Home > Attorney Profiles > Desmond T. Barry, Jr.


Desmond T. Barry, Jr.
Partner, New York


Direct: (212) 894-6770
Fax: (212) 894-6771
dbarry@condonlaw.com


Desmond T. Barry, Jr. joined Condon & Forsyth in 1973. He is a partner and a member of the Management Committee. Des concentrates in complex and multidistrict aviation, products liability and insurance litigation and has been lead counsel in several multidistrict aviation cases. In 1997 he was elected as a member of the Board of Directors of the International Association of Defense Counsel ("IADC") and has been a faculty member at the IADC National Trial Academy and Dean of the IADC Corporate Counsel College. Des is a Fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers and has published and lectured extensively on aviation law and trial practice. During the period from 1967 to 1970, he served as a combat officer in the United States Marine Corps.

He is admitted to the bar of New York (1974), the District Courts for the Southern and Eastern Districts of New York (1974), the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second, Third, Fifth, Ninth Circuits, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuits and the U.S. Supreme Court (1985).

Des is also a member of the International Association of Defense Counsel (Member, Executive Committee, 1997-2001; Dean, Corporate Counsel College, 2003; Chairman, Aviation and Space Law Committee, 1995-1997), the IADC Foundation (Board Member, 2001-2008), the Defense Research Institute, the Association of Insurance Attorneys, the Association of Defense Trial Attorneys, the American Arbitration Association, The Association of the Bar of the City of New York (Member, Aeronautical Committee, 1986- ), the New York State Bar Association and the American Bar Association (Chairman, Aviation and Space Law Committee, Tort and Insurance Practice Section, 1996-1997).

He is a graduate of Fordham University School of Law (J.D., 1973) and Princeton University (A.B., 1967).

Des has been honorably mentioned in Who's Who in America (1990-2005), the International Who's Who of Product Liability Defense Lawyers (1998-2005), Chambers USA America's Leading Lawyers for Business (2005-2008), and the Guide to the World's Leading Aviation Lawyers, 6th edition.



Published Works and Presentations: 

  • Speaker, Aviation Litigation Topics. Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University Worldwide Aviation Law & Insurance Symposium, Orlando, Florida (January 9-11, 2008).

  • Ethics in the Media; The Lawyer's Perspective.  Speaker at the ABA Aviation Litigation Seminar, New York (2003).

  • Liability Issues in a Codeshare Environment.  Speaker at the ABA Aviation Litigation Seminar, New York (2001).

  • Legislative Response to the September 11, 2001 Terrorism Attack on the United States: The Air Transportation Safety and System Stabilization Act. IADC Newsletter (Nov. 2001). (co-authors, Stephen R. Stegich, III and Noreen G. Carroll)

  • Handling the Media When Litigating A Major Aviation Disaster: The Defense Perspective.  Speaker at the ABA Aviation Litigation Seminar, New York (2000).

  • Litigating the Aviation Case From Pretrial to Closing Argument, second edition.  American Bar Association, 1998. (editor)

  • Recent Cases Under Article 17 of the Warsaw Convention Defining "Accident" and Bodily Injury. IADC Newsletter (July 2001).

  • The Pretrial Discovery Process: What to Expect and How to Protect Your Company.  Speaker at the DRI First Annual Conference for European Manufacturers and Insurers, Brussels, Belgium (1999). (co-speaker Christopher R. Christensen)

  • Recent Changes in the Warsaw Convention and Their Likely Effect on Airline Liability Claims.  American Bar Association (1998).

  • Recoverability of Pre-Impact Fear Damages in Aircraft Disaster Cases.  Defense Counsel Journal (April 1998).

  • Unlimited Liability: The New Ball Game in International Transportation By Air.  64 Defense Counsel Journal 381 (July 1997). (co-author Thomas Whalen)

  • A Practical Guide to the Ins and Outs of Multidistrict Litigation.  64 Defense Counsel Journal 58 (Jan. 1997).

  • Liability Evidence Issues in Aviation Trials.  Speaker at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University's 10th Annual Aviation Law and Insurance Symposium, Daytona Beach, Florida (1997).

  • Aviation Insurance.  New York Insurance Law (Chapter 46: 1995).

  • 100 Ways to a Better Closing Argument.  The Defense Research Institute Damages Seminar (March 1995).

  • Recoverable Damages in Wrongful Death Actions Governed by the Warsaw Convention.  (Feb. 1995).

  • A Trial Lawyer’s Tips on Dealing with the Suffering Client: A Defendant’s Perspective.  Speaker at the ABA National Institute on Litigation in Aviation, Washington D.C. (1995).

  • Foreign Corporations: Forum Non Conveniens and Change of Venue.   61 Defense Counsel Journal 543 (Oct. 1994).

  • Forum Non Conveniens: The Arguments for and Against Dismissal/ Transfer of the Foreign Corporation.  International Association of Defense Counsel (July 1994).

  • Certain Particulars of Article 8 of the Unamended Warsaw Convention and the Particular Specter of Potential Unlimited Liability  (June 1994).

  • The Proof of Foreign Damage Law Under the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure.  The Defense Research Institute Damages Seminar (March 1994).

  • Legal Issues Involved in Litigating with Foreign Corporations: A Defendant’s Perspective.  ABA National Institute on Litigation in Aviation (Oct. 1993).

  • The Defense Perspective on Handling Domestic and Foreign Claims Against an Airline.  Speaker at the Aviation Law Insurance Symposium, Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University (1993).

  • Conducting Depositions and Other Discovery in Foreign Jurisdictions.  Speaker at 15th Annual Aviation Law Seminar, The Florida Bar Trial Lawyers Section and Aviation Law Committee (November 1991).

  • Legal and Practical Considerations Involved in Conducting Foreign Discovery.  International Association of Defense Counsel, Open Forum Program (1991).

  • Punitive Damages in Domestic and Foreign Mass Disaster Cases -- The Defense View.  Speaker at the ABA Aviation in Litigation Seminar, Washington D.C. (1990).

  • Punitive Damages in Domestic and Foreign Mass Disaster Cases: The Defense View.  ABA National Institute on Litigation in Aviation (October 1990).

  • The Defense of Airlines in Major Air Crash Litigation.  Association of Defense Trial Attorneys (April 1989).

  • Solving Choice of Law Problems in Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act Cases.  Defense Counsel Journal (July 1988).

  • The Evolution of Warnings: The Liberal Trend Toward Absolute Product Liability.  20:1 The Forum (Fall 1984).

Past Positions:  United States Marine Corps, Captain (1967-1970); Trustee, Canterbury School, New Milford, CT (1970-1980); Member, Fordham Law School Advisory Committee.





Desmond T. Barry, Jr.
7 Times Square. New York, NY 10036
Phone: (212) 894-6770; Fax: (212) 894-6771
dbarry@condonlaw.com

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