John M. Restaino Jr.
John M. Restaino, Jr. practiced reconstructive surgery of the foot and ankle in Orange County, California before getting his law degree in 1986. John earned a Bachelor of Science Degree from Farleigh Dickinson University in New Jersey, where he graduated cum laude in 1974. He then earned a medical degree in podiatric medicine (D.P.M.) in 1978 from California College of Podiatric Medicine in San Francisco, California, and a Juris Doctorate in 1986 from Western State University in Fullerton, California. Dr. Restaino recently completed a Masters Degree in Public Health from the Department of Epidemiology at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, the number one ranked School of Public Health in the country.
John's legal career has been spent working on medical malpractice and mass tort litigation, including Breast Implant, Diet Pill (Fen-Phen), Propulsid®, Rezulin®, phenylpropanolamine (PPA), Ortho Evra birth control patch, Vioxx and Zyprexa®. He is the chair or co-chair of the national Science and Expert Witness Committees for each of these national litigations. John is recognized nationally as one of the best when it comes to grasping and putting together the science needed to prevail in mass tort cases, and in getting world class experts to testify on behalf of the Mass Tort clients. John's experience in the Diet Pill Litigation led to a book chapter in Alicia Mundy's "Dispensing with the Truth" about his experience with rat hearts in France and cardiotoxicity.
In addition to his position as Clinical Instructor in Orthopedics at the University of Southern California from 1982-1986, he was the Director for the Podiatric Surgical Residency Program at Circle City Hospital, 1982-1985; an Oral Examiner for the American Board of Podiatric Surgery in1988 and a Special Investigator/Consultant to the California Board of Medicine, 1986-1990. Dr. Restaino chaired the Diet Pill Multidistrict Litigation Generic Expert Witness Committee; was Co-Chair for the Propulsid Multidistrict Litigation Science Committee, Rezulin Multidistrict Litigation Science Committee, PPA Multidistrict Litigation Science Committee, Vioxx Multidistrict Litigation Science Committee and the Zyprexa Multidistrict Litigation Science Committee.
He is a nationally recognized speaker and is frequently invited to chair conferences focused on mass tort litigation. He is listed in Best Lawyers In America and has received a multitude of other honors and accolades.
John holds a black belt in Kenpo Karate and a 2nd degree Black Belt in Shuri-Itasu Karate. Dr. Restaino placed 1st for his age division in Black Belt Heavyweight Division for Kenpo Karate, Continuous Sparring at both the 2004 and 2005 Kenpo Karate Long Beach Internationals. He is also a member of the National Association of Underwater Instructors (NAUI) and was an instructor in Diving Medicine at NAUI College, Laguna Beach, CA.
Dr. Restaino was selected by members of the national legal community as one of the 2009 Best Lawyers in America for Mass Tort Litigation; Dr. Restaino was also selected in this category in 2008. Best Lawyers publishes a book each year listing those individuals who are recognized as professionals who continue their education in an effort to stay current in their chosen profession and continue to distinguish themselves among their peers. The book is considered to be, professionally, the definitive guide to legal excellence in the United States. Dr. Restaino was chosen as a member of this distinguished group because he has displayed an exemplary commitment to his profession, his community and to his clients.
Carlsbad, California 92008
