Jayme Long

Partner

It is unfortunately rare for a trial team to be helmed by a woman. Jayme Long does it exceptionally well. Jayme is one of the most experienced trial counsels in the country. She has made sure to build a team of varying experience levels that ensures the right lawyer does the right project

— Chambers USA 2024

Emailjayme.long@dlapiper.com

Call+1 310 595 3035

Los Angeles

About

Jayme Long is a first-chair trial lawyer who defends companies faced with complex litigation matters in a broad array of areas, including product liability, industrial premises liability, mass torts and commercial litigation. She represents companies in the energy, chemical, manufacturing, medical and safety industries in state and federal courts across the country.

Jayme has tried cases for some of the largest companies in the world and has been featured in various publications, including Law360, The Daily Journal, HarrisMartin and InsideCounsel magazine. Often the only woman first-chair trial lawyer in the courtroom, Jayme is recognized as one of 2022’s most influential women attorneys by the Los Angeles Business Journal. Jayme has also been repeatedly recognized as a Southern California Super Lawyer by Super Lawyers in the area of civil litigation defense, and she is named as one of Southern California's "Top Women Attorneys" and "Top Attorneys" in Los Angeles Magazine. She was also selected as a Top Professional in the Field of Law by Marquis Who's Who, and is a Fellow in Litigation Counsel of America, The Trial Lawyer Honorary Society.

With her courtroom experience and deep understanding of the science and medicine often rooted in these cases, she successfully defends companies at every stage of a lawsuit – from the threat of litigation through appeal. Recent successes include, a directed verdict on behalf of a large energy defendant after two months of trial; a published appellate decision in a cross-border matter, upholding judgment in her client’s favor; a defense verdict in a product liability trial involving respirators; and a published appellate decision affirming her defense verdict in a trial that was selected by The Daily Journal as one of the "Top Defense Verdicts" of the year at the time she tried it.

Jayme authored the book, 2015 California Premises Liability Law, published by The Recorder, and she contributed to the 2013–2014 CACI Companion Handbook on jury instructions (Product Liability). Jayme frequently writes articles on a number of subjects including jury selection, millennial jurors, post-trial motions and cross-border discovery, and she regularly speaks at a national level on issues impacting product manufacturers and large premises owners.

Areas of FocusEnergy and Natural Resources Industrials Infrastructure, Construction and Transport Life Sciences Litigation, Arbitration and Investigations

Bar admissionsCalifornia

CourtsUnited States District Court for the Central District of CaliforniaUnited States District Court for the Eastern District of CaliforniaUnited States District Court for the Northern District of CaliforniaUnited States District Court for the Southern District of California

EXPERIENCE

Trial Experience

Trial Teams:

Serves as national trial team member for multiple Fortune 500 Companies in the areas of product liability and industrial premises liability

Representative trials:

Lead trial lawyer for Fortune 10 energy company in an 8 week wrongful death trial. Santa Monica, CA. Nonsuit/directed verdict in client’s favor (April-June 2023)
Large petrochemical companies: Lead trial lawyer in land-based refinery action, and federal maritime action. Alameda, CA, via Zoom (June 2022)
Lead trial lawyer in product liability action involving allegedly defective dental implants. Opponent’s causation expert excluded. San Francisco, CA (May 2021)
Lead trial counsel for major petrochemical company in cross-border maritime action. Los Angeles, CA (February 2020)
Lead trial counsel for elevator company where the plaintiff claimed she was permanently disabled due to malfunctioning equipment. Nonsuit/directed verdict in client’s favor. San Bernardino, CA (2019)
Lead trial lawyer for major oil company in coordinated litigation proceedings involving cross-border refinery workers. Multiple judgments following a bench trial were entered in client’s favor, all of which were upheld on appeal in published and unpublished decisions. Los Angeles, CA (2019-2021)
Co-lead trial counsel for large petrochemical company through successful jury verdict in Jones Act maritime case. Dallas, TX (2017)
Co-lead trial counsel for large petrochemical company in MDL maritime actions. Cleveland, Ohio (2016)
Co-lead trial counsel for respirator company in product liability trial. Tacoma, WA (2019)
Co-lead trial counsel in a multi-week product liability case where plaintiff claimed his cancer was caused by defective respirators. Jury verdict in client’s favor. Van Nuys, CA (2018)
Co-lead trial counsel for major oil company in premises liability case involving an overseas refinery. Santa Monica, CA (2017)
Lead trial lawyer on behalf of large manufacturer of homes in a product liability suit. Los Angeles, CA (2012)
Lead trial counsel in mesothelioma case involving automotive products. St. Paul, MN (2016)
Lead trial counsel for large construction contractor in wrongful death case. Long Beach, CA (2016)
Lead trial counsel for brake manufacturer in personal injury product liability suit. Alameda, CA (2015)
Lead trial counsel in premises liability action for major refinery owner. Chatsworth, CA (2015)
Lead trial counsel for petrochemical corporation in Petitpas v. Ford Motor Company, et al. Selected by the Daily Journal as one of the “Top Defense Verdicts” of the year. Los Angeles, CA (2012). Upheld on appeal in published decision (2017)
Lead trial counsel in product liability suit involving major 18-wheeler commercial trailer manufacturer. Providence, RI (2014)
Lead trial counsel for heavy equipment manufacturer in a wrongful death case where client was voluntarily dismissed during trial. Van Nuys, CA (2014)
Lead trial counsel for large oil corporation in premises liability case brought by refinery worker. Chatsworth, CA (2014)
Lead trial counsel for petrochemical company where client was dismissed as a matter of law on a finding of no duty. Torrance, CA (2014)
Trial counsel for mining company where judgment was entered in client’s favor. Torrance, CA (2013)
Trial counsel for large water pipe manufacturer in a product liability action. Los Angeles, CA (2011)
Co-lead trial counsel for a major contractor in personal injury action. Los Angeles, CA (2011)
Lead trial counsel for oil refinery in premises liability matter where plaintiffs’ causation expert was excluded. Nonsuit/directed verdict in client’s favor and affirmed on appeal. Los Angeles, CA (2010)
Trial counsel for major pipe producer in a living mesothelioma asbestos case. Los Angeles, CA (2010)
Trial counsel in a take-home exposure toxic tort case where judgment was entered in client’s favor, and plaintiffs’ appeal was voluntarily dismissed. Los Angeles, CA (2009)
Lead trial counsel defending petrochemical shipowner in a personal injury claim brought under the Longshore & Harbor Workers’ Compensation Act where plaintiff executed a dismissal with prejudice during his case-in-chief. Los Angeles, CA (2009)
Lead trial counsel for major refinery owner in premises liability action. Los Angeles, CA (2009).
Co-lead trial counsel for major water pipe manufacturer in wrongful death case. Los Angeles, CA (2008)
Trial counsel for pipe manufacturer in living mesothelioma asbestos case. Los Angeles, CA (2006)
Co-lead trial counsel defending a contractor in personal injury negligence action. Nonsuit/directed verdict entered in client’s favor. Los Angeles, CA (2004)
Trial counsel in construction-related product liability matter. Los Angeles, CA (2004)

