Nicholas J. Wittner
Visiting Professor of Law
Law College Building
648 N. Shaw Lane Rm 352
East Lansing, MI 48824-1300
517-432-6997
wittner@law.msu.edu
Degrees
J.D. 1979, cum laude, Wayne State University Law School; B.S. 1975, with high honors, Michigan State University
Curriculum Vitae (PDF)
Bar Admissions
California, Michigan
Courses
Civil Litigation Practice and Procedure for Foreign Lawyers, Products Liability
Biography
Professor Nicholas Wittner served for 20 years as an assistant general counsel for the Nissan North America Legal Department. He headed the Legal Department's Product Group, which is responsible for the management of product liability litigation, product-related class actions, safety and environmental regulatory compliance matters, and patent litigation. He also advised engineers in the United States, Canada, Mexico, Europe, and Japan on safety compliance, as well as product safety and liability prevention.
Before his work at Nissan, Professor Wittner was an executive attorney at General Motors for 11 years, where he managed complex multi-district product liability litigation. He is one of the nation's leading experts on preemption in product liability cases.
His professional activities have included leadership positions with the ABA Section of Litigation, including co-chair of the ABA's Products Liability Committee. He is a member of the American Law Institute. Professor Wittner served on the Members Consultative Group for and was deeply involved in ALI's Restatement Third on Products Liability. He also was the Chair of the Product Liability Advisory Council. Professor Wittner has been a frequent speaker at ABA and other professional association conferences and authored numerous professional publications.
Professor Wittner also is a member of the Board of Advisers for the Bureau of National Affairs' Product and Safety Liability Reporter, the Class Action Reporter, and Leaders' Product Liability Law and Strategy.
He earned his undergraduate degree, with high honors, from Michigan State University, and graduated cum laude from Wayne State University Law School, where he was a member of the Wayne Law Review.
Professor Wittner teaches Product Liability Law and practice. He also teaches Civil Litigation for Foreign-Educated Lawyers in the Law College’s LL.M Program.