Principal
Morristown, NJ
973.889.4150
dfaverell@pbnlaw.com
Diane Averell is a member of the firm's Management Committee. Diane strives to serve the best interests of her clients by understanding their business, products, and long-term goals. She works to understand the business environment behind the case in order to define what will constitute a “win” for her clients. Armed with this insight, Diane is a fearless advocate and works tirelessly to defend her clients while respecting their business objectives.
Diane has handled business-to-business disputes and defended personal injury claims on behalf of publicly traded companies, privately held corporations, and family-owned enterprises. Representing manufacturing companies, she has also defended failure-to-warn product liability claims related to prescription and over-the-counter drugs, industrial chemicals and minerals, petroleum products, automotive parts, trucking equipment, industrial machinery, construction equipment, power tools, and tobacco products. Although she handles all aspects of complex litigation, her passion is working with toxicologists, epidemiologists, and physicians to defend her clients’ products on the issues of general and specific causation. Diane has tackled medical and scientific literature related to a wide range of human cancers (bladder, liver, kidney, prostate, breast, ovarian, uterine, lung, leukemia and non-Hodgkin's lymphoma) as well as stroke and cardiac disease. The culmination of her careful research and preparation is the strategic and surgical depositions of the plaintiffs and their experts, always with an eye towards summary judgment or eliminating the claims remaining for trial.
Defense Research Institute, National Director, 2019 - 2022.
Defense Research Institute, Toxic Tort and Environmental Law Committee, Chair of Marketing for 2014 - 2016 Seminars.
Defense Research Institute, Women in the Law Committee, 2010 to present. Chair of the Committee 2017 - present; Vice Chair of the Committee 2015 - 2017; Chair of 2015 Women in the Law Seminar; Vice Chair of the 2014 Seminar; Chair of Marketing for the 2013 Seminar; Vice-Chair of Marketing for 2012 Seminar; Networking Chair for Seminars in 2009 - 2011.
Defense Research Institute, Center for Law and Public Policy, Member of the Issues and Advocacy Committee, 2013 - 2015.
Defense Research Institute, Vice Chair of the Partnering with Industry Groups Task Force, 2013 - 2015.
LJN's Product Liability Law & Strategy Newsletter, Member of the Board of Editors, 2014 - present.