Roger is a seasoned trial lawyer and legal executive with more than 25 years of experience trying cases and leading high‑stakes commercial, product liability, medical malpractice, and complex litigation matters for corporate clients across the manufacturing, healthcare, transportation, lodging, and food industries. He brings a unique dual perspective to his practice, having served both as lead trial counsel in dozens of jury trials and as chief legal officer of a multibillion‑dollar company responsible for enterprise risk, compliance, and crisis management.
Roger most recently served as senior vice president and chief legal officer of a privately held, $3 billion North American food manufacturer with more than 12,000 employees and operations across the United States and Canada. In that role, he built and led the company’s legal department, advised the board of directors and executive leadership team, and guided the company through complex regulatory matters, government investigations, workforce restructuring, and a successful Chapter 11 reorganization. He regularly partnered with business leaders on cybersecurity, employment law, commercial transactions, supply‑chain issues, product recalls, and crisis response, positioning legal as a strategic business partner while significantly reducing risk and outside counsel spend.
Before serving as chief legal officer, Roger spent decades in private practice as a litigation partner at nationally recognized trial firms, where he served as lead counsel in more than 40 jury trials in state and federal courts. He has extensive experience defending high‑exposure matters, including catastrophic injury and wrongful death claims, toxic tort litigation, complex medical malpractice actions, and multidistrict and multi‑jurisdictional disputes. He is known for his deep command of technical and medical issues, disciplined trial strategy, and ability to resolve matters efficiently while protecting client reputation and long‑term business objectives.
Roger earned his J.D., cum laude, from Suffolk University Law School, where he was a member of the Suffolk University Law Review. He also holds an M.B.A. in finance and international business from the University of South Carolina and a B.S. in marketing from Auburn University.