Rodney L. Umberger JR

Rod Umberger is a Member (Partner) in the Seattle office and serves on the firm's Board of Directors and Diversity Committee. He is first and foremost a trial lawyer with substantial experience in handling complex business litigation, as well as defending product liability, construction, and medical malpractice lawsuits. As lead counsel, Mr. Umberger has tried over 40 jury trials to verdict and over 60 bench trials in both state and federal courts.

Mr. Umberger's product liability experience includes defending pharmaceutical companies and medical device manufacturers in state and federal courts and in multidistrict national litigation. He has served as both National Coordinating Counsel and MDL Counsel in national product liability litigation, and has developed significant knowledge and experience in addressing issues that arise in multidistrict litigation. He has defended manufacturers of construction products and manufacturers of heavy agricultural machinery in wrongful death and catastrophic injury cases. His product liability practice also encompasses consumer products and toxic torts and he serves on national trial counsel teams for clients in asbestos litigation.

Mr. Umberger's experience in the transportation industry is extensive.  For over 20 years, he has represented local and national trucking companies in freight loss/damage litigation, breach of contract cases and catastrophic highway accident litigation in both state and federal courts.  He is a member of the Transportation Lawyers Association (Litigation Committee), Defense Research Institute (Trucking Law Committee), and the USLAW Network Transportation Practice Group. 

Mr. Umberger's commercial and business litigation experience includes the following:

• Representation of local, national and international corporations in patent infringement, copyright infringement, trade secret, breach of contract and fraud cases
• Representation of international technology companies in lawsuits involving software licensing and development agreements
• Representation of employers and employees in lawsuits involving noncompetition agreements and trade secrets
• Representation of builders, contractors, subcontractors and suppliers in complex construction litigation
• Representation of corporations and individuals in litigation with the Federal Trade Commission (FTC)
• Representation of individuals and businesses in securities litigation

Mr. Umberger's representation of health care providers is diverse and extensive. He has defended physicians, hospitals, clinics, dentists, counselors, nursing homes and medical laboratories in medical negligence lawsuits and disciplinary proceedings.