Shelby Roden LLC

Robert B. Roden

Shelby Roden LLC 2956 Rhodes Circle Birmingham, AL 35205-1343

Communication Center
Phone: (205) 933-8383
Fax: (205) 933-8386	Web site: http://www.shelbyroden.com

Current Employment Position(s):

Partner

Areas Of Practice:

Chemicals & Cosmetics

Class Actions

Hazardous Waste

Motor Vehicle Defects

Pharmaceutical Products

Wrongful Death — Plaintiff

Bar Admissions:

Alabama, 1974

U.S. District Court Northern District of Alabama, 1975

U.S. District Court Middle District of Alabama, 1994

U.S. District Court Southern District of Alabama, 1994

U.S. Court of Appeals 11th Circuit, 2000

Education:

Cumberland School of Law, Samford University, Birmingham, Alabama

J.D.

University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa, Alabama

B.A.

Professional Associations and Memberships:

          Birmingham Bar Association
          American Bar Association
          Alabama State Bar
          Alabama Trial Lawyers Association, 1984 – 1988
          Member, Executive Committee
          Association of Trial Lawyers of America

Fraternities/Sororities:

Phi Gamma Delta

Birth Information:

1948, Cullman, Alabama, United States

  Robert B. Roden is the senior managing partner of Shelby Roden LLC. Mr. Roden is a litigator with over 35 years experience in cases involving mass torts, class actions, products liability and personal injury/death. For the past decade, his practice has focused on chemical/toxic exposure cases and defective products litigation. He has tried more than one hundred cases to verdict and settled hundreds more.

  Mr. Roden has previously served on Litigation Steering Committees and acted as lead counsel in a number of complex mass tort, products liability and class action cases. He has extensive experience in litigating mass toxic exposure cases that have resulted in property damage, personal injuries and economic losses. Some of those cases include:

• The Tolbert PCB pollution litigation in Anniston, Alabama, which settled for in excess of $350 million. The case involved decades of pollution by Monsanto Chemical in the communities and waterways of Anniston, Alabama.
• Class counsel in a multi-million dollar class action against McWane Cast Iron Pipe Company concerning its pollution of the Village Creek watershed and adjacent properties in Birmingham, Alabama. 
• Member of the Plaintiff’s Coordinating Committee for MDL-1598, a multi-defendant MDL against ephedra manufacturers asserting claims for personal injuries and wrongful death caused by their products. Mr. Roden’s initial discovery against Metabolife and multi-million dollar verdict against that company, led to cooperation with Senator Richard Durbin that ultimately led to the ban of ephedra in dietary supplements.

  Beyond Mr. Roden’s legal work, he has also been active in charitable endeavors. Beginning in 1992, Mr. Roden played a key role in establishing the Alabama Civil Justice Foundation (ACJF), which serves as a source of grant funds to charitable organizations throughout Alabama. Working through the Alabama Trial Lawyers Association, he created the Foundation as a vehicle for the community to assist Alabama families and citizens in need. Grants awarded by the Foundation are funded from IOLTA (interest on lawyers’ trust accounts). Mr. Roden is Chairman Emeritus and an active member of the Foundation board.

  During the settlement discussion for the McWane Cast Iron Pipe class action, Mr. Roden negotiated the inclusion of funds dedicated to creating a park along Village Creek and continues as a member of the Village Creek Greenway Steering Committee, working with community leaders and other organizations on planning issues and additional fund raising for the project. 

  As part of the Tolbert PCB case noted above, a community medical clinic was created to treat citizens of the Anniston communities affected.  Mr. Roden, appointed liaison counsel, is a member of the West End Medical Clinic Board.