W. Gordon Hamlin, Jr. is a litigation partner who concentrates in antitrust, toxic tort, environmental and general commercial litigation. He clerked for a year on the U.S. Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals and joined Powell Goldstein in 1979.  He has tried some 30 cases before juries.

He has practiced in the field of antitrust for nearly thirty years and tried three cases to jury verdicts.  Between 1989 and 1998, Mr. Hamlin represented the Commonwealth of Kentucky and 118 school districts in antitrust litigation against dairy processors and distributors.  Of the three separate cases in Kentucky, two were tried to a conclusion.  Eventually, the Commonwealth recovered approximately $17.5 million dollars in those lawsuits, more than any other state in similar litigation.  Mr. Hamlin also represented the states of Georgia, Alabama and Mississippi, which collectively recovered more than $10 million.  He was responsible for all aspects of these cases, including the expert witnesses in economics, statistics and econmetrics.

In the toxic tort and environmental arenas, Mr. Hamlin has represented clients in litigation involving toxic substances such as dioxin, 2,4-D, 2,4,5-T, methylamines, and dinitrotoluene.  Two of these successful, lengthy toxic tort trials were featured in the ABA Journal and the National Law Journal, as among the top five defense verdicts of the year in which those cases were tried.  He has represented a major chemical company in long-running CERCLA litigation.  In connection with these cases, Mr. Hamlin has worked extensively with nationally recognized experts in such fields as toxicology, neurotoxicology, mechanisms of cancer causation and epidemiology.

Mr. Hamlin’s practice has been nationwide.  He has tried cases in North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Arkansas, and California.  He has litigated in numerous other states, with those cases eventually being settled or dismissed.