Investigating Witnesses, Parties, and Jurors Online: Ethics Lines and Courtroom-Ready Evidence

Christopher G. Campbell, Partner | DLA Piper

Christopher G. Campbell is a partner at DLA Piper, where he chairs the firm’s Product Liability and Mass Torts group and co-chairs its Product Liability, Mass Torts & Class Actions group. Drawing on 25 years of experience across every phase of mass tort, class action, and complex product liability litigation, he serves as global, national, and trial counsel for major companies in the pharmaceutical, medical device, automotive, industrial equipment, healthcare, consumer goods, and safety equipment industries, and advises on regulatory, communications, and other strategic matters affecting clients’ business interests and reputations. He writes and speaks regularly on digital evidence, expert witnesses, the attorney-client privilege, trial tactics, and class action trends.

• Education & Credentials

Chris earned his J.D. from Harvard Law School in 2000, where he served on the Harvard Negotiation Law Review, the International Law Journal, and the Civil Rights-Civil Liberties Law Review and participated in the Ames Moot Court Competition. He holds a B.S. in Philosophy and English from Austin Peay State University (1997), which named him Outstanding Young Alumnus of the Year in 2002. He is admitted to practice in Georgia and New York.

• Recognition & Leadership

Chris is ranked by Chambers USA for Nationwide Product Liability & Mass Torts (Band 5, 2025; Band 6, 2023–2024) and is recognized by The Legal 500 United States as a Leading Lawyer in pharmaceutical and medical device product liability defense (2023–2025), with additional recommendations spanning consumer products, toxic tort, automotive, and general commercial disputes. Forbes recognized him as “best in state” in Georgia — the only product liability lawyer in the state to receive the recognition. He has been selected for inclusion in Best Lawyers for Mass Tort Litigation/Class Actions and Product Liability Litigation – Defendants (2023), is a Fellow of the Litigation Counsel of America, and was named a Distinguished Adviser in Financier Worldwide’s Power Players: Product Liability 2023 guide. He received the Defense Research Institute’s G. Duffield Smith Outstanding Publication Award. The practice group he chairs was named Law360 “Practice Group of the Year” in 2025 and holds Band 1 (Chambers) and Tier 1 (The Legal 500) group rankings.

• Professional Involvement

Chris serves as Publications Vice-Chair of the DRI Drug and Medical Device Steering Committee and served on the Law360 Product Liability Editorial Board (2022–2023). His memberships include the American Bar Association, the New York State Bar Association, the Georgia Bar Association, the Defense Research Institute, Lawyers for Civil Justice, the International Association of Defense Counsel firm profile reads “International Associated of Defense Counsel”], and the US Chamber of Commerce. His pro bono work includes serving as lead trial counsel for the NAACP and other plaintiffs in the housing discrimination lawsuit Fair Housing in Huntington Committee v. Town of Huntington (E.D.N.Y. 2014).

• Experience

Chris is lead global strategic and coordination counsel for Bayer in a mass tort involving a contraceptive medical device spanning five continents and more than a dozen countries, in which the defense has a near-100% success rate with more than 150 favorable findings, including a complete defense judgment after a class action trial in the Supreme Court of Victoria in Melbourne, Australia. He is national trial counsel for Hankook Tire, with product liability trials in Arkansas, Missouri, North Carolina, Tennessee, and Virginia (see, e.g., Cone v. Hankook Tire, Case No. 14-CV-01122 (E.D. Tenn.)); lead national counsel for Bayer in the phenylephrine multi-district litigation, dismissed in full on federal preemption grounds (In re Oral Phenylephrine Marketing and Sales Practices Litigation, 2024 WL 4606818 (E.D.N.Y. Oct. 29, 2024)); lead counsel for Novo Nordisk in product liability litigation involving alleged insulin pen sharing at a Connecticut hospital; global and national counsel for Bayer in Mirena product liability and class action matters, with complete dismissals in California, Washington, and China; and counsel to Pfizer in the Depo-Provera multi-district litigation (In re Depo-Provera (Depot Medroxyprogesterone Acetate) Products Liability Litigation, Case No. 25-md-3140 (N.D. Fla.)). He is co-author of the book Expert Witnesses in Product Liability Cases and of “Turning the Tables: Strategies for Discovering and Using Plaintiffs’ Digital Information in Mass Torts” (DRI, October 2024), and his recent speaking engagements include “Digital Evidence at Trial: Mastering Impeachment Strategy and Admissibility Before You Step Into the Courtroom” (myLawCLE, April 2, 2026) and “Digital Evidence & Technology in Mass Tort Litigation” (DLA Piper CLE Program, December 10, 2025).

