Dan Campbell is vice-chair of the Mass Tort, Product, and Consumer Litigation Group based in Crowell & Moring's Washington, D.C. office. Dan also serves as the Chair of the firm’s Lawyer Development Committee.
Dan primarily represents corporations and organizations faced with product liability, commercial, or contractual disputes throughout the United States. In this capacity, Dan serves as national coordinating counsel, strategic counsel, and lead trial counsel for companies of all sizes on product liability, warranty, and other personal injury and property damage matters. Dan's tort and product liability experience spans various industries, including the automotive, medical device, railroad, and aviation industries, and his clients include product manufacturers, distributors and retailers. Dan also handles complex contract, commercial litigation and arbitration matters for product manufacturers, service providers, and government contractor companies.
Dan is ready to take a case through trial, if warranted, and has the experience to do so. He has first chaired over 30 jury trials through verdict in state and federal courts in his career and has argued cases to the Virginia Supreme Court. Some of Dan's defense verdicts include:
- Defending a national wheelchair distributor in a federal court trial involving claims of product defect resulting in severe brain injuries.
- Defending one of the nation's leading amusement park owners in a federal court trial involving claims of ride design defect resulting in severe permanent injuries.
- Defending a surgeon in a state court trial involving claims of medical malpractice resulting in severe personal injuries.
Of course, for risk management, commercial relations, and cost reasons not all cases should go to trial. Dan has handled cases that resulted in summary judgment, dismissal or other favorable resolution for his clients, including recent examples such as:
- Representing one of the nation’s leading snack food manufacturers in defense of breach of contract and promissory estoppel claims in Illinois federal court, obtaining summary judgment on all claims prior to trial.
- Representing one of the nation's leading transportation companies, providing rail-based transportation services, regarding complex contract and tort issues related to a significant bridge collapse and train derailment, obtaining a low dollar settlement on significant property damage claims.
- Representing one of the world's leading Tier 1 parts suppliers in a billion dollar dispute over alleged product defect and warranty claims, in which Dan helped guide the client to a favorable resolution of the dispute prior to litigation.
In his national coordinating counsel role, Dan manages the defense of hundreds of toxic tort matters pending in over 20 jurisdictions, state and federal, for a prominent defendant, ensuring the coordination of trial and defense themes, expert witness strategy, motions strategy and discovery, managing local counsel and preparing witnesses for trial and deposition purposes.
Dan's automotive industry practice includes the representation of both manufacturers and suppliers in product defect, warranty, and contract claims, as well as counseling on regulatory issues involving NHTSA and other government agencies.
Dan also counsels consumer product and automotive manufacturers and suppliers in pre-litigation strategies and other issues, such as product risk assessment, design and testing strategy, and warning language.
As the Chair of the firm’s Lawyer Development Committee, Dan oversees the review and development process for all of the firm’s associates and counsel. Dan has also served as an instructor for Crowell & Moring's Trial Advocacy program since its inception. In this program, Crowell & Moring associates and counsel receive bi-weekly training and instruction on various trial elements and skills. The program culminates each June in mock trials held in the D.C. federal courthouse.
Dan is a former member of a firm in Norfolk, Virginia, where he represented Fortune 500 companies and smaller organizations in defense of product liability, medical device, premises liability, toxic tort, and railroad FELA claims, as well as on commercial litigation matters. Dan also represented physicians and other health care providers in defense of medical malpractice claims, and nursing home facilities in defense of negligence claims.
For several years Dan was the statewide coordinator and chair of the Virginia Bar Association Young Lawyers' Division Model Judiciary Program, which provides an opportunity for high school students to participate in mock trials and mock appeals before real judges, including appellate arguments to the Justices of the Supreme Court of Virginia. Dan also served on the Executive Committee of the VBA YLD.
Dan received his A.B. from the College of William & Mary and his J.D. from Washington and Lee University School of Law. Dan is admitted to practice in the District of Columbia and in Virginia, as well as before federal district courts in the Eastern and Western Districts of Virginia, the Federal Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit, and the U.S. Supreme Court.
