Richard A. Daynard
University Distinguished Professor of Law and President, Public Health Advocacy Institute
Education
Harvard University, JD 1967
Columbia University, MA 1970
Massachusetts Institute of Technology, PhD 1980
Bio
Professor Daynard is at the forefront of an international movement to establish the legal responsibility of the tobacco industry for tobacco-induced death, disease and disability. He is president of the law school’s Public Health Advocacy Institute, chairs its Tobacco Products Liability Project and helped initiate its new Center for Public Health Litigation. Recently, he has worked with PHAI on issues involving obesity, gambling, opioids, gun control and e-cigarettes.
Professor Daynard has written or co-authored more than 90 articles. He teaches in the areas of public health law, strategic litigation and interdisciplinary studies, and has lectured about legal issues in the control of tobacco and obesity in 54 countries as well as chaired 25 national and international conferences on these subjects. Professor Daynard is frequently honored, most recently with Northeastern University’s Pioneer Award. In 2019, he received the Robert Morris, Sr. Award for Courage in Litigation from the Massachusetts chapter of the American Board of Trial Advocates (ABOTA).
Professor Daynard has been the principal investigator in grants and contracts from the National Cancer Institute, the Massachusetts Department of Public Health, the American Legacy Foundation and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. Professor Daynard’s academic interests currently center of the intersections among law, public policy and the behavioral sciences, and he teaches courses in the field both to law students and to undergraduate honors students.
Fields of Expertise
- Civil Liability
- Consumer Protection
- Health Law and Policy
- Law and Human Behavior
- Litigation
- Products Liability
- Public Health Law and Policy
- Public Interest Advocacy
- Torts
Selected Works
-
- “Casinos: An Addiction Industry in the Mold of Tobacco and Opioid Drugs,’’ 2021 University of Illinois Law Review 1711 (2021) (co-author).
- “We’re Part of the Solution”: Evolution of the Food and Beverage Industry's Framing of Obesity Concerns Between 2002 and 2012,” 105 American Journal of Public Health 228 (2015).
- “Commentary: Enough is Enough,” 36(2) Journal of Public Health Policy 150 (2015).
- “Tobacco Industry Use of Personal Responsibility in Public Relations and Litigation: Disguising Freedom to Blame as Freedom of Choice,” 105 American Journal of Public Health 250 (2015) (co-author).
- “Attitudes towards Electronic Cigarettes Regulation in Indoor Workplaces and Selected Public and Private Places: A Population-Based Cross-Sectional Study,” PLOS ONE (2014) (co-author).
- “Regulatory Approaches to Ending Cigarette-Caused Death and Disease in the United States,” 19 American Journal of Law and Medicine 290 (2013).
- “Beyond Cheeseburgers: The Impact of Commonsense Consumption Acts on Future Obesity-Related Lawsuits,” 68 Food and Drug Law Journal 229 (2013) (co-author).
- “How Smoking Became History: Looking Back to 2012,” 21 Tobacco Control 289 (2012).
- “How ‘Implied Express Preemption’ Happened, What It Means to Trial Lawyers, and Why It Matters,” 65 N.Y.U. Annual Survey of American Law 101 (2010).
- “Punishing Tobacco Industry Misconduct: The Case for Exceeding a Single Digit Ratio Between Punitive and Compensatory Damages” 67 University of Pittsburgh Law Review 1 (2006) (co-author).
- “How Tobacco-Friendly Science Escapes Scrutiny in the Courtroom,” 95 American Journal of Public Health (2005) 16 (co-author).
- “Private Enforcement: Litigation as a Tool to Prevent Obesity” (with Howard and Wilking), 25 Journal of Public Health Policy 65 (2004).
- “Lessons from Tobacco Control for the Obesity Control Movement,” 24 Journal of Public Health Policy 291 (2003).
- “Race, Poverty, and New Strategies to Control the Obesity Epidemic,” Poverty & Race (May/June 2003) (with Robbins and Parmet).
- “The New Public Health Litigation,” 12 Annual Review of Public Health 437 (January 2000) (co-author).
- “Accommodating Vulnerabilities to Environmental Tobacco Smoke: A Prism for Understanding the ADA,” 12 Journal of Law and Health 1 (1998) (co-author).
- “Blowing Smoke Out of the Workplace”, 32 Trial 24 (1996) (co-author).
- “Tobacco Products Liability Suits in Massachusetts - A Neglected Opportunity,” 1 Journal of the Massachusetts Academy of Trial Attorneys 50 (January 1994) (co-author).
- “Filter Tips: More Ways to Smoke the Tobacco Companies Litigation,” 25 Washington Monthly (18 January 1993).
