Mark P. Chalos

The Managing Partner of Lieff Cabraser’s Nashville office, Mark P. Chalos is a top litigator working on complex civil cases in federal courts in Tennessee and across the United States. Mark represents individuals who have suffered catastrophic personal injuries, as well as consumers and businesses who have been defrauded.

Over the past 20 years in practice, Mark has obtained hundreds of millions of dollars in jury verdicts, arbitration rulings, and settlements for families and businesses who have been harmed by wrongful conduct.

To help fight the opioids catastrophe that has devastated communities across America, Mark represents states, large and small counties, cities, Native American tribes, and health benefit providers in litigation that seeks to make our communities safer. In connection with the firm’s court-appointed leadership role in the national opioids litigation, Mark has been selected to serve on the team preparing for the historic first trials in the litigation. Mark has also been interviewed by various national media outlets regarding the fight to keep our families and communities safe from the opioids catastrophe.

Mark also prosecutes product defect civil cases against U.S. and foreign corporations that make and sell allegedly defective or dangerous consumer products. Some cases involve products causing unfair economic loss, while others involve products causing serious injuries or fatalities. Mark’s product defect cases include failing automobiles and trucks, mold-plagued front-loading washing machines, and dangerous pharmaceutical drugs and medical devices.

Mark has been appointed to leadership roles in numerous complex civil proceedings, including: Co-Lead MDL Counsel in In re Whirlpool Front Loading Washer Products Liability Litigation, MDL 2001 (N.D. Ohio); Co-Lead Interim Class Counsel in Weidman v. Ford (Brake Failure Litigation), Case No. 2:18-cv-12719 (E.D. MI); Chair of MDL Expert Committee in In re General Motors Air Conditioning Marketing and Sales Practices Litigation, MDL 2818 (E.D. MI); Plaintiffs Steering Committee, Federal/State Litigation Liaison, in In re New England Compounding Pharmacy, Inc. Products Liability Litigation (fungal meningitis/infections), MDL 2419 (D. Mass); Plaintiffs Steering Committee and Co-Chair Plaintiffs Expert Committee in In re Navistar Diesel Engine Product Liability Litigation, MDL No. 2223 (N.D. Ill); and Plaintiffs Steering Committee in In re Ford Switch Fire Litigation, Texas state MDL, Travis County, Texas, Cause No. D-1-GN-08-000901. He also represents clients in many centralized litigations across the country.

An active member of the legal community, Mark serves as the Vice-President of the Tennessee Trial Lawyers Association (formerly served as Secretary and Treasurer of the organization), on its Board of Governors, and as Treasurer of the Political Action Committee Lawyers Involved for Tennessee (LIFT). Mark has also served on the Tennessee Bar Association Continuing Legal Education Committee (Co-Chair), Nashville Bar Association YLD Board of Directors, and the Editorial Board of the Nashville Bar Journal. On the national level, Mark serves as Secretary of the American Association for Justice (AAJ) Class Action Litigation Group, Member of the AAJ Public Affairs Committee, and Member of the National Finance Council. He has served as Chair of the AAJ Public Education Committee.

Mark and his co-authors recently updated their acclaimed book, Litigating International Torts In United States Courts (Thomson Reuters West, 2017 ed.), a practical resource for legal practitioners and judges. Mark has also published a number of articles in journals, including articles in the national publications TRIAL Magazine and The Trial Lawyer on holding foreign companies accountable for injuries they cause in the U.S., and has served on the Law360 Product Liability Editorial Advisory Board, providing feedback on Law360’s news coverage of the legal world. Mark is currently working a book regarding consumer class actions (Thomson Reuters West, publication forthcoming).

Mark serves as an Adjunct Professor of Law at Vanderbilt Law School, teaching The Practice of Aggregate Litigation. He also serves on the Select Committee on Class Actions within Emory University School of Law’s Institute for Complex Litigation and Mass Claims.

Mark is a frequent speaker at legal seminars nationwide on a variety of civil litigation topics. He has also been cited by top-tier media outlets including The New York Times, Forbes, The Washington Post, NPR’s Morning Edition, The Associated Press, CNN, CBS This Morning, and MSNBC. Recently, Mark acted as legal analyst for a series of articles in The Tennessean regarding a nationally-significant privacy trial based on illegal videos taken of a woman in a Nashville hotel by another hotel guest and distributed on the internet, leading to a $55 million jury verdict for the plaintiff.

Mark has been named among The Best Lawyers in America, “Mid-South Super Lawyers,” “Nashville’s Best Lawyers,” and Nashville Business Journal’s “Best of the Bar.” Mark has been included in The Best Lawyers in America via peer vote nationwide in the fields of “Mass Tort Litigation/Class Actions-Plaintiffs” from 2012 through 2019. Mark was named in the Nashville Business Journal’s “Best of the Bar” from 2015-2017 and to the “Top 100: 2015 Tennessee Super Lawyers,” a distinction for attorneys with the highest evaluations statewide. Mark was named an American Bar Foundation fellow in 2016. The organization is dedicated to advancing justice through rigorous research on the law and membership is limited to 1% of attorneys in each state. Also from 2016 - 2019, Mark was listed as one of Nashville Post’s lawyers “In Charge,” particularly after he helped lead national litigation for victims of a deadly meningitis catastrophe that killed 64 people in 2012 and thereafter, and for his ongoing work on opioid litigation in response to the nationwide crisis.

