Paul was the founder of our firm in 1971 and had been in practice since 1958.

Paul is celebrated for a legal career that redefined mass tort and toxic tort litigation, shaping modern product liability litigation that championed the rights of individuals injured by dangerous drugs and defective products. He started his career by shaping the new legal practice of toxic environmental harms which caused cancer and lung diseases. He was a distinguished trial attorney and legal educator, leaving an indelible mark on the American legal system. He graduated cum laude from Oberlin College (1955) where he was elected to Phi Beta Kappa. He later graduated cum laude from Harvard Law School (1958). He began his career as an Airman in the Air Force Judge Advocate General’s Corps in Washington, D.C. (1958).

After being a partner at Speiser, Shumate, Geoghan, Krause & Rheingold, he founded his own firm, Paul D. Rheingold, P.C. (1971), which later became Rheingold, Giuffra, Ruffo, Plotkin & Hellman LLP. He was Of Counsel until his passing. Often referred to as the father and pioneer of mass tort litigation, he is credited with naming the toxic tort and mass tort litigations. His career was a series of historic firsts and leadership roles shaping the legal landscape in New York and the United States. He organized mass litigation for the cholesterol-lowering drug MER/29 (1964), frequently cited as the starting point for mass tort law, which established the procedures for handling thousands of similar injury claims against a single manufacturer.

Other groundbreaking litigations included the miscarriage drug DES (diethylstilbestrol) and the Dalkon Shield intrauterine device. He was appellate counsel in the landmark DES case

Hymowitz v. Eli Lilly (1989), which established the “market share liability” in NY state. Market share liability is a legal doctrine used in some product liability cases when plaintiffs cannot identify which specific manufacturer made the harmful product, but they can prove that multiple manufacturers produced similar products that caused the harm.

He wrote the first legal treatise on litigating complex mass tort litigations, Litigating Mass Tort Cases (2006) and was annual supplement author until his passing. He also wrote or co-authored: Lawyers’ Drug Handbook (1967), Negligence Case Techniques: Handling the Big Negligence Case (1969), Automobile Products Liability and Accident Reconstruction (1969), The Environmental Law Handbook (1971), Products Liability (1974), and Toxic Torts: Tort Actions for Cancer and Lung Disease Due to Environmental Pollution (1977).

He felt strongly about educating new generation of lawyers. He was a faculty lecturer at Harvard, Stanford, Rutgers, and Fordham Law Schools and mentored many new associates at his office.

His memberships included: Boston University Law-Medicine Institute (1959-1961), Associate Editor-in Chief for the National Association of Claimants’ Compensation Attorneys Law Journal (1961-1963) and served as the National Secretary for National Association of Claimants’ Compensation Attorneys / Association of Trial Lawyers of America (1971–1973), Task Force on Judicial and Regulatory Decision Making, Carnegie Commission on Science, Technology and Government (1989-1993), and the RAND Institute for Civil Justice.

In 1985, he was a founder of the Trial Lawyers for Public Justice, now known as Public Justice. The organization started as a group of trial lawyers committed to representing individuals and groups against powerful interests, particularly in cases involving public interest, civil rights, and environmental protection.

Over the years, he has held leadership roles in over 20 drug and devices mass torts, some of which included:

  • In re: NuvaRing Products Liability Litigation, MD-1964;
  • In re: Ephedra Products Liability Litigation, MD 1598;
  • In re: Copley Pharmaceutical, Inc. “Albuterol” Products Liability Litigation., MD-1013;
  • In Re: Showa Denko K.K. L-tryptophan Products Liability Litigation Action, MD-865;
  • In Re: Diet Drugs (Phentermine/Fenfluramine/Dexfenfluramine) Products Liability Litigation, MD-1203;
  • In re: Vioxx Products Liability Litigation, MD-1657;
  • In Re: Bextra And Celebrex Marketing Sales Practices And Product Liability Litigation, MD-1699.

Leadership roles in these mass torts involved setting the strategy of the litigation and moving the cases to resolution by trial or settlement. He handled depositions of company witnesses and defense experts in many of these mass tort cases. Further, he represented bellwether clients in many of these same cases.

Until his death, he served on the board of overseers of the Institute on Civil Justice of the RAND Foundation. He was also on several commissions drawing new laws for the American Law Institute.

Education

  • Harvard University Law School, Cambridge, Massachusetts
    • LL.B. cum laude – 1958
  • Oberlin College, Oberlin, Ohio
    • A.B. cum laude – 1955
    • Phi Beta Kappa
    • Major: History

Classes/Seminars

  • Lecturer on Law, Rutgers Law School, 1966 – 1972
  • Lecturer on Law, Harvard Law School, 1988 – 1989
  • Adjunct Associate Professor, Fordham Law School, 1972 – 1976
  • Overseer, RAND Institute for Civil Justice, 1986 – Present
  • Annual Lecturer on Product Liability, New York State Trial Lawyers Association

Bar Admissions

  • New York, 1965
  • Massachusetts, 1960
  • District of Columbia, 1958
  • U.S. Federal Court, 1965

Honors & Awards

  • SuperLawyer, 2011 – 2014

Professional Associations & Memberships

  • Westchester County Bar Association, Member
  • New York State Bar Association, Chairman, Committee on Tort Reparations, 1986 – 1989
  • New York State Bar Association, Chairman, Special Committee on Medical Malpractice, 1990 – Present
  • American Bar Association, Chairman, Manufacturers’ Liability Committee, 1975 – 1980
  • American Bar Association, Member of Council, 1980 – 1983
  • American Law Institute, Advisor, Restatement of Torts, Product Liability
  • American Law Institute, Member, Executive Committee, 1993
  • New York State Trial Lawyers Association, Member
  • American Association for Justice, Former National Officer
  • Trial Lawyers For Public Justice, Founder 1985
  • American Association for Justice, National Secretary, 1971 – 1972
  • Task Force on Judicial & Regulatory Decision Making, Carnegie Commission on Science, Technology and Government, Member, 1989 – 1993
  • City of Rye, Planning Commission, New York, Chairman, 1990 – 1992
  • American Bar Association Commission on Mass Torts, Member, 1987 – 1990