diet-drug settlement with American Home Products Corp.; he was a member of the team that represented New Jersey in its $7.6 billion tobacco settlement; he was a class counsel for the plaintiffs in the Manville asbestos action; and he was New Jersey liaison counsel in the breast implant litigation. He has also served key roles as a trial counsel in numerous multimillion dollar jury verdicts and multimillion dollar environmental contamination settlements, including an asbestos action involving workers at the Brooklyn Navy Yard in New York, as well as a $38.5 million settlement of an environmental contamination lawsuit against DuPont.

Cohen, Placitella & Roth is a member of both the Pennsylvania and New Jersey chapters of the Association of Trial Lawyers of America. As the world's largest trial bar, ATLA is an international coalition of attorneys, judges, law professors, paralegals, and law students. It promotes justice and fairness for injured persons, safeguards victims' rights -- especially the right to trial by jury -- and strengthens the civil justice system through education and disclosure of information critical to public health and safety.

Mr. Placitella is a former president of the Association of Trial Lawyers of America-New Jersey. He helped form Trial Lawyers Care, a national pro bono effort to assist victims of the September 11, 2001 tragedy obtain compensation from the Federal Victims Compensation Fund. The National Law Journal stated that Mr. Placitella "is considered the top plaintiffs' lawyer [in New Jersey] in Class Action and Mass Tort litigation."

For the past three decades, the firm has been a formidable advocate compiling a track record of impressive results, including numerous multimillion-dollar recoveries. In December 2004, The National Law Journal recognized Stewart L. Cohen for a $25 million verdict, one of the highest jury awards for any kind of case in the United States during 2004. Harry M. Roth has an established reputation for his skillful handling of complex litigation. The firm's other attorneys include a practicing physician, and three former prosecutors. In 2005, the firm was a lead counsel in the first ever nationally certified class of Third Party Payors in the Baycol litigation on behalf of more than 10,000 Health and Welfare funds. Arnold M. Kessler, founder of the firm in 1973 and one of the first lawyers in Pennsylvania to make a recovery in excess of $1 million on behalf of an individual tort victim, will remain as "Of Counsel" to the firm.

Cohen, Placitella & Roth, P.C. has offices in Philadelphia, PA, Bala Cynwyd, PA, Harrisburg, PA, and Red Bank, NJ.

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