- For over two decades, Robert Johnston has focused on leading teams – including trial and appellate teams – to achieve successful results for his clients through all stages of litigation.
- Robert co-led a trial team that obtained the first defense verdict in a case alleging that exposure to ethylene oxide released from a medical device sterilization facility caused cancer. The unanimous verdict came on the heels of a substantial plaintiff’s verdict only weeks earlier in the same court. Outside of ethylene oxide, Robert has taken multiple cases to verdict, predominantly in pharmaceutical product liability litigations.
- In multiple serial and multidistrict litigations, Robert has served as lead counsel for his clients. This includes the In re Tepezza Marketing, Sales Practices, and Prod. Liab. Litig.; In re Tasigna Prod. Liab. Litig. MDL; and In re Aredia and Zometa Prod. Liab. Litig., among others.
- As lead counsel, Robert sets the strategy for large scale discovery of plaintiffs’ claims in addition to aggressively defending against requests by plaintiffs for burdensome, irrelevant, or otherwise improper discovery. He has prepared and defended key defense fact and expert witnesses for deposition and trial testimony. Robert also has significant experience deposing plaintiffs’ experts, often obtaining testimony that resulted in exclusion of some or all of the expert’s opinions, as well as obtaining omissions that supported wins for his clients on motion practice and at trial.
- Robert has developed and argued all types of pre-trial, trial, and post-trial motions, including motions to exclude expert or other testimony, motions in limine, and motions for directed verdicts or mistrials. He also has participated fully in all aspects of jury selection.
- Robert believes that as an experienced trial counsel, part of his responsibility to his clients includes training the next generation of trial lawyers. To that end, in addition to mentoring the junior attorneys on his trial teams, he has coordinated mock direct and cross examinations of corporate witnesses and expert witnesses and participated as faculty in UVA’s National College of Trial Advocacy, and at the National Association of Railroad Trial Counsel (NARTC) College of Trial Advocacy, both of which are leading national trial college programs.
Read more about Robert here.