Member
Attorneys
Kevin P. Greene
Member
Kevin is a trial lawyer and strategic advisor whose practice centers on complex products liability and toxic tort defense. He serves as national coordinating counsel, medical/science strategic counsel, and first-chair trial counsel for defendants in asbestos and cosmetic talc litigation. He is known for building and deploying the medical and scientific defense of alleged asbestos-related claims, drawing on disciplines that include genetics, carcinogenesis, epidemiology, occupational medicine, pathology, industrial hygiene, toxicology, and state-of-the-art evidence. Kevin’s work also includes the defense of premises and other general liability matters and the representation of commercial landlords in contested lease disputes. He has tried cases to verdict in state and federal courts and successfully briefed and argued appeals before the Supreme Court of Virginia.
Kevin serves as national coordinating counsel, medical and science counsel, and trial counsel for defendants in asbestos and cosmetic talc litigation, including on national trial teams for major friction product and equipment manufacturers and suppliers. He directs multi-jurisdictional strategy from intake through verdict and oversees expert identification and development in genetics, carcinogenesis, epidemiology, occupational medicine, pathology, industrial hygiene, and toxicology.
Kevin is regularly assigned to matters with uncommon and challenging medical allegations, including diagnosis disputes, alleged cases of mesothelioma that are naturally occurring/ spontaneous or localized mesothelioma, well-differentiated papillary mesothelial tumors, peritoneal mesothelioma in female and younger plaintiffs, and radiation-induced disease. He addresses requests for genetic testing, prepares and examines experts on cutting-edge issues, and argues Daubert motions and related evidentiary hearings.
Kevin reviews, analyzes, and presents current and emerging medical and scientific literature to help identify qualified experts, brief trial teams, and support cross-examination of plaintiff experts at trial and deposition. In addition to his own first chair trial work, Kevin prepares other trial team lawyers for both cross and direct examinations of expert witnesses, including detailed briefing on examination strategy and witness sequencing. He frequently attends trials, even when not assigned as trial counsel, to prepare defense experts for examination and to ensure that medical and scientific themes are presented with clarity and rigor.
Kevin is a regular faculty member for national programs, including as a regular presenter at DRI’s Asbestos Medicine Seminar. Kevin frequently presents on the intersection of evolving genetic discoveries and litigation. He has spoken on lung cancer, materials science, extrathoracic mesothelioma, diagnosis disputes and strategies for challenging expert testimony pursuant to Daubert and Frye standards. special challenges, theory). He has authored DRI presentations on household and neighborhood exposure (2013), fiber burden analysis (2010), and has presented for the Virginia Association of Defense Attorneys on products liability developments (2013).
Kevin serves regularly as co-lead and first-chair trial counsel in significant cases pending around the country. He has handled cases in over 30 states. Most recently, Kevin won defense verdicts in federal court in North Carolina (mesothelioma wrongful death) and state court in Los Angeles (living lung cancer case).
Kevin prepares and argues product and premises liability matters in state and federal courts and has briefed and argued before the Supreme Court of Virginia. In Steward v. Holland Family Properties, LLC, 284 Va. 282, 726 S.E.2d 251 (2012), he obtained dismissal of a lead-based paint personal injury action against a residential landlord and successfully defended the judgment on appeal to the Supreme Court of Virginia.
Beyond asbestos and talc, Kevin defends product manufacturers, contractors, premises owners, and insureds in actions involving cotton seed, propane tanks, commercial overhead doors, logging equipment, and residential and commercial boilers. He has represented railroads in general litigation and FELA matters, and has served as counsel to a large outdoor theme park, brewery, and resort.
Kevin represents commercial landlords in contested landlord-tenant disputes, including actions to recover possession, suits to collect delinquent rent, enforcement of personal guarantees, and negotiated lease terminations.
As trial lawyer and strategic advisor in the area of mass tort and product liability litigation, I synthesize complex issues with detailed preparation to structure advice for clients and advocacy to judges/juries in an authentic and accessible manner.
Norfolk Office
