Christopher J. Keale

Managing Partner/Partner

Chris Keale continues to develop an accomplished track record of efficiently and effectively resolving complex product liability and mass tort matters in a beneficial manner for his clients. This includes a specific focus in the areas of toxic tort and asbestos litigation. He also has extensive appellate experience in the highest state and federal courts including the United States Supreme Court.

In addition, a significant portion of Mr. Keale’s practice involves resolution counsel, which focuses on the development and execution of legal strategies allowing for favorable legal pathways in an effort to avoid unnecessary and costly litigation processes.

Mr. Keale’s vast experience includes serving as national, regional and local counsel in mass tort matters, which require the navigation of integrated and complementary litigation to simultaneously protect the value of products, business image and financial stability. This often overlaps with resolution counseling. His clients in this area have included a global engineering, construction and power company; a manufacturer of industrial adhesives, coatings and sealants; and a global manufacturer of powertrain products.

Furthermore, Mr. Keale has represented an international energy company as well as a leading maker of paper, packaging, building products and related chemicals as trial and appellate counsel.

Specific to toxic tort matters, Mr. Keale provides effective defense strategies from inception to resolution, including through trial and appeal when necessary. In addition to high-profile asbestos litigation, he has experience with benzene, chemical exposure, environmental spills, lead, and silica cases, providing sophisticated, efficient and effective counsel aligned with the unique risk and exposure each case poses. He has also defended class actions in state and federal courts in pharmaceutical and medical device litigation.

Bar Admissions
• New Jersey
• New York

Court Admissions
• U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey
• U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit
• U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit
• United States Supreme Court


  • Lead appellate counsel for a client in a products liability action where the plaintiff alleged a decedent’s fatal cancer stemmed from exposure to toxic chemicals from products connected to engine room equipment aboard U.S. Navy vessels. The defendant was originally successful in asking for a summary judgment in Federal Court, but after an appeal, the matter was argued in front of the U.S. Supreme Court, which ultimately sent the matter back to federal court for additional consideration utilizing the high court’s analysis.

  • Trial Attorneys of New Jersey

  • Best Lawyers in America, Mass Tort Litigation/Class Actions – Defendants, 2020-present
  • Best Lawyers in America, Product Liability Litigation – Defendants, 2020-present
  • New Jersey Super Lawyers, Thomson Reuters, 2012-2019

  • “Retain Resolution Counsel in Mass Torts as Part of an Effective Defense,” New Jersey Law Journal, July 2021
  • “Supreme Court Ruling Complicates Manufacturers' Duty to Warn End Users of Risks,” Engineered Systems, April 2021
  • J.D., Seton Hall University School of Law (1996)
  • M.A., Fordham University (1993)
    • Political Science
  • B.A., The Catholic University of America (1990)