Ford Loker is a principal in the Baltimore office. He maintains a general litigation practice concentrating in mass tort and industry-wide litigation, as well as matters involving class actions, products liability, negligence and insurance. He has represented a wide variety of defendants in asbestos personal injury and property damage litigation in Maryland and nationally since 1981. He has tried dozens of civil jury trials to verdict in cases lasting from a week to nearly seven months. He has briefed and argued over 60 reported appellate decisions.
In recognition of his accomplishments, the Keene Corporation in 1990 bestowed its first "Lawyer of the Year" award on Ford. He has handled numerous asbestos appeals, including the seminal case on sufficiency of exposure evidence, Lohrmann v. Pittsburgh Corning Corp., 782 F. 2d 1156 (4th Cir. 1986). He has been retained as an expert witness in lawsuits arising out of asbestos claims concerning the reasonableness of settlements in both personal injury and asbestos-in-public-buildings cases. He served as the National Asbestos Litigation Coordinating Counsel for a former producer of asbestos-containing materials, and in that capacity negotiated several "mass" settlements.
Before entering private practice, Ford served as a prosecutor in the Office of the State's Attorney for Baltimore City and a member of the Criminal Appeals and Investigations Section of the Office of the Attorney General of Maryland. Ford has written and lectured extensively in the fields of trial tactics, appellate advocacy and asbestos medicine.
Credentials
American Bar Association: (1983-1995)
Bar Association of Baltimore City: (1984-1996)
Defense Research Institute: Annual Meeting Planning Committee; Industrywide Litigation Committee (Steering Committee, Editor of committee publication); Products Liability Committee; State Representative for Maryland; Toxic Tort and Environmental Law Committee
International Association of Defense Counsel: (1995-1998)
Martindale-Hubbell's AV Rating: (1988-2011)
Maryland State Bar Association: (1981-present)
Maryland Defense Counsel, Inc.: President (1995-1996); Vice President (1994-1995); Secretary (1993-1994); Treasurer (1992-1993); Executive Board Member (1985-2005); The Defense Line, Editor (1985-1987)
Maryland Super Lawyers®: Selected for inclusion in the area of Personal Injury Defense: Products, General Litigation and Insurance Coverage (2010-2012)
Publications
"Legal Implications of New Cancer Causation Theories," Law360 (Co-Author) (August 11, 2011).
"Distinguishing Between Asbestosis and Silicosis: A Lawyer's Primer on the Proper Diagnosis of Each Disease," MIM Reporter, Vol. VIII, No. 1 (June 2005).
"Proof of Product Exposure in Asbestos Litigation: The DeMinimis Rule," Products Liability Commentary & Cases, Vol.1, No. 5 (September 1986).
Speaking Engagements
"Okay, So Whose Big Idea Was It To Remove This Case To Be Tried In Federal Court? - Federal Rules of Evidence in Asbestos Trials," Harris Martin's National Asbestos Conference: Litigation and Trial of MDL Asbestos Claims in Federal Court, and related paper, "A Brief Overview of the Federal Rules of Evidence" (February 2011).
"Primer on Admissibility of expert Testimony in Asbestos Trials And Preparing an Expert for Trial," HB Litigation Conferences Seminar: Asbestos Litigation: A Crash Course for Associates, and related paper, "The Use of Expert Testimony in Asbestos Trials" (February 2010).
"Trial of a Take-Home Exposure Case From Jury Selection to Verdict," Harris Martin's Asbestos Litigation Conference, Examination of Defense Medical Expert Witness, and related Paper "Trends in the "Single Asbestos Fiber" Causation Debate" (June 2009).
"Managing Electronic Communications," Lorman Education Services Seminar on Document Retention and Destruction (2003 and 2004).
"The Importance of Product Identification," Mealey's Asbestos 101 Conference, Chicago, IL (July 22 - 23, 2004).
"A Case of Mistaken Identity: Defense of the Misdiagnosed Mesothelioma," DRI, Asbestos Medicine Seminar (November 2003).
"National Trends in Punitive Damages: Will Campbell make a difference Beyond the Beltway," American Chemistry Council - Tort Litigation Group (October 2003).
Trial Advocacy Programs, USF&G and St. Paul Insurance (1999-2001).
"Trial of a Mesothelioma Case from Jury Selection to Verdict," HarrisMartin's Asbestos Litigation Conference and related paper, "Who Will Speak for the Company" (June 2008).
Nine Day Trial Advocacy Course - Expert Witnesses, MICPEL (1995-2000).
"Product Reformulation and Spoliation Issues," DRI, Asbestos Personal Injury Litigation Seminar (November 1999).
"Industry-wide Complex Litigation Claims Seminar," DRI (February 1999).
"Expert Testimony in Trial Practice in Maryland," National Business Institute (November 1995).
"Asbestos Medicine Seminar," DRI, Asbestos Exposure and Lung Cancer (October 1994).
"Asbestos In Buildings Seminar," DRI, Expert Witnesses (January 1992).