Appeals and Writs:

Metzger v. Exxon Mobil Oil Corp. (plaintiffs’ petition for writ of mandate against client denied)
Debbie L. Viale v. ExxonMobil Corporation, et al. (affirmed in client's favor)
Sherry Irani et al., Plaintiffs and Appellants, v. ExxonMobil Corporation et al., Defendants and Respondents (affirmed in client's favor)
Gholam Khosravan, Second Appellate District Case (affirmed in client’s favor)
Sabetian, Second Appellate District Case No. B297107 (affirmed in client’s favor in published decision)
Pelitpas, Second Appellate District Case No. 8245037 (affirmed in client's favor in published decision)
Webster, WE. 5995928 (affirmed in client's favor)
Corrigan, Second Appellate District Case No. 8225869 (appeal dismissed by plaintiffs/petitioners)
Murat, B247889, 2015 WL 4744455 (Cal. Ct. App. Aug. 11, 2015), as modified (Aug. 18, 2015) (affirmed in client's favor)
Sarooie, Second Appellate District Case No. B259339

Education

J.D., Pepperdine University School of Law

B.S., San Diego State University

Awards

Bylines

PRESENTATIONS, SEMINARS AND PODCASTS

Presenter, Trial by Zoom: Lessons Learned. DLA Piper CLE webinar, July 20, 2022
Presenter, "Partnering with Your Mentor: The Shortcut to Success," Women Lawyers Association of Los Angeles, April 18, 2022
Presenter, "How to make effective opening statements and closing arguments," DLA Piper’s CLE, October 7, 2021, Los Angeles
How Covid-19 and Other 2020 Events Are Impacting, Jurors’ Views in Pharmaceutical and Medical Device Cases, CLE webinar, April 2020
Presenter, "Lessons from the Trenches: Client Engagement in our New Dynamic," Webinar, August 2020
Presenter, "Establishing, Growing and Maintaining a Book of Business," WomenLead Webinar, October 2019, Washington, DC
Co-chair and invited speaker, "State of the Market, American Conference Institute," May 2018, Chicago
Invited speaker, "Trial Technologies: Reaching Millennials and Beyond," Defense Research Institute (DRI) Asbestos Medicine Seminar, November 2017, Las Vegas
Invited speaker, "The Millennial Effect: How a Trial Lawyer Adapts to the New Age Juror," American Conference Institute, January 2017, Philadelphia
Panel speaker, "Inside the Millennial Mind: Effective Practices to Win Over the Next Generation Juror," Perrin Conference, September 2016, San Francisco
Co-chair and invited speaker, "Claims and Litigation Seminar," American Conference Institute, June 2016, Chicago
Panel speaker, "There and Back Again: Tales and Advice on How to Win Your Cases," Perrin Conference, March 2016, Los Angeles
Panel speaker, "Trying Cases Before New Age Jurors in the Digital World," Dentons CLE, January 2016, Los Angeles
Invited speaker, "Thinking Like a GC, Women Leaders in Environmental and Energy Law," November 2015, Houston
Co-chair and invited speaker, "Asbestos Claims and Litigation," American Conference Institute (ACI), June 2015, Chicago
Invited speaker, "Asbestos Claims and Litigation," American Conference Institute (ACI), January 2015, Philadelphia
Co-chair and invited speaker, American Conference Institute's 17th National Advanced Forum on Asbestos Claims and Litigation, June 2014, Chicago
Invited speaker, "Foreign Litigants and Cross Border Discovery," Product Liability Advisory Council (PLAC), October 2013, Las Vegas
Invited speaker, "Premises Liability and Take-Home Exposure," American Conference Institute (ACI), October 2013
Invited speaker, "California Trends and Update," American Conference Institute (ACI), June 2013, Chicago Invited speaker, "Premises Liability," Defense Research Institute (DRI), 2011
Invited speaker, "Trial Preparation," HarrisMartin Seminars, 2010