Nicholas P. Vari

For more than three decades, Nick has helped mass tort defendants navigate the issues that companies face when dealing with multitudes of personal injury claims in multiple forums. In addition to framing the substantive defenses that are litigated in the context of individual claims, Nick advises companies on a broad range of issues regarding developing and maintaining case management and defense efficiencies, insurer relations/reporting, legislative affairs, and transactional matters. His subject-matter knowledge has led him to argue state supreme court and federal circuit appeals, testify on mass tort topics before federal and state legislative bodies, and speak before numerous academic and professional development audiences. He has been recognized by Best Lawyers in America in the area of Mass Tort Litigation/Defense and by Pennsylvania Super Lawyers in the area of Class Actions/Mass Torts. He serves as a Senior Fellow of the Litigation Counsel of America.

Nick has appeared on clients’ behalf in courtrooms across the country, including those in California, New York, Illinois, Louisiana, and Pennsylvania. He has represented clients in nine federal circuit courts of appeal, and has argued before various state supreme courts and intermediate-level courts of appeal. His courtroom work has ranged from conducting discovery through trying cases before judges, jurors, and arbitration panels, arguing appeals, and negotiating settlements involving thousands of claims. This background, when combined with over two decades of experience managing national defense litigation, provides him with a unique perspective on both the legal and business aspects of effectively managing a mass tort docket. Nick’s community service extends to serving as Trustee for the Holy Family Foundation, and assisting clients on pro bono matters.

• Listed in the Best Lawyers in America^® (2014-2023)
• Pennsylvania Super Lawyers list (2014-2016)
• Litigation Counsel of America (Fellow)

• Perrin Conferences Cutting-Edge Issues in Asbestos Litigation Conference, Beverly Hills, CA (6-7 March 2023)
• Perrin Conferences National Asbestos Litigation Conference, San Francisco, CA (27-29 September 2021)
• Panelist, “The Economics of Docket and Court Resource Management: Innovative Approaches to Preserving Standards of Fairness and Justice While Managing Dockets and Court Resources Affected by COVID-related Impacts on Court Procedures”, Law & Economics Center at George Mason University Fifteenth Meeting of American College of Business Court Judges, Savannah, GA (29 October 2020)
• Panelist, “Managing Dockets and Judicial Resources During COVID-19 While Preserving Standards of Fairness and Justice”, George Mason University, Antonin Scalia Law School Civil Justice Fest, Virtual (9 November 2020)
• Panelist, “Asbestos Litigation: Lasting Perversions of Common Law”, Law & Economics Center at George Mason University Ninth Annual Judicial Symposium on Civil Justice Issues, Arlington, VA (2 June 2015)
• Testified – United States House of Representatives Committee on the Judiciary’s Subcommittee on Regulatory Reform, Commercial and Antitrust Law Hearing on H.R. 526 – The Furthering Asbestos Claim Transparency (FACT) Act of 2015 (4 February 2015)
• Speaker, ACI – 13th Annual Advanced Forum on Asbestos Claims & Litigation, Philadelphia, PA (2013, 2016)
• Speaker, Perrin – Cutting Edge Issues in Asbestos Litigation Conference – Los Angeles, CA, (2012-15)
• Speaker, ACI – Annual Advanced Forum on Asbestos Claims & Litigation, Chicago, IL (2013-15)
• 1st Annual Asbestos Litigation Strategies ExecuSummit, Uncasville, CT (2014)
• Speaker, Perrin – Asbestos Litigation Conference A National Overview & Outlook – San Francisco, CA, (2012-13, 2015)
• Speaker, ALI/ABA – Third-Party Liability in Product Liability Cases: Impact of California’s O’Neil v. Crane Co. (2012)
• Testified – Pennsylvania House Judiciary Committee Hearing House Bill 1150 (April 8, 2013) (Fairness in Asbestos Claims Transparency Act)
• Speaker, PBI Fundamental of Civil Procedure – Pittsburgh, PA 2010-2012 (also 2005 and 2008)
• Speaker, Perrin – Litigating Asbestos Cases in Today’s Economic Environment – New York, NY, (2011)
• Testified – Pennsylvania House Judiciary Committee Hearing House Bill 1, Harrisburg, PA, (March 29, 2011)
• Speaker, Harris Martin – Pennsylvania Asbestos Litigation Conference – Philadelphia, PA, (2010)
• Speaker, Perrin – Asbestos Bankruptcy Conference – Chicago, IL, (2010)
• Speaker, HB – Northeast Judicial Forum on Asbestos – New York, NY, (2009)
• Speaker, HB – National Asbestos Litigation Conference – San Francisco, CA, (2009)
• Speaker, Lorman – Contract Litigation From A to Z in Pennsylvania – Pittsburgh, PA, (2006)

• Moved by a SCOTUS Dissent, PA High Court Invites More Lawsuits With Specific-Jurisdiction Ruling, Washington Legal Foundation, 8 January 2021
• New Jersey Supreme Court Issues Compelling Precedent Removing Hearsay Bar to Third-Party-Fault Evidence, Washington Legal Foundation, 15 November 2019
• “Companies dragged into Pennsylvania courts get ammo with recent federal decision: SCOTUS intervention a possibility,” Pennsylvania Record, 2 July  2019
• “Toward a Fairer Case Management Order: Four Keys for New York City’s Asbestos Docket”, Legal Backgrounder, Vol. 30 No. 27 (Washington Legal Foundation), 6 November 2015
• “FACT Act Testimony Begins in House Subcommittee,” Washington Examiner, 4 February 2015
• Asbestos Attorneys Face Off At Hearing Over Claim Transparency, Law 360.com, 4 February 2015
• Pa. En Banc Panel Boots $14.5M Asbestos Verdict”, Law360.com, 23 December 2014
• “High Court Pressured to Send Asbestos Suit to Fed. Court”, Law360.com, 19 December  2014
• “2nd Cir. Keeps Crane Co. Asbestos Suit in Federal Court”, Law360.com, 13 November 2014
• “Navy Workers Ask High Court to Remand Asbestos Cases,” Law360.com, 8 August 2014
• “Asbestos Claimants Fire Back As Charlotte Bankruptcy Case Draws National Attention,” WFAE (Charlotte, NC NPR affiliate) 23 July  2014 (audio available at wfae.org)
• “Asbestos Defense Attorneys publish article to clear up ‘every exposure’ confusion,” Washington Examiner, 3 April 2014
• “State Courts Move To Dismiss ‘Every Exposure’ Liability Theory in Asbestos Lawsuits,” Legal Backgrounder, Vol. 29, No. 3 (Washington Legal Foundation), 28 February 2014
• “Pennsylvania Cases to Watch in 2014,” Law360.com, 1, January 2014
• “Pa. Appeals Court Junks $14.5M Asbestos Verdict,” Law360.com, 6 September 2013
• “8th Cir. Says Alcoa Injury Plaintiff Can’t Switch Venues,” Law360.com (March 6, 2013)
• “In a League of Its Own: Restoring Pennsylvania Product Liability Law to the Prevailing Modern ‘Attitude’ of the Tort Law,” Widener Law Journal, Vol. 23, No. 1, 2013
• “State High Court Solidifies Tort Liability Law’s ‘Component Part Supplier’ Doctrine,” Legal Backgrounder, Vol. 27, No. 18 (Washington Legal Foundation), 21 September 2012