Carlton Fields Continues Minneapolis Growth With Product Liability Litigator Chris Fowlkes

MINNEAPOLIS, MN – Chris Fowlkes has joined Carlton Fields’ national Mass Tort and Product Liability Practice as a shareholder in Minneapolis. He was most recently a partner at Nelson Mullins Riley & Scarborough.

Fowlkes focuses his practice on product liability and commercial litigation, defending Global 500 companies in the medical device, pharmaceutical, automotive, chemical, and consumer products industries. He represents clients in high-profile product liability and multiparty commercial litigation matters nationwide and has significant experience in pattern and class action litigation. His practice also includes catastrophic personal injury, wrongful death, and property damage matters arising from alleged negligence, defective design or manufacture, and the maintenance, installation, or provision of products and services.

“Chris is a first-chair litigator with sophisticated trial experience and a passion for the law,” said Caycee Hampton, co-chair of Carlton Fields’ Mass Tort and Product Liability Practice. “His experience across a range of industries — particularly medical device and manufacturing — positions him to develop effective trial strategies in high-stakes matters. We are thrilled to welcome Chris to the firm and to our growing presence in Minneapolis.”

Carlton Fields opened its Minneapolis office last May with a team of trial lawyers including Jenny Covington, Molly Jean Given, David Carrier, and Jenna Durr. The office complements the firm’s nationally recognized product liability and class action practices in a key legal and business market in the Upper Midwest.

“I’m excited to join Carlton Fields and reunite with friends and colleagues I value and have worked closely with over the years,” said Fowlkes. “Carlton Fields is a leader in high-stakes product liability, mass tort, and class action litigation, serving market-leading and Fortune 100 clients. Not only have they built a deep bench of seasoned trial lawyers, but they are genuinely committed to diversity in the legal profession.”

Fowlkes earned his J.D. from the University of Minnesota School of Law and his B.A. from the University of Minnesota.

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