Dan is a member of the American Bar Association and the Defense Research Institute, and is the past chair of the Norfolk Portsmouth Bar Association Young Lawyers Section.
Affiliations
Admitted to practice: District of Columbia, Virginia, Federal District Courts in the Eastern and Western Districts of Virginia, the Federal Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit, the United States Supreme Court
Highlights, News & Knowledge
Speeches & Presentations
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"The Safety Agencies in Transition – What to Expect at FDA, CPSC, and NHTSA in the First 100 Days," Crowell & Moring Webinar
(March 30, 2017).
Presenters: Cheryl A. Falvey, John Fuson, Matthew Cohen, Scott L. Winkelman, Lauren Bell, Daniel T. Campbell, and Rebecca Baden Chaney.
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"Changes to NHTSA Rules: Early Warning Reporting and Recall Procedures," Crowell & Moring Webinar
(October 30, 2013).
Presenters: Daniel T. Campbell, Michael L. Kuppersmith, and Rebecca Baden Chaney.
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"How Internal Policies & Practices Can Prevent - or Fuel - a Crisis: Managing a Product Recall Crisis," Crowell & Moring Advertising Product Risk Management Seminar
(March 19, 2013).
Moderator: Laura Jastrem Walther; Panelists: Daniel T. Campbell, John Fuson, and Steve Edwards (Stericycle).
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"Motor Vehicle Safety / NHTSA: Steering in the Right Direction: What you need to know about NHTSA enforcement, the ‘electrification’ of motor vehicles, and other automotive hot topics," Crowell & Moring Product Risk Management Seminar
(October 19, 2011).
Moderators: Dan Campbell; Rebecca Baden Chaney. Panelists: O. Kevin Vincent (National Highway Traffic Safety Administration); James Chen (Tesla Motors); Joe Stancati (Dana Holding Corporation).
Publications
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"What Does The Future Hold For NHTSA?" Crowell & Moring's Retail & Consumer Products Law Observer
(March 29, 2017).
Author: Daniel T. Campbell.
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"Regulatory Forecast 2016: What Corporate Counsel Need to Know for the Coming Year," a Crowell & Moring LLP publication
(January 2016).
Contributor.
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"Transportation — As Science Fiction Turns to Fact, Regulators Try to Keep Up," Crowell & Moring's Regulatory Forecast 2016
(January 2016).
Contributors: Gerald F. Murphy, Daniel T. Campbell, and April Nelson Ross.
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"EU Data Protection Rules Might Transform the Internet," Crowell & Moring's E-Discovery Law Insights
(November 1, 2014).
Co-Authors: Cari Stinebower, Frederik Van Remoortel, Jonathan Kallmer, Josh Tzuker and Robin B. Campbell.
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"Are You Up To Speed? NHTSA Reporting Requirements Are Changing," ABA Section of Litigation
(October 28, 2013).
Co-Authors: Scott L. Winkelman, Cheryl A. Falvey, Daniel T. Campbell, Rebecca Baden Chaney, and Michael L. Kuppersmith.
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"NHTSA Revs Up Campaign Against Distracted Driving," ABA Section of Litigation, Products Liability
(Summer 2013).
Co-Authors: Daniel T. Campbell Ariel E. Applebaum-Bauch.
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"NHTSA Revs Up Campaign Against Distracted Driving," ABA Section of Litigation
(July 29, 2013).
Co-Authors: Daniel T. Campbell and Rebecca Baden Chaney.
Client Alerts & Newsletters
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"NHTSA Identifies Best Practices Regarding Confidentiality Provisions in Settlement Agreements and Protective Orders,"
Advertising & Product Risk Management Alert
(June 1, 2016).
Contacts: Daniel T. Campbell, Rebecca Baden Chaney, Danielle Rowan
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"NHTSA Intends to Enforce MAP-21's Indexing Requirement,"
Advertising & Product Risk Management Alert
(June 1, 2016).
