Biography

Jim Tyrrell is a partner in the Mass Tort and Catastrophic Loss, Class Action and Antitrust practice areas. He has served as lead counsel in the country’s highest profile cases including Agent Orange, Y2K, Deepwater Horizon and the World Trade Center litigation.

In the tort arena, Jim acted as chief trial counsel in the landmark Agent Orange litigation – one of the largest mass tort cases in American history. After competing against the top 30 mass tort law firms in the country, he was selected to represent the primary defendant, and 150 of its contractors, in the World Trade Center litigation. Appointed by the Court as defense liaison counsel in 13,000 separate cases, Jim became the principal spokesman for more than 500 defendants in the highest profile mass tort litigation of the century.

Jim’s class action expertise has included representation of one of the country’s largest telecommunication companies in the Y2K litigation (favorable settlement of more than 80,000 claims), a maritime enterprise in Deepwater Horizon (court ordered dismissal); and one of two major defendants in the national dialysis litigation (class certification denied).

Jim’s antitrust experience has ranged from price fixing litigation (corrugated containers, fine paper, silver futures) and monopolization (telecommunications and food industries) to mergers/acquisitions (Swedish manufacturer of heavy machinery) and interlocking directorates. He recently defended the generic drug price fixing antitrust litigation.

Jim’s product liability and consumer fraud class action experience has covered chemicals (dioxin, PCBs, phenols), consumer products, drugs, medical devices, food and toys. He is a Harvard trained mediator and has facilitated the settlement of disputes from massive multi-district litigation to trade secret, contract, and intellectual property matters.

Background

Prior to joining Armstrong Teasdale, Jim served as the Managing Partner of the New Jersey office of an Am Law 10 firm, and as the Regional Managing Partner of the New Jersey and New York offices of the leading political firm in Washington, D.C., as well as a member of its Executive Committee. He has chaired or co-chaired the Product Liability and Mass Tort Practice Groups of four major law firms. Under Jim’s leadership, the New Jersey office was named by independent organizations as the Best Place to Work of all large businesses in the state.

After graduating from law school, Jim clerked for the Hon. Leonard I. Garth of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit. He also served as a Lieutenant in the JAG Corps of the U.S. Navy.

Education

  • Harvard Law School  (J.D., 1974)
    • Ames Moot Court Competition: Best Speaker – Final Round
  • Georgetown University  (B.S.F.S., International Affairs, 1971)
    • Ranked 1st in Class - Phi Beta Kappa

Admissions

  • New Jersey
  • New York
  • U.S. Supreme Court
  • U.S. Tax Court
  • U.S. District Court, District of Colorado
  • U.S. District Court, District of New Jersey
  • U.S. District Court, Eastern District of New York
  • U.S. District Court, Northern District of Illinois
  • U.S. District Court, Northern District of New York
  • U.S. District Court, Southern District of New York
  • U.S. Court of Appeals, First Circuit
  • U.S. Court of Appeals, Second Circuit
  • U.S. Court of Appeals, Third Circuit
  • U.S. Court of Appeals, Fourth Circuit
  • U.S. Court of Appeals, Fifth Circuit
  • U.S. Court of Appeals, Eleventh Circuit
  • U.S. Court of Appeals, D.C. Circuit

Professional Activities

  • American Bar Association
  • New Jersey State Bar Association
  • New York State Bar Association

Charitable and Civic Involvement

  • Reflex Sympathetic Dystrophy Syndrome Association – Chairman of the Board

Accolades

  • The Best Lawyers in America®; Commercial Litigation (2007-present) (methodology)
  • Chambers USA: America’s Leading Lawyers for Business®, Litigation: Product Liability (2006-present) (methodology)
  • New Jersey Super Lawyers® (2005-present) (methodology)
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  • Marquis Who’s Who in America
    • Selected for cover of Millennium Magazine (2020)
    • Albert Nelson Marquis Lifetime Achievement Award (2021)
    • Who’s Who Industry Leaders (2022)
    • Who’s Who Top Professionals (2022)
  • Benchmark Litigation, Local Litigation Star, Product Liability and Recall (2019-present)
  • Super Lawyers “Master of Disaster” (2007)
  • Lawdragon 500 – Leading Lawyers in America
  • New York Magazine’s New York Area’s Top Attorneys
  • Best Lawyers – New York
  • Best Lawyers – New Jersey
  • American Lawyer – Lawyer of the Week (September 2011)
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