James H. Heller

Co-Chair, Commercial Litigation Department
Chair, Product Liability

Jim Heller is a nationally recognized product liability attorney with nearly 40 years of trial experience. He is co-chair of the Commercial Litigation Department, chair of the firm's Product Liability Practice Group, and a member of the firm's Management Committee and Board of Directors.

The focus of Jim’s preeminent product liability practice is defending single- and multi-plaintiff catastrophic personal injury and wrongful death claims. Jim has tried more than 60 cases to verdict or judgment and litigated hundreds of matters in state and federal trial and appellate courts across the country. His record of success representing companies faced with extraordinary liability, sympathetic plaintiffs, and intense media scrutiny places him squarely among top-tier defense counsel.

Jim serves as national trial counsel to two public corporations. In that role, he first-chairs all litigation and trials, coordinates national litigation strategy, advises on external communications and product manuals, and serves as liaison to regulators and policymakers.

In addition to his primary practice, Jim has deep experience litigating toxic tort class actions, complex commercial disputes, health care fraud, and intellectual property infringement claims.

He first joined Cozen O’Connor in 1985, when the firm still had fewer than 60 lawyers, and has played a central role in building Cozen O’Connor’s award-winning Commercial Litigation Department from the ground up. Jim was recently profiled in The American Lawyer’s “Litigation Leader” series, which featured practice leaders of the country’s biggest litigation firms.

Jim is a SuperLawyer, and ALM Top-Rated Lawyer. He is also a member of the Product Liability Advisory Council and Phi Alpha Delta, the largest professional law fraternity in the U.S.

Jim earned his Bachelor of Business Administration at the University of Michigan in 1982, and his J.D. at the University of Miami School of Law in 1985. 

Experience

News

Nearly 100 Cozen O’Connor Lawyers, 27 Practices Earn Top Recognition in Chambers USA 2024 Guide

June 10, 2024

Chambers USA rankings are based on an “assessment of a firm’s work and opinions from external market sources, with an emphasis on client feedback.” In order to be ranked in the guide, lawyers and firms must demonstrate “sustained excellence.”

Cozen O’Connor Public Strategies Names Tamara R. Hinton to Lead its Strategic Communications Practice

April 02, 2024

Tamara Hinton, who will lead Cozen O'Connor Public Strategies' Strategic Communications practice joins as senior principal and will be based in Washington, D.C.

Law360 Names Cozen O’Connor a Pennsylvania Powerhouse

August 23, 2023

Cozen O’Connor was previously named a Pennsylvania Powerhouse in 2022, 2018, and 2014.

Pennsylvania Powerhouse: Cozen O'Connor

September 12, 2022

Jim Heller, co-chair of the firm’s Commercial Litigation Department, was quoted in a Law360 article discussing Cozen O’Connor attorneys steering some of the most notable matters in Pennsylvania.

'Battle of the Experts': How J&J Won Its Talc Trial in Plaintiff-Friendly Philadelphia

September 28, 2021

Jim Heller was featured in an article published by The Legal Intelligencer, which discusses the J&J Talc trial in Philadelphia.

More Than 205 Cozen O’Connor Attorneys Named Best Lawyers and Ones to Watch By The Best Lawyers In America

August 19, 2021

Best Lawyers selected 210 Cozen O’Connor lawyers from 23 of the firm’s nationwide offices for inclusion in the 2022 edition of The Best Lawyers in America.

47 Cozen O'Connor Attorneys Named Pennsylvania Super Lawyers and Rising Stars

May 28, 2021

Super Lawyers has selected 47 Cozen O'Connor attorneys to the 2021 Pennsylvania Super Lawyers and Rising Stars lists.

Litigation Leaders: Cozen O’Connor’s Jim Heller on Building Trial-Ready Product Liability, White Collar and Class Action Teams

March 29, 2021

The American Lawyer profiled Jim Heller as part of its Litigation Leader series, which features the country's biggest firms' litigation practice leaders.