Mark is admitted to practice before the United States Supreme Court; United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth and Seventh Circuits; the United States District Court for the Western, Middle, and Eastern Districts of Tennessee; the Northern District of Florida; and the courts of the State of Tennessee. He is a member of the American, Tennessee, and Nashville Bar Associations, as well as the American Association for Justice and Tennessee Trial Lawyers Association.

Published Works

•“Why fair trials are important to the American legal system,” Tennessean, January 2020
•Litigating International Torts in United States Courts, 2015 ed., Thomas Reuters/West, 2015
•“Supreme Court Limits The Reach of Alien Tort Statute in Kiobel,” Legal Solutions Blog, April 2013 My link
•“The Rise of Bellwether Trials,” Legal Solutions Blog, March 2013
•“Amgen: The Supreme Court Refuses to Erect New Class Action Bar,” Legal Solutions Blog, March 2013
•“Are International Wrongdoers Above the Law?” The Trial Lawyer Magazine, January 2013
•“Kiobel v Royal Dutch Petroleum: Supreme Court to Decide Role of US Courts Abroad,” ABA Journal, January 2013

Honors & Awards

•AV Preeminent Peer Review Rated, Martindale-Hubbell
•Selected for inclusion by peers in The Best Lawyers in America in fields of “Mass Tort Litigation/Class Actions - Plaintiffs,” 2012-2020
•American Bar Foundation fellow, 2016
•“Super Lawyer for Mid-South,” Super Lawyers, 2011-2019
•“Best of the Bar,” Nashville Business Journal, 2008-2010, 2015-2017
•“Tennessee Litigation Star,” Benchmark Litigation, 2013 - 2015
•“Rising Star for Mid-South,” Super Lawyers, 2008-2010
•“Top 40 Under 40,” The Tennessean, 2004

In the News

•June 16, 2020
Mark Chalos to Discuss “COVID19 Litigation - Protecting Our Communities & Holding Wrongdoers Accountable” at Annual TTLA Convention
•June 12, 2020
FOX40 News Talks to Mark Chalos About Lieff Cabraser’s Lawsuit Against Carnival & Princess Cruise Lines for Negligent Mishandling of COVID-19 Virus Outbreak on Cruise Ships
•Jume 12, 2020
California Family Joins Class Action Lawsuit Against Carnival and Princess Cruise Lines Over Coronavirus Exposures on Mexico Grand Princess Cruise
•June 10, 2020
Mark Chalos Testifies at Tennessee Senate Judiciary Hearing on Proposed COVID Liability Protections Bill
•May 26, 2020
Mark Chalos Talks To The Tennessean’s David Plazas About Fair Trials, The Law, and COVID-19 Insurance Claim Problems
•February 28, 2020
Mark Chalos Talks to Education Week About the Role School Districts Will Play in Fraud and Injury Litigation Against JUUL
•January 21, 2020
Mark Chalos Highlights Importance of Fair Trials in the Tennessean
•December 16, 2019
Lieff Cabraser Partner Mark Chalos Emphasizes Efficiency and Fairness in Proposed Changes to Tennessee Rules of Civil Procedure
•November 25, 2019
Mark Chalos Named to Top 100 Tennessee Lawyers for 2019 by Super Lawyers
•November 14, 2019
Lieff Cabraser Partner Mark Chalos Discusses Federal Opioid Litigation on Belmont University College of Law Panel
•November 8, 2019
Lieff Cabraser’s Elizabeth Cabraser, Mark Chalos, and Annika K. Martin to Serve as Faculty at American Association for Justice Class Action December Seminar
•November 5, 2019
Mark Chalos Honored as 2019 Mid-South Super Lawyer
•October 21, 2019
Mark Chalos Discusses Class Action Audiences and Reach at 23rd American Bar Association Class Action Conference in Nashville
•October 11, 2019
Mark Chalos to Discuss Guidelines for Representing Sexual Abuse Survivors at Upcoming “Mass Torts Made Perfect” Fall 2019 Conference
•September 19, 2019
Mark Chalos to Speak at American Bar Association Conference on Class Actions
•September 10, 2019
Mark Chalos on “Expert Handling of Expert Witnesses” at October 2019 TTLA Strategies Forum
•April 5, 2019
Mark Chalos Discusses Nationwide Class Action Litigation at 2019 ‘Mass Torts Made Perfect’ Conference
•March 8, 2019
Nashville Post Again Places Mark Chalos on its “In Charge” List for Opioid Litigation and Other High-Profile Class Action Lawsuits
•February 15, 2019
Mark Chalos Provides Written Comments on Proposed Federal Civil Rules Changes
•August 7, 2018
Lieff Cabraser Attorneys Mark Chalos and Laura Heiman Volunteer at Nashville Bar’s Dial-A-Lawyer
•July 9, 2018
Mark Chalos, Kenny Byrd, and John Spragens to Teach at Vanderbilt Law
•July 9, 2018
Lieff Cabraser Partners Headline Class Action Litigation Group Program at 2018 AAJ Conference
•April 30, 2018
Mark Chalos Talks to NPR About Nashville’s Lawsuit Against the Opioid Industry
•March 6, 2018
Mark Chalos Talks Opioid Epidemic Lawsuit to NewsChannel 5 Nashville