Robert Bonsignore began his career in the Office of the District Attorney for Middlesex County, Massachusetts. Since 1990 when he began his own law firm specializing in complex litigation and trial work, he has been lead trial counsel in cases with jury verdicts totaling in excess of $350 million dollars. Bonsignore has extensive experience in antitrust, consumer protection, complex litigation, class actions, multi-district litigation, Judicial Panel on Multi District Litigation proceedings, and commercial cases. He also has received significant jury verdicts in wrongful death and catastrophic injury cases.
Between 2001 and 2004, Bonsignore was appointed Lead Counsel in five separate certified class actions by the Chief Justice of the Business Litigation Session (BLS) for the Commonwealth of Massachusetts advancing claims raised pursuant of Massachusetts General Law 93A. All received Final Approval without appeal. Bonsignore was also appointed Lead or Co-Lead counsel in four other BLS certified class actions that received Final Approval. Bonsignore successfully argued the re-certification of the largest employment class action in Massachusetts’ history at the Supreme Judicial Court level. At the trial court level, Bonsignore presented the oral argument at the first contested consumer indirect purchaser monopolization class action to be certified pursuant to Mass. General Laws Chapter 93A. Bonsignore also expanded the right of Indirect Purchasers to pursue antitrust claims in New Hampshire though Supreme Court case law, and in Rhode Island through legistlation.
In cases pending in United States Federal Courts, Bonsignore has been appointed national Lead Counsel in 2 cases assigned Multi District Litigation status by the Judicial Panel on Multi-District Litigation. MDL 1631 consolidated all indirect purchaser anti-trust actions filed nationwide addressing price fixing in the Publication Paper Industry. M.D.L 1735 consolidated cases nationwide addressing Wage and Hour violations by Wal-Mart Inc. Both actions in which Bonsignore was appointed Lead Counsel were settled after being aggressively litigated and received Final Approval.
Bonsignore has served as a member of the American Antitrust Institute’s Board of Directors since 2009. The American Trial Lawyers Association has selected him as a peer reviewed “Top Trial Lawyer” each year since 2007. In 2010 he received the Outstanding Public Service Award from the Ipswich River Foundation. He is a 2010 graduate of the Gerry Spence Trial Lawyers College. (TLC) TLC admission is peer reviewed, competitive and limited.
Bonsignore was extensively involved in trial preparation in cases against tobacco manufacturers brought by public entities as well as private attorneys general and was counsel of record for the former Governor of California as well as Orange and Los Angeles counties.
Bonsignore is frequently requested to speak at Continuing Legal Education seminars across the country. He has lectured on topics ranging from antitrust to consumer advocacy and from trial techniques to ethics.
Bonsignore has successfully tried to verdict several high profile cases including cases selected by the Association of Trial Lawyers of America (ATLA) as the most outstanding jury verdicts of the year. Legal publications have featured Bonsignore’s success in first obtaining admissions of payoffs to medical reviewers in the Rezulin litigation. Bonsignore’s finding of Sulzer’s document destruction in the hip replacement litigation was publicized in the United States and Europe. His work on Sulzer hip litigation also merited a feature story in the European news magazine FACTS, where he was headlined as the “American Killer Lawyer.” Bonsignore is AV rated by Martindale Hubbell and was awarded Diplomat status by the National College of Advocacy. He has co-authored a trial techniques treatise, writing on Direct Examination for Lexus/Nexus.
Bonsignore is a past recipient of the Association of Trial Lawyers of America (ATLA) F. Scott Baldwin Most Outstanding Young Trial Lawyer in America Award that he received in 1997. He also is a seven-time recipient of the prestigious Wiedemann-Wysocki Citation of Excellence Award that is awarded by the trial bar (ATLA) to the most outstanding members of its ranks. In 1994, he received the Massachusetts Junior Chamber of Commerce Most Outstanding Young Leader Award, and in 1997 he was honored by the Massachusetts Bar Association with the Most Outstanding Young Lawyer Award. In 2005, Bonsignore was presented with the Joseph Tonihill award that is recognized as the most prestigious award presented by the Association of Trial Lawyers of America for consumer advocacy. Bonsignore is a Life Member of the Massachusetts Bar Foundation, National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, and the Association of Trial Lawyers of America (ret.) and the Spence Trial Lawyer College Ranch Club.
As a past Chair of the Association of Trial Lawyers of America, Young Lawyers Division, Bonsignore was credited with creating the practice of appointing one man and one woman representative wherever possible in each representative member state, province or country for the purpose of representing the interests of young lawyers to the bar. He created and instituted a program promoting local public service by young lawyers. In recognition of the nature and scope of this undertaking and its continued viability over time, each year, the Association of Trial Lawyers of America Young Lawyers Division, presented the Robert J. Bonsignore Public Service Award to a representative bar group that performs the most outstanding acts of public service.
Bonsignore previously served on the Boards of the non-profit Trial Lawyers for Public Justice and is a national officer for the Civil Justice Foundation. Bonsignore is a life member of the National Conference of Bar Presidents of the American Bar Association and has served on the Articles and Bylaws Committee since 1999. Bonsignore has previously served as a Consumer Advisory Commissioner for the Office of the Attorney General for the Commonwealth of Massachusetts and as an Assistant District Attorney for Middlesex County. Forbes Sky Radio as one of America’s Best Lawyers selected Bonsignore.
Bonsignore is frequently called upon to serve as counsel in team approach litigation because of his decade long experience and proven track record in Multi District Litigation. After establishing himself as a trial lawyer and working cooperatively in the Breast Implant litigation in 2000, Bonsignore was selected as the firm representative of Robinson, Calcagnie & Robinson to the “megafirm” of Herman, Middleton, Casey, Kitchens & Robinson (HMCKR). HMCKR formally brought together nationally top-ranked law firms to jointly prosecute MDL actions (multi-district class actions) and other complex litigation involving antitrust, unfair competition, and pharmaceutical matters. Other mega-firm members selected Bonsignore based on his skill, experience, work ethic accomplishment, and demonstrated ability to work cooperatively with co-counsel and opposing counsel on a multitude of projects.