Sarah Carrier, Associate | DLA Piper

Sarah Carrier is an associate at DLA Piper in Atlanta, where she practices product liability, mass tort, and commercial litigation with a focus on pharmaceutical and consumer products. She represents companies in global, national, and transnational matters, advising clients at all stages of litigation and in government enforcement actions, regularly serves on trial work-up teams for product manufacturer clients, and has argued before state, federal, and bankruptcy courts. Before joining DLA Piper, Sarah was in-house counsel for a large retail corporation, managing lawsuits throughout the Northeast United States; she began her legal career at the U.S. Department of Commerce in Washington, D.C.

• Education & Credentials

Sarah earned her J.D. from Georgetown University and her B.B.A., magna cum laude, from the University of Georgia, and holds a Mediator License from the Georgia Office of Dispute Resolution. She is admitted to the Georgia bar and practices before all Georgia state courts, the United States District Court for the Northern District of Georgia, and the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit.

• Recognition & Leadership

Sarah has been recognized as a Rising Star in the area of Business Litigation and serves as Chair of the Georgia Asian Pacific American Bar Association’s Women’s Leadership Network, where she has moderated programming including “Spotlighting Diversity Within Diversity” (October 2024).

• Professional Involvement

Sarah is a member of the National Asian Pacific American Bar Association, the National Filipino American Lawyers Association, the Georgia Asian Pacific American Bar Association, the Leadership Council on Legal Diversity, and the Georgia Asylum and Immigration Network. Her pro bono work includes drafting a brief to the U.S. Supreme Court in support of amici curiae state court judges seeking petitioner relief under the Antiterrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act, and she regularly works with immigrants seeking permanent residence in the United States.

• Experience

Sarah writes and speaks frequently on digital evidence, expert admissibility, and class action topics. Her publications include “Five Tips for Litigators: Collecting Plaintiffs’ Social Media” (American Bar Association, July 24, 2023); “Turning the Tables: Strategies for Discovering and Using Plaintiffs’ Digital Information in Mass Torts” (Defense Research Institute, October 2024); “Guest Post – More on Defense E-Discovery of Health-Related Data from Plaintiffs’ Devices” (Drug & Device Law, February 20, 2025); “Federal Rule of Evidence 702 Amendments Take Effect: What Litigators Need to Know” (November 30, 2023); and “Snap Removal: The What, When, How, and Why of Removing to Federal Court Before a Defendant is ‘Properly Joined and Served’” (American Bar Association, January 19, 2024). Her presentations include “Turning the Tables” (DRI Drug and Medical Device Dialogues, December 11, 2024); “Risks to Waiving Attorney-Client Privilege Using Newer Technologies, Shared Collaboration Platforms and Artificial Intelligence: What Every Attorney Needs to Know” (Federal Bar Association, June 2024); “Voir Dire and Jury Selection in Georgia, Written and Unwritten Rules” (New Business Institute, November 2023); and “Excluding Epidemiological Evidence Under FRE 702 in Toxic Tort, Medical Device, and Pharmaceutical Cases” (Strafford Webinar, March 2023).

SESSION 1 – Finding Information on Witnesses, Parties, and Jurors Without Crossing Ethics Lines | 1:00pm – 2:00pm

This session examines the ethical framework governing attorneys who research witnesses, opposing parties, and jurors using online and social media sources. Attorneys will learn where the bright lines fall under Model Rules 1.1, 3.5, 4.2, 4.3, and 8.4, how jurisdictions diverge on platform-generated notifications and AI-assisted research, and what practical steps prevent sanctions, disqualification, and verdict reversal. Attendees will leave with a jurisdiction-sensitive protocol for online investigation from jury selection through trial.

BREAK | 2:00pm – 2:10pm

SESSION 2 – Preserving and Admitting Social Media and Internet Evidence at Trial | 2:10pm – 3:10pm

This session covers the evidentiary and procedural framework for preserving, authenticating, and admitting social media and internet evidence at trial. Attorneys will work through FRE 901 authentication standards and the jurisdictional split in their application, the self-authentication mechanism under FRE 902(14), spoliation duties and sanctions exposure, forensic capture best practices, and the emerging deepfake challenge. Attendees leave with a practical workflow for moving social media evidence from collection through courtroom admission—and with the tools to anticipate and defeat opposing challenges.