“Falsehood flies and the truth comes limping after; so that when men come to be undeceived it is too late: the jest is over and the tale has had its effect.”
— Jonathan Swift

Legal Counsel for Scientific Challenges

For over 40 years, Nathan A. Schachtman has been shining light on the dim intersection of science and law.

Mr. Schachtman has counseled clients on strategy to avoid, resolve, and win litigation. He has served as national coordinating, science, MDL, trial, and appellate counsel in product liability, pharmaceutical, occupational disease, and environmental cases. He has tried dozens of cases in New York, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania — where he has been admitted — as well as in other states, pro hac vice. He has been involved in many of the leading American cases involving epidemiologic and other scientific evidence in product liability cases.  His representations have also involved drafting proposed tort reform legislation, and preparing witnesses and strategy for legislative hearings.

Mr. Schachtman has lectured and published widely on expert evidence issues. His interests include access to underlying research data, the use of statistical, probabilistic, and epidemiologic evidence in court, medico-legal causation and screenings, the reliability and admissibility of scientific evidence, and historian expert testimony. He is an elected member of the American Law Institute, and a life fellow of the American Bar Foundation. From 2009 through 2018, he was a lecturer-in-law at the Columbia Law School.