Contacts: Daniel T. Campbell, Rebecca Baden Chaney
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"Proposed Updates to the Motor Vehicle Safety Act,"
Advertising & Product Risk Management Alert
(October 2015).
Contacts: Daniel T. Campbell, Rebecca Baden Chaney
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"NHTSA to Accelerate Rulemaking for Vehicle-to-Vehicle Technologies,"
Advertising & Product Risk Management Alert
(May 2015).
Contacts: Rebecca Baden Chaney, Daniel T. Campbell
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"Lawmakers Respond to Record-Breaking Auto Recalls with Proposals for Stricter Regulation,"
Advertising & Product Risk Management Alert
(March 20, 2015).
Contacts: Danielle Rowan, Daniel T. Campbell, Rebecca Baden Chaney
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"Stricter Rules for Fuel Economy Advertising Are on the Horizon, But Are Unlikely to Put the Brakes on Consumer Class Actions,"
Advertising & Product Risk Management Alert
(July 31, 2014).
Contacts: Christopher A. Cole, Daniel T. Campbell
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"NHTSA Heads Down the Road to New Vehicle-to-Vehicle Communications Regulations,"
Advertising & Product Risk Management Alert
(March 10, 2014).
Contact: Daniel T. Campbell
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"Self-Driving Vehicles: Full Speed Ahead on New Laws and Regulations,"
Advertising & Product Risk Management Alert
(February 7, 2014).
Contacts: Daniel T. Campbell, Cheryl A. Falvey
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"NHTSA Expands Early Warning Reporting and Recall Management Requirements,"
Advertising & Product Risk Management Alert
(August 21, 2013).
Contacts: Scott L. Winkelman, Cheryl A. Falvey, Daniel T. Campbell, Rebecca Baden Chaney
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"NHTSA Punts Again On Requiring Rearview Cameras,"
Advertising & Product Risk Management Alert
(July 23, 2013).
Contacts: Daniel T. Campbell, Rebecca Baden Chaney
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"Recent Happenings in Advertising & Product Risk Management - May 2013,"
Advertising & Product Risk Management Alert
(May 17, 2013).
Contacts: John B. Brew, Daniel T. Campbell, Christopher A. Cole, Cheryl A. Falvey
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"NHTSA Successfully Defends Its Roof Crush Resistance Strength Requirements,"
Advertising & Product Risk Management Alert
(March 29, 2013).
Contacts: Scott L. Winkelman, Daniel T. Campbell, Rebecca Baden Chaney
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"NHTSA Proposes Rule To Pump Up The Volume Of Electric And Hybrid Vehicles,"
Advertising & Product Risk Management Alert
(January 9, 2013).
Contacts: Daniel T. Campbell, Rebecca Baden Chaney
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"NHTSA Maximum Civil Penalties on the Rise,"
Advertising & Product Risk Management Alert
(November 27, 2012).
Contacts: Scott L. Winkelman, Daniel T. Campbell, Rebecca Baden Chaney
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"NHTSA Issues Notice of Proposed Rulemaking to Expand Regulation of Accelerator Control Systems,"
Advertising & Product Risk Management Alert
(April 25, 2012).
Contacts: Daniel T. Campbell, Jeffrey D. Sanok, Rebecca Baden Chaney
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"NHTSA Proposes New Rules To Address Keyless Ignition Safety,"
Advertising & Product Risk Management Alert
(December 22, 2011).
Contacts: Daniel T. Campbell, Scott L. Winkelman
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"Compliance with Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards May Not Equal Preemption,"
Advertising & Product Risk Management Alert
(March 1, 2011).
Contacts: Scott L. Winkelman, Daniel T. Campbell, Rebecca Baden Chaney
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"Congress Seeks To Pass Legislation Easing Restraints on Suits Against Foreign Manufacturers,"
International Dispute Resolution Alert
(January 19, 2010).
Contact: Daniel T. Campbell
In the News
Firm News & Announcements