OVERVIEW

Following a judicial clerkship, Peter Brodhead joined Spangenberg Shibley & Liber in 1980 and has been a partner since 1988.

"At Spangenberg, I have had the privilege of learning from and working with some of the finest trial lawyers in this area," he says. "After thirty years here, I still feel that there is no finer group of attorneys that work so skillfully and diligently on behalf of their clients and their causes."

TIRELESS ADVOCACY ON BEHALF OF CLIENTS

Over the span of three decades, Peter has handled a broad range of cases involving both traumatic injury as well as disease and illness due to toxic exposure from harmful chemicals and, in some instances, unsafe pharmaceutical products. Such matters have included:

Asbestos exposure resulting in asbestosis, lung cancer, and mesothelioma;

Fatal cancers resulting from substances such as benzene and vinyl chloride monomer fumes;

Respiratory disease due to metalworking fluid overexposure; and

Serious lung complications arising from asthma medication contaminated with harmful and potentially fatal bacteria.

Peter served as Plaintiffs' Liaison Counsel in the Federal Multidistrict Litigation 1909: In Re: Gadolinium-based Contrast Agent Product Liability Litigation.

HE HAS ALSO LITIGATED:

Cases on behalf of victims who suffered catastrophic injuries arising from vehicular and trucking collisions, as well as defective machinery and other products;

Civil rights matters primarily involving the unconstitutional use of excessive force; and

Multiple pharmaceutical injury cases involving Fosamax, Actos, and Tylenol.

Peter has penned "Ten Myths and Facts about Defective Drug Injury Claims: What Every Consumer Needs to Know."

In recent years, Peter has handled matters involving patent infringement and represented clients who were denied insurance coverage.

EMPLOYMENT:

1980-Present: Spangenberg Shibley & Liber LLP, Partner
1979-1980: Honorable James J. Carroll and the Honorable Harry A. Hanna, Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Court, Law Clerk

EDUCATION:

1979: Cleveland-Marshall School of Law, J.D.
1976 Denison University, B.A.
Major: History
1972: St. Ignatius High School

ADMITTED TO:

1992: United States Supreme Court
1982: 6th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals
1980: U.S. District Court, Northern District of Ohio
1979: Ohio Supreme Court

LEADERSHIP POSITIONS - BAR ACTIVITIES

1995-Present: Ohio Association for Justice, Board of Trustees
2015-2016: American Association for Justice, Zofran Litigation Group, Co-Chair
2008-2011: Cleveland Metropolitan Bar Association, Board of Trustees
2007-2011: American Association for Justice, Gadolinium Litigation Group, Co-Chair
1996-2006: Ohio Association for Justice, Editorial Board Member, Ohio Trial
2003-2004: Ohio Association for Justice, President
1997-1998: Vice-Chair, American Bar Association
1997-1998: Chair, Ohio Academy of Trial Lawyers

PROFESSIONAL MEMBERSHIPS

American Association for Justice
American Bar Association
American Board of Trial Advocates, Association
Cleveland Academy of Trial Attorneys
Cleveland Metropolitan Bar Association
International Society of Barristers, Fellow
John Manos Inns of Court, Master Bencher
Judicial Conference of the Eighth Judicial District of Ohio
Litigation Counsel of America, Fellow
Ohio Association for Justice
Ohio Civil Justice Reform Task Force

RECENT LECTURES

2016: Cleveland Legal Aid Services Trial Advocacy, "Direct Examination: The Care and Feeding of Your Witnesses Before and During Trial"
2015: Zofran: GSK and the Generics, AAJ Hot Topics and Trends in Litigation Seminar
2015: Zofran: The Antiemetic "Setron" Drugs: Their similarities and differences, AAJ Annual Convention
2014: Testosterone Therapy: Mass Torts Made Perfect, Panel Member
2013: MDL v. Coordinated State Court Litigation: Strategy, Synergy & Let Them Be, OAJ Winter Convention
2013: Trial Techniques, OAJ Winter Convention
2013: Medtronic Infuse Clinical & Regulatory Issues, AAJ Summer Convention
2013: Insider Scoop: Mass Torts on the Horizon, Mass Torts Made Perfect
2013: Medtronic Infuse Litigation: Hot Topics CLE Program, AAJ Winter Convention
2012: Medtronic Infuse AAJ teleseminar
2012: Actos: Medical and Scientific Literature - What Does It Say And Where Do We Stand Today? Mass Torts Made Perfect, Philadelphia, PA
2010: Omniscan: Chemistry and Toxicology Overview. Mass Torts Made Perfect, Las Vegas, NV

AWARDS AND RECOGNITIONS

2017: Selected to Ohio Super Lawyers - Class Action
2008-Present: Best Lawyers in America, Personal Injury Litigation-Plaintiffs.
2009-2016: Top 100 Trial Lawyers, American Trial Lawyers Association
2005-2015: Listed as Leading Lawyer in Inside Business Magazine
2004-2015: "Ohio Super Lawyer," Nominated and Published by Law and Politics and Cincinnati Magazine and Northern Ohio Magazine
2004-2015: Selected to Top 100 Super Lawyers
Selected to Top 100 Ohio Super Lawyers
Selected to Top 50 Cleveland Super Lawyers
Selected to Top 50 Columbus Super Lawyers

PHARMACEUTICAL/ MEDICAL DEVICE LITIGATION EXPERIENCE

Actos
Albuterol (Plaintiffs' Steering Committee, Co-Discovery Chair/Trial Counsel)
Breast Implant
Crestor
Fen-Phen
Fosamax
Gadolinium (Plaintiffs' Liaison Counsel/Member: Plaintiffs' Executive Committee, Plaintiffs' Steering Committee/Science and Daubert Committees/Trial Counsel)
Granuflo/NaturaLyte
Medtronic Infuse
Medtronic Pacemaker
Pradaxa
Sulzer Hip (subclass counsel)
Tylenol
Welding Fumes

CIVIC ORGANIZATIONS

American Red Cross, Platelet & Plasma Donor
Cleveland Institute of Music, Trustee
Little Sisters of the Poor, Advisory Trustee
North Coast Community Homes, Trustee

OUTSIDE THE COURTROOM

Peter and his wife, Ellie, have four sons. He sings in the adult choir at St. Francis of Assisi Church in Gates Mills and plays keyboard in a band composed of attorneys and judges. The band plays charity and non-profit organization events free of charge.

Peter is also a long-time supporter of the American Red Cross and donates platelets and plasma regularly.

He is a member of the Advisory Board for the Little Sisters of the Poor which provides a nurturing living environment and skilled care for the elderly poor in Cleveland.

Peter also serves on the Board of Trustees of the Cleveland Institute of Music and North Coast Community Homes, which provides safe, comfortable and affordable housing for individuals with developmental disabilities and mental illness. In 2010, North Coast recognized Peter and Ellie's commitment to the organization with its Philanthropy Award. In 2011, the pair co-chaired North Coast's biennial "Home Sweet Homes" fundraiser. The event raised over $500,000 for this worthy cause.

PUBLICATIONS

1997: "History of Capital Punishment," published in Ohio Trial Magazine
1993: "Junk Science is Junk Defense," published in Ohio Trial Magazine