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David G. Klaber

Dave Klaber’s practice reflects his broad interest and experience in civil litigation and commercial arbitration, with particular emphasis in products liability, construction, commercial contracts and defamation. His over forty years of trial experience include the successful defense of manufacturers and contractors in connection with steel mills, underground mines, work sites, railroads and heavy industrial equipment. Product and commercial experience includes electric arc furnaces, a walking beam furnace, HY-80 steel castings, hydraulic cranes, a piggyback forklift, long-wall mining equipment, slitters, welding rods and welding and cutting power sources, compressors, bench saws, ramcars, haulage vehicles, cut-to-length lines, a hot water heater, and aluminum truck wheels. Consumer products defended include humidifiers, power tools, lamps and toys. Defamation and First Amendment experience includes representation of members of the print media. He was publicly commended for his work as Plaintiffs’ Liaison Counsel in “In Re Air Crash Disaster at Washington D.C.”, Multi-District Litigation No. 499, and served as lead counsel for a national industry group for whom he obtained seventeen defense verdicts. He has also represented manufacturers in connection with insurance coverage matters and individual plaintiffs injured in industrial, aircraft and automobile accidents, and has served as an expert witness.

Dave was a Captain in the U.S. Army Judge Advocate General Corps and served in Vietnam. Previously, he edited and wrote for the Duke Law Journal. At K&L Gates Dave has acted as the firm’s representative on the Defense Counsel Section of the Media Law Resource Center for over twenty years. Contacted by LexisNexis China, he served as the Chair of two-day conferences on product liability for over 100 Chinese manufacturers held in Shanghai, China in 2008 and 2009. He was an equity partner in the firm for 32 years and became Of Counsel in 2012.

  • Best Lawyers in America, Product Liability Litigation - Defendants, 2013-2019, 2022
  • Pennsylvania Super Lawyer (Philadelphia Magazine), 2015
  • Charles S. Rhyne Award, presented by Duke University School of Law, 1999
  • Life Member of the American Law Institute
  • Allegheny Bar Association (Civil Litigation, Construction and Federal Court Sections, including Alternative Dispute Resolution Committee)
  • American Arbitration Association (National Panels of Arbitrators and Mediators)
  • American Bar Association (Litigation, Construction, Tort and Insurance Practice, Communications, and Air and Space Law Sections)
  • Duke University School of Law (Board of Visitors Appointed Member, 1994-2000)
  • Duke University School of Law (Board of Visitors Emeritus Member, 2001-Present)
  • Media Law Resource Center (Litigation Committee)
  • Pennsylvania Bar Association (Civil Litigation Section, including the Alternative Dispute Resolution and Judicial Administration Committees)
  • Fellow, Trial Lawyer Honorary Society, Litigation Counsel of America, 2009
  • Elected Fellow, Allegheny County Bar Association, 2005
  • Elected Fellow, American Bar Foundation, 1998
  • Elected Member, American Law Institute, 1993
  • “Survey of Pennsylvania Privacy and Related Claims Against the Media,” MLRC 50-State Survey: Media Privacy and Related Law, 2020-2021
  • “Survey of Pennsylvania Privacy and Related Claims Against the Media,” MLRC 50-State Survey: Media Privacy and Related Law, 2017-2018
  • “Survey of Pennsylvania Privacy and Related Claims Against the Media,” MLRC 50-State Survey: Media Privacy and Related Law, 2015-2016
  • "Global Product Recalls," Corporate Legal Affairs (China), February 2010
  • "Determining Liability in a Global Economy," Chapter 1 in Instant Awareness: An Immediate Look at the Legal, Governmental, and Economic Ramifications of the Mattel Toy Recalls, published by Aspatore Books, 2007
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