Judith A. Perritano

Judith A. Perritano is a Founding Partner of Pierce Davis & Perritano LLP.

Ms. Perritano is a highly skilled litigator with more than 30 years of extensive experience in the defense and trial of a wide variety of cases ranging from complex, high risk cases involving products liability and exposure to asbestos and other toxic torts to those involving general negligence and dram shop liability. She has been involved in all phases of litigation in both state and federal court, from factual investigation through discovery, motion practice, trial, and appeal. She offers strategic guidance to a broad range of clients and secures favorable outcomes through effective communication and negotiation and by employing creative litigation and appellate strategies designed to achieve the best results for her clients.

Ms. Perritano has been counsel for numerous asbestos clients in Massachusetts, Connecticut and Rhode Island. As a member of the Executive Committee, she helps shape the course of the Massachusetts asbestos litigation. In her role as National Coordinating Counsel for an equipment manufacturer in the asbestos litigation, she manages and directs discovery, has conducted countless depositions of plaintiffs’ and defense experts, develops key defense experts, and is involved in trial preparation and appeals in cases pending in state and federal courts nationwide. Through this considerable experience, she has become intimately familiar with the nuanced arguments and approaches employed in the national asbestos litigation.

Ms. Perritano is well-versed in the steps necessary to mount a successful defense, including developing applicable legal and factual arguments for a wide variety of manufacturers and distributors with a keen understanding of the approaches, positions, and arguments put forth by opposing counsel. She has been responsible for developing plaintiff and expert witness deposition strategies that have led to in-depth and effective cross-examinations at trial, including conducting depositions of plaintiffs' and defense experts and preparing Daubert motions and motions in limine on key issues, such as one fiber, government contractor, sophisticated user/learned intermediary, sufficiency of expert testimony, and no duty to warn.

Ms. Perritano’s experience has furnished her with tremendous knowledge of manufacturing systems and processes, and the vast range of regulations governing safety in a variety of workplaces, including OSHA and similar state regulations. She has worked with many technical experts, including engineers and human factors experts, to develop her clients’ defenses for use both in pre-trial motion practice and, when necessary, expert testimony at trial. Through her years of practice involving toxic exposure claims, she has gained a keen understanding of the key medical and scientific issues and is adept at working with and examining experts in the medical, epidemiology and industrial hygiene fields.

Ms. Perritano has tried a number of cases to verdict in the areas of products liability, toxic exposure/sick building, liquor liability, motor vehicle, slip and fall, and elevator/escalator claims. She has acted as lead counsel in asbestos trials in Massachusetts that were favorably resolved before verdict. Additionally, she has participated in various stages of trial in numerous other cases that were resolved prior to verdict, including cases in the areas of asbestos and other toxic torts, products liability, construction, eminent domain, and general negligence claims. The damages that she has tried have included the entire personal injury spectrum, wrongful death and property damage. Her extensive trial experience in the defense of a wide range of other product liability, toxic tort and long-term exposure cases, as well as numerous general liability cases, gives her a unique depth of perspective and appreciation for the most effective approaches and strategies to be used at trial.  

Ms. Perritano is accustomed to working closely with her clients in planning a litigation strategy that is as cost-effective as possible, while maximizing the achievement of the clients’ goals in each case. She is fully committed to client service in all aspects of her representation, from striving to achieve clients’ litigation goals to fulfilling their wishes and expectations with respect to case-handling. She has compiled an impressive record of client satisfaction, as well as numerous successes in achieving favorable resolutions prior to, during and following trial.

Ms. Perritano is frequently invited to speak on topics related to products liability and toxic torts. She has been named to several peer-reviewed lists, including The Best Lawyers in America©, Massachusetts Super Lawyers, and New England Super Lawyers. She is a Fellow of the Litigation Counsel of America and has been a member of the American Bar Association, the International Association of Defense Counsel, and the Defense Research Institute.

Ms. Perritano began her law practice in 1988 with the Boston firm of Morrison, Mahoney & Miller, where she became a partner in 1995.