Ahmed J. Kassim is Of Counsel to the Sills Cummis & Gross Litigation Department. Mr. Kassim has a track record of achieving favorable results for his clients in a variety of complex, high-stakes litigation matters, including commercial disputes, product liability, and putative class actions. He has litigated on behalf of clients in a wide range of industries, including pharmaceuticals, consumer products, telecommunications, construction, insurance, banking, and retail. Mr. Kassim partners with clients to devise a litigation strategy that is aligned with their business objectives.

Mr. Kassim has successfully defended manufacturers in product liability and mass tort actions in notoriously plaintiff-friendly jurisdictions. A former chemical engineer, Mr. Kassim leverages his technical background to help his clients navigate complex scientific and medical issues and to craft fact-based defenses built on science. A skilled litigator, he has played key roles in case assessment, developing defense strategy, taking depositions, presenting compelling advocacy in briefs and hearings, and leading complex settlement negotiations.

Mr. Kassim represents clients of all sizes in complicated and hard fought commercial disputes in state and federal courts. He recently helped secure a pre-answer dismissal in federal court of a putative nationwide consumer protection class action; and a pre-answer dismissal in New York’s Commercial Division of an environmental insurance coverage suit where claims exceeded $15 million. Mr. Kassim increasingly counsels public accommodation clients regarding website accessibility litigation under Title III of the American with Disabilities Act (ADA). Whether the issues revolve around products liability, commercial disputes, or violations of the ADA, he understands the stakes and helps his clients reach the most favorable resolution in the most economical way.

Mr. Kassim maintains an active pro bono practice that has included successfully representing clients seeking asylum for their pro-democracy views; petitioners in post-conviction proceedings seeking expungement of their criminal records; plaintiffs alleging that their constitutional rights were violated during an arrest; and, most recently, acting as pro bono appellate counsel for the New Jersey Office of Public Defender.

Mr. Kassim is an active member of American Bar Association, New York State Bar Association, and the Federal Bar Council. In 2021, he was appointed to serve on the Editorial Board of the ABA’s Tort Trial & Insurance Practice Law Journal.

Before joining the Firm, Mr. Kassim practiced in New York at Porzio, Bromberg & Newman, P.C. and Gibbons P.C., focusing on product liability and commercial litigation matters. Mr. Kassim was a Law Clerk to the Honorable Ann G. McCormick, J.S.C. in the Superior Court of New Jersey, Law Division.

Practices

  • Litigation
  • Class Action Litigation
  • Product Liability

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Representative Matters

    • Represented two global telecommunications companies as regional counsel in defense of asbestos exposure claims in New York and New Jersey.
    • Successfully obtained pre-answer dismissal in federal district court of putative nationwide consumer protection class action alleging the client’s coffee label was deceptive.
    • Successfully obtained a pre-answer dismissal in state court for a global insurer in a complex environmental coverage case where the insured sought more than $15 million in claims related to the remediation of contaminated land.
    • Represented a condominium owner in an action seeking declaratory and injunctive relief against condominium association and its board of managers for defects in the common elements.
    • Represented a steel fabricator and marble fabricator in construction lien foreclosure actions.
    • Counsel for a major consumer products company in asbestos litigation and other products liability matters.
    • Counsel for a national tractor trailer manufacturer in New York asbestos litigation.
    • Defended automotive parts manufacturers in asbestos litigation in products and premises liability matters.
    • Defended cosmetics retail chain in premises and general liability matters.
    • Successfully obtained dismissal of all actions against sporting goods manufacturer in New York asbestos litigation.
    • Obtained pre-answer dismissal in federal court for global pharmaceutical company in failure-to-warn case involving a prescription medication.
    • Lead attorney in successfully obtaining summary judgment for major military defense contractor in premises liability action.
    • Assisted in the defense of a global pharmaceutical company in mass tort litigation involving prescription medication resulting in several defense verdicts.
    • Assisted in the defense of a global medical device company in mass tort litigation involving surgical implants.

Court Admissions

  • U.S. District Court, District of New Jersey
  • U.S. District Court, Southern District of New York
  • U.S. District Court, Eastern District of New York

Newsroom

Presentations

Publications

Rankings and Recognition

  • Selected for inclusion in:
  • New Jersey Super Lawyers®* "Rising Stars" 2019, Class Action/Mass Torts
  • New York Metro Super Lawyers®* "Rising Stars" 2018-2019, Class Action/Mass Torts

* See Award Methodology. No aspect of this advertisement has been approved by the Supreme Court of New Jersey.

Affiliations

  • Member, American Bar Association

    Editorial Board, Tort Trial & Insurance Practice Law Journal
    Member, Practice Renewal & Reintegration Task Force

  • Member, Federal Bar Council

  • Barrister, Federal Bar Council American Inn of Court

  • Member, New York State Bar Association


Education

  • J.D., Rutgers School of Law
  • B.S., University of Rochester

Bar Admissions

  • New Jersey
  • New York