What to Know as Hurricane Sally Nears: Dangers and Realities of Portable Generators

September 14, 2020

Jim Heller was quoted in the Wall Street Journal discussing whether or not manufacturers will be held liable for any injuries or deaths during Hurricane Sally.

200 Cozen O’Connor Attorneys Named Best Lawyers and Ones to Watch By The Best Lawyers In America

August 20, 2020

Best Lawyers selected 200 Cozen O’Connor lawyers from 23 of the firm’s nationwide offices for inclusion in the 2021 edition of The Best Lawyers in America© (Copyright 2020 by Woodward/White, Inc., of Aiken, SC).

Fifty-Eight Cozen O'Connor Attorneys Named Pennsylvania Super Lawyers and Rising Stars

June 05, 2020

Super Lawyers has selected 58 Cozen O'Connor attorneys to the 2020 Pennsylvania Super Lawyers and Rising Stars lists.

64 Cozen O'Connor Attorneys Named Pennsylvania Super Lawyers and Rising Stars

May 21, 2019

Super Lawyers has selected 64 Cozen O'Connor attorneys to the 2019 Pennsylvania Super Lawyers and Rising Stars lists.

Fifty-four Cozen O’Connor Attorneys Named 2018 Pennsylvania Super Lawyers and Rising Stars

June 12, 2018

Super Lawyers has named 54 Cozen O'Connor attorneys to its 2018 Pennsylvania Super Lawyers and Rising Stars lists.

Publications

Lacrosse Equipment Manufacturers Facing Challenges [The Legal Intelligencer]

February 10, 2015

In an article titled ''Lacrosse Equipment Manufacturers Facing Challenges,'' James Heller, chair of Cozen O'Connor's Products Liability Practice Group, and Christopher Passavia, an associate in the Commercial Litigation Department, discuss the National Operating Committee on Standards for Athletic Equipment (NOCSAE) and their abrupt announcement in November 2014 that it had voided the manufacturer's certification of two of the nation's most popular lacrosse helmets (Cascade's R model and Warrior's Regulator model). The announcement quickly led to the filing of two putative class action consumer lawsuits against Cascade, one of which is pending in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, and a lawsuit by NOCSAE against Warrior in federal court in Missouri.

An Attack on Plaintiffs' Use of Consumer Complaints [The Legal Intelligencer]

February 11, 2014

In products liability actions, plaintiffs use prior consumer complaints as evidence that a defect existed or that the defendant ignored a known defect. Precluding these prior consumer complaints is important to the defense, because this evidence has significant potential to prejudice the jury and lead to the imposition of liability in cases where plaintiffs have failed to produce sufficient proof of a defect. For these reasons, defendants must challenge the admissibility of prior consumer complaints. Defendants should argue that the communications are not substantially similar to the facts, circumstances and defects claimed in the case at issue (and are, thus, not relevant), and are inadmissible hearsay.

Education

  • University of Miami School of Law, J.D., 1985
  • University of Michigan, B.A., 1982

Awards & Honors

Chambers & Partners USA: Litigation: General Commercial, 2024. This award is conferred by Chambers & Partners. A description of the selection methodology can be found here. No aspect of this advertisement has been approved by the Supreme Court of New Jersey.

ALM Top Rated Lawyer – Litigation

Pennsylvania Super Lawyer 2008-2021. This award is conferred by Super Lawyers. A description of the selection methodology can be found here. No aspect of this advertisement has been approved by the Supreme Court of New Jersey.

  • New Jersey
  • Pennsylvania
  • U.S. Bankruptcy Court -- Eastern District of Pennsylvania
  • U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit
  • U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit
  • U.S. District Court -- Eastern District of New York
  • U.S. District Court -- Middle District of Pennsylvania
  • U.S. District Court -- New Jersey
  • U.S. District Court -- Southern District of New York
  • American Bar Association
  • American Trial Lawyers Association
  • Defense Research Institute
  • New Jersey State Bar Association
  • Pennsylvania Bar Association
  • Philadelphia Bar Association
  • Product Liability Advisory Council, Inc.