Automotive
Technology/Data Security
We pride ourselves on our delivery of systems supporting technology-infused legal services to our clients. In particular, our cloud-platform technology allows us to provide innovative and exceptional client service.
Through our IT subsidiary Xerdict Group LLC and proprietary web-based extranet tool CaseEnsemble™, we offer our clients a collaborative platform where real-time data is available from which strategies may be developed, assessed and refined throughout the course of any matter. Litigation in today’s legal environment is complex, and no off-the-shelf or stock legal management system has the flexibility these demanding times require. CaseEnsemble™ permits almost unlimited flexibility in terms of what is tracked and reported and who may have access to data in the system.
At the macro level, among the most common needs CaseEnsemble™ addresses through cutting-edge technology are:
- Case Management – CaseEnsemble™ empowers tracking of case data relating to plaintiffs, defendants, venue, alleged injuries, products, settlements, legal costs and associated documents including complaints, depositions, releases, and settlement and lien records.
- Legal Repository – CaseEnsemble™ provides a collaborative area for collections of documents, including expert reports, depositions, case strategy, legal analysis, product information, key company documents, medical reports and work product.
- Calendaring – CaseEnsemble™ permits the tracking of all case-related events, including depositions, case management conferences, matter deadlines, trials and other related legal events.
Tanenbaum Keale has several protective measures in place to guard against cyberattacks, breaches and other security events. Among these are incoming mail filtering via a leading industry vendor, automated controls in the area of employee internet browsing, and a suite of antivirus and malware scanning products offered by leading companies. Workstation hard drives are encrypted. Virtually all firm data is stored in industry-leading cloud platform providers such as Microsoft, iManage and Amazon Web Services. And backups are executed, by several vendors, in a redundant manner, and tested on an annual basis. The firm’s limited on-premises infrastructure, operating systems on domain controllers and employee workstations are patched monthly by the firm’s managed services provider, in conjunction with oversight by our employee CISSP.
Our Approach
Having developed a national reputation for automotive products and related litigation, we handle cases ranging from the simple to the complex, including high-volume litigation and catastrophic personal injury cases filed in a variety of jurisdictions on behalf of auto manufacturers. A lawyer must be experienced and informed to be both a strong advocate and valued advisor to the manufacturer, and our attorneys bring intimate familiarity with issues related to vehicle design, accident dynamics, occupant kinematics, biomechanics and injury causation issues, adhering to a collaborative approach in handling litigation to provide the best result, whether by jury verdict or alternative dispute resolution methods.
We have worked with — and against — most of the leading experts in automotive products liability litigation and have accumulated a wealth of valuable information that informs our approach to complex and challenging cases. Our attorneys stay abreast of National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) rulemaking, consumer information and research activities and frequently present to defense bar organizations and professional industry groups on a wide variety of important topics relevant to automotive engineers and manufacturers.
Our team understands that the future of automotive products litigation will be intricately linked to the continued development of autonomous vehicles, as well as hybrid, fully electric and other alternative fuel vehicles. We stay at the forefront of those emerging technologies in order to better advise our clients in these areas, particularly as it relates to claims resolution and litigation.
Managing high-stakes litigation extends well beyond the courtroom, and our firm works closely with our clients to develop and coordinate defense strategy and test programs, research and risk management projects. We have extensive experience preparing and defending corporate witnesses and designees at deposition and trial, as well as consulting with company engineers and outside experts to develop and conduct research and litigation test programs for rollover and crashworthiness litigation.
Our firm currently serves as lead counsel and lead trial counsel for numerous top-tier automotive clients in crashworthiness cases pending in courts throughout the United States. Partners at our firm also represent a variety of automotive clients and suppliers in asbestos matters.
Automotive Class Action/Asbestos (friction product) Experience
Our attorneys have a strong track record of success representing clients in automotive friction product cases in asbestos litigation. As lead trial counsel, we have taken asbestos verdicts in cases involving the four primary diseases: asbestosis, lung cancer, pleural mesothelioma and peritoneal mesothelioma and have tried cases involving all types of automotive vehicles and and associated aftermarket parts to verdict against lawyers from notable and formidable firms. Our attorneys have defended a wide variety of asbestos-related claims in cases involving cars, trucks, commercial transport vehicles, motorcycles, planes, trains and ships, giving us the experience needed to fully understand these complex matters.
We handle cases from inception through trial and have spent decades on the front lines of asbestos defense, forming, developing and establishing long-standing relationships with many of the leading experts in industrial hygiene, epidemiology, toxicology, pathology, pulmonology, engineering, risk assessment and other related fields.
Additionally, our firm handles multidistrict and class action litigation matters involving automotive matters to develop and coordinate a targeted defense strategy, prepare and defend corporate designees and engineering experts and provide support to local trial counsel. These class actions involve a variety of defect allegations as well as claims of fraud and misrepresentation.