-
- “Roles of Tobacco Litigation in Societal Change,” in Tobacco: Science, Policy and Public Health, 2nd Edition, ed. P. Boyle et al. (Oxford University Press, 2010).
- “Tobacco use-related diseases,” in Law in Public Health Practice, 2nd Edition, ed. R. Goodman et al. (Oxford University Press, 2006) (co-author).
- “Controlling Cancer by Suing Tobacco Companies: The Potential for India in the Light of the US Experience,” in Control of Tobacco-related Cancers and Other Diseases, International Symposium, ed. P. Gupta et al. (Oxford University Press, 1992).
-
- “The Dark Side of the US Sports Betting Boom,” The Financial Times (August 10, 2023).
- “Trump, Oceangate, Legacy Admissions and Much More,” WGN Radio 72o.
- “Law Professor Richard Daynard Says Oceangate Victims’ Families Have No Case to Sue,” Fox News (June 2023).
- “Tourist Sub’s Implosion Draws Attention to Murky Regulations of Deep-sea Expeditions,” Press Herald (June 23, 2023).
- “Titan’s Implosion Spotlights Murky Regulations of Deep-Sea Expeditions,” News Tribune (June 24, 2023).
- “Families of Titan Passengers May Be Able to Sue Despite Possible Waivers: Experts,” Chicago Popular (June 24, 2023).
- “What Role Will Liability Waivers Play in the Aftermath of the Titan Sub Tragedy?,” Spectrum News NY1 (June 24, 2023).
- “Was Oceangate Negligent? Why a Successful Lawsuit Against the Submersible Company Is Unlikely,” Northeastern Global News (June 22, 2023).
- “A Race to Keep Up – Or to the Bottom? Lottery Bets Big on $50 Scratch Ticket, Online Games,” CommonWealth (June 1, 2023).
- “Launch of Online Betting Creates Push for ‘Public Health Approach’ To Gambling Addiction,” Milford Daily News (May 24, 2023).
- “Ads for Sports Betting Have Been More Effective Than the Original Cigarette Campaigns, Northeastern Expert Says,” Northeastern Global News (May 19, 2023).
- “Mass. High Court Awards $37 Million in Cancer Suit Against Tobacco Maker Philip Morris,” WBUR (May 9, 2023).
- “SJC Rrules Philip Morris USA Must pay $37 Million to Newton Woman Who Developed Brain Cancer from Smoking,” The Boston Globe (May 9, 2023).
- “Massachusetts Makes a Losing Bet on Gambling,” The Boston Globe (August 15, 2022).
- “Recovering Gambling Addict Among Experts Who Say Massachusetts Legalizing Sports Betting Brings More Harm Than Good,” News@Northeastern (August 4, 2022).
- “Will the FDA’s Proposed Nicotine Regulation Spell the End for Smoking in the US?,” News@Northeastern (June 29, 2022).
- “Social Justice Claim is Big Tobacco's Smoke Screen in Menthol Regulation Battle,” News@Northeastern (May 3, 2022).
- “Scientists Object to Inclusion in Globe’s Philip Morris Ad,” CommonWealth (March 27, 2022).
- “Here’s How the $73M Sandy Hook Settlement Against a Gunmaker Could Prompt More Suits,” News@Northeastern (February 17, 2022).
- “Legal Legend Fights To Outlaw Tobacco as He Celebrates 52 Years at Northeastern,” News@Northeastern (January 31, 2022).
- “Human Behavior, Legal Doctrine and Policy Design,” Voices in Vulnerability Podcast (October 2021).
- “FDA Finally Moves to Ban Menthol Cigarettes,” The Boston Globe (April 29, 2021).
- “Tony Gwynn’s Family Sues Tobacco Industry, Seeking Recourse Over Fatal Habit,” The New York Times (May 23, 2016).
- “Cigarette smoking is a weapon of mass destruction,” Rappler (September 9, 2015).
- “These 26 states won’t let you sue McDonald’s for making you fat. The surprising consequence of banning obesity lawsuits,” The Boston Globe (May 28, 2015).
- “Group’s Lawsuits Aim to Boost Public Health,” The Boston Globe (April 12, 2015).
- “Evidence of harmful products target our rationality, our decisions are rarely such,” Dnevnik (March 19, 2015).
- “There's More to Tobacco Cases than Engle,” Daily Business Review (December 30, 2014).
- “Did Crazy Luck Help Cigarette Makers Sidestep These Gruesome Warning Labels?” Mother Jones (September 29, 2014).
- “Big Tobacco Firm Faces Big Payout,” News@Northeastern (July 24, 2014).
- “Experts Increasingly Contemplate End of Smoking,” The Washington Post (February 27, 2014).
Richard A. Daynard
University Distinguished Professor of Law and President, Public Health Advocacy Institute