Current Employment Position(s)

Partner

Lawyer Overview

Steve Geise is a trial lawyer who has practiced in a variety of areas in general litigation and product liability litigation at Jones Day. He has served as part of the national counsel team representing R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co. in complex product liability suits filed against the company since 1996. In that role, Steve has been an active member of several winning trial teams, supervised local counsel, and participated in all facets of the defense of such cases in jurisdictions throughout the country, such as Alabama, Arizona, California, Florida, Illinois, Louisiana, Missouri, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Rhode Island, and West Virginia.

Steve's product liability practice also includes off-road vehicles, airplanes, elevators, pharmaceuticals, toxic substances, mechanical and construction equipment, and other consumer goods for clients such as Abbott Laboratories, Sensus Metering Systems, Schindler Elevator, Textron, and Yamaha Motor Co. He also has handled general, commercial, and intellectual property litigation matters for companies including American Greetings, Celgene, and Experian Information Solutions.

Steve serves as the litigation coordinator of the San Diego Office. Before relocating from the Firm's Cleveland Office in 2007, Steve was twice recognized as an Ohio "Super Lawyer Rising Star" by Law & Politics magazine. He is a member of the State Bar of California, the American Bar Association, the San Diego County Bar Association, and the Association of Business Trial Lawyers. He is also a barrister in the Welsh Chapter of the American Inns of Court.

Areas of Practice

• Product Liability & Tort Litigation
• Consumer Goods Product Liability Litigation
• Coordination of Product Liability Litigation
• Toxic Tort Exposure Litigation (Chemical, Environmental, and Occupational)
• Trial Practice
• Alternative Dispute Resolution & Mediation
• Class Action Litigation
• Product Response Team

Representative Cases

• Karbiwnyk v. R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Company (Florida 1998)
• Apostolou v. The American Tobacco Co., et al. (New York 2001)
• Battles v R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Company (2008)
• Carter, et al. v. R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co., et al. (Louisiana 2004)
• DeLuca v. Liggett & Myers, Inc., et. al. (N.D. Ill. 2003)
• Gaston v. R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co., et. al. (New Jersey 2004)
• Guilbeault v. R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Company (Rhode Island 2000)
• Jenkins v. R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co., et. al. (Alabama 1998)
• Lucier, et al. v. Philip Morris USA Inc., et al. (California 2003)
• Mulvey v. Katz. et al.; Nussbaum v. The Cessna Aircraft Company, et al.
• Rose v. American Tobacco Co., et al. (New York 2005)
• Short v. R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co., et. al. (New Jersey 2004)
• Strang v. R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Company (Arizona 2008)
• Tavassoli v. R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Company (Arizona 2008)
• Zenahlik v. Cessna Aircraft Co., et al.

West Practice Categories

Alcoholic Beverages, Apparel, Asbestos, Asbestos, Bankruptcy Litigation, Chemicals & Cosmetics, Chemicals & Cosmetics, Class Actions, Class Actions, Complex Litigation, Environmental Law, Federal Appellate Practice, Federal Claims Court, Federal Trial Practice, Firearms, Food & Agricultural Products, Hazardous Waste, Hazardous Waste, International Trade Litigation, Litigation & Appeals, Machinery & Tools, Medical Products & Devices, Medical Products & Devices, Military & Veterans Appeals, Motor Vehicle Defects, Multidistrict Litigation, Patent Litigation, Pesticides, Pharmaceutical Products, Pharmaceutical Products, Products Liability Law, Radiation & Electromagnetic Energy, Recreational Products, Solid Waste, State Appellate Practice, State Trial Practice, Tax Litigation, Tobacco, Tobacco, Toxic Torts, US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, US Supreme Court, Water Pollution

Bar Admissions

• California
• Ohio

Education

• Ohio Northern University

Published Works

• Toxic Trespass: Lead Us Not Into Litigation, Practice Perspectives: Product Liability & Tort Litigation, 2009
• Toxic Trespass Claims: Beyond the Lab Results, Toxics Law Reporter, 2009
• A Whole New Ballgame: The Application of Trademark Law to Sports Mark Litigation, 5 Seton Hall J. Sport L. 553, 1995
• Casenote: Daubert v. Merrell Dow Pharmaceuticals: The Admissibility of Expert Scientific Testimony Under the Federal Rules of Evidence Does Not Require 'Frye-ing', 20 Ohio N.U.L. , Rev. 1061, 1994

Address

12265 El Camino Real Suite 200
San Diego, CA 92130-4096

Phones

1.858.314.1170 (Business Phone)

Faxes

1.858.314.1150 (Business Fax)

Emails

Contact Us (Business Email)

Websites

http://www.jonesday.com