Kevin E. Young

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Kevin Young is a partner based in the firm's Boston office. Kevin focuses his practice on complex product liability litigation, including the defense of cases involving a variety of toxic materials, industrial machinery, pharmaceuticals, and automotive defects. Kevin also serves as Chairman of the firm's Life Sciences Team, and has been recognized as a Massachusetts Super Lawyer.

Kevin has extensive first chair trial experience in mass Toxic Tort cases and has appellate experience before the Massachusetts Court of Appeals and the First Circuit Court of Appeals. Before joining McGivney & Kluger, Kevin had 23 years of experience in defending numerous major manufacturers of asbestos-containing products locally (Massachusetts), regionally (New England), and nationally. He represented these manufacturers against personal injury claims, property damage claims, and Massachusetts Chapter 93A claims (as they related to the personal injury and property damage claims). Kevin is continuing in this area of practice by representing Robertson Ceco Corporation and one of the world's largest engineering-construction firms, in connection with asbestos cases pending against them.

Kevin also serves as a National Coordinating Counsel in Asbestos Litigation for Taco, Inc. In connection with this representation, Kevin has represented mining companies, manufacturing companies (pumps, valves, heat exchangers, spray insulation, pipe and boiler products, brake linings, and numerous other asbestos-containing products), distributors, contractors, pump and valve manufacturers, and boiler manufacturers. Just some of the companies which Kevin represented in asbestos litigation (in all aspects of litigation including trial) were: members of the Asbestos Claims Facility, members of the Center for Claims Resolution, Owens-Illinois Inc., Owens-Corning Fiberglas, Pittsburgh Corning Corporation, Celotex Corporation, Carey-Canada, Inc., Asbestospray Corporation, Spraycraft Corporation, U.S. Gypsum Company, National Gypsum Company, Keene Corporation, Turner & Newall Ltd., and Riley Stoker Corporation. As a result of this experience, Kevin has substantial knowledge concerning insulation products and asbestos-containing products that were marketed in the United States and Canada. His knowledge extends to the various types of insulation products used, their purposes, their chemical, mineralogical, and physical properties, the manufacturing and application process, alleged medical risks, as well as the various forms of asbestos used in the products (chrysotile, amosite, crocidolite).

Additionally, Kevin has substantial experience in pharmaceutical litigation. Prior to joining McGivney & Kluger Kevin was involved in Thorotrast Litigation and the Fen-Phen Diet Drug Litigation. With respect to Fen-Phen litigation, Kevin served as national coordinating counsel for two pharmaceutical clients in more than 20,000 individual and multi-party cases in federal courts and in the courts of all 50 states, as well as Canada. He had primary responsibility for all aspects of the litigation including trial, expert selection, class action defense, and overall coordination and strategy. He coordinated and directed local counsel in all 50 states and developed and used state-of-the-art information and data systems to manage and coordinate the litigation. He achieved significant success in that litigation. His team successfully litigated the issue of the admissibility of scientific evidence in courts in various parts of the country, including a widely publicized win in an evidentiary Daubert hearing in Massachusetts resulting in the preclusion of certain expert testimony and ultimate dismissal of his client in a death action. They also prevailed in a Daubert hearing in the federal diet drug litigation which resulted in the preclusion of certain expert testimony on medical causation issues.

As a result of that victory, plaintiffs' counsel around the country with diet drug cases voluntarily dismissed his clients and other phentermine defendants in the thousands of cases pending against them.

He has also had substantial experience in the automobile product liability defense area. He has represented Chrysler Corporation and Suzuki Corporation.

Kevin is admitted to the Massachusetts Bar, the United States District Court for the District of Massachusetts, First Circuit Court of Appeals and the United States Supreme Court. Kevin is a member of the Defense Research Institute and several of its committees devoted to his areas of practice. He is also vice-chair of the American Bar Association TIPS Committee.