Dr. Zal Phiroz
Office: 619-940-4087
Dr. Phiroz is a nationally recognized expert witness specializing in product liability, manufacturing defects, and supply chain failures. He provides expert testimony in cases ranging from individual product defect claims to mass tort and class action litigation, representing both plaintiffs and defendants in matters involving product recalls, quality assurance failures, supply chain disruption, causation analysis, and regulatory compliance.
At Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG), Dr. Phiroz held senior leadership roles driving transformative supply chain initiatives overseeing demand forecasting, supply chain infrastructure, and recall analysis. He currently holds faculty positions at Harvard University and Michigan State University, teaching undergrad/grad courses in supply chain and operations management. In 2023, he was appointed as a Fellow at Harvard University (Inclusive Practice Fellowship).
As a retained testifying expert, Dr. Phiroz has provided expert testimony in federal and state courts nationwide in cases of all sizes, from individual injury claims to complex multi-party litigation involving Fortune 100 manufacturers, warehouses, 3PLs, retailers, and distributors. He has been qualified as an expert witness under Federal Rules of Evidence 702 in multiple jurisdictions and has extensive experience in deposition, trial testimony, mediation, and arbitration proceedings.
Areas of Expert Testimony:
Product Liability & Defect Claims: Manufacturing and design defects, and failure-to-warn claims involving consumer products. Analysis of manufacturing standards, product recalls, quality assurance protocols, and product usage testing under various product safety guidelines including ISO 9001, FDA, CPSC, WHO, CFR.
Supply Chain Negligence & Breach of Duty: Determination of inventory damages across the supply chain including warehouses, distribution centers, third-party logistics (3PL) providers, and retail operations. Assessment of labeling, warnings (including California Proposition 65), and standard of care violations.
Economic Damages & Business Interruption: Analysis of supply chain design, demand forecasting failures, disruption throughout the supply chain.
Dr. Phiroz holds a PhD in Supply Chain Management, an MBA, and two undergraduate degrees in Computer Science. He has authored numerous influential articles on global supply chain issues and has been quoted in various media publications including Wired magazine. His latest book, Perspectives of Supply Chain Competitiveness - A Handbook, was re-released in 2024. In 2025, Dr. Phiroz was featured in an ASCM supply chain documentary on Amazon Prime.
- Import/Export
- Logistics/Freight Forwarding
- Mass Torts
- Packaging
- Personal Injury
- Products Liability
- Retail Store Design & Operations
- Risk Management
- Supply Chain
- Warehouse Operations
- Q: Please list your professional accreditations, degrees, licenses, and certificates granted:
- A: - PhD, University of Cape Town (Hierarchical Decision Making Patterns for the Placement of Physical Supply Chain Entities), 2017
- MBA, Wayne State University (International Marketing), 2005
- BS (Hons), University of Windsor, 2004
- BCS, University of Windsor, 2003 - Q: Please list your affiliations or memberships in any professional and/or industry organizations:
- A: - Inclusive Practice Fellowship, Harvard University, 2023
- CIPM, International Purchasing and Supply Chain Management Institute, 2016
- Q: Please list any teaching or speaking experience you have had, including subject matter:
- A: Faculty roles held at Harvard, MSU (previously USC, UCSD, UCLA). A list of industry presentations/publications, media appearances/quotes and academic publications are available upon request.
- Q: Have any of your accreditations ever been investigated, suspended or removed? (if yes, explain)
- A: No.
- Q: On how many occasions have you been retained as an expert?
- A: 42
- Q: For what area(s) of expertise have you been retained as an expert?
- A: - Product design, manufacturing, quality/safety testing, warehouse, distribution, storage and quality assurance evaluation.
- Evaluation of contracts, performance metrics, consumer behavior, supply chain design, demand forecasting and projection, across supply chain channels (e.g. supplier, manufacturer, distributor, wholesaler, warehouse, 3PL, retail).
- Assessment of packaging and labeling standards for tangible products. Evaluation of ISO 9001 standards, cold chain protocol.
- Assessment of product recall processes. - Q: In what percentage of your cases were you retained by the plaintiff?
- A: 55%
- Q: In what percentage of your cases were you retained by the defendant?
- A: 45%
- Q: On how many occasions have you had your deposition taken?
- A: 23
- Q: When was the last time you had your deposition taken?
- A: 2025
- Q: On how many occasions have you been qualified by a court to give expert testimony?
- A: 23
- Q: On how many occasions have you testified as an expert in court or before an arbitrator?
- A: 2
- Q: For how many years have you worked with the legal industry as an expert?
- A: 8
- Q: What services do you offer? (E.g.: consulting, testing, reports, site inspections etc.)
- A: - Expert testimony at deposition, trial, arbitration, mediation.
- Written expert reports.
- Q: What is your hourly rate to consult with an attorney?
- A: Fee schedule available upon request. Please contact me directly.
- Q: What is your hourly rate to review documents?
- A: Fee schedule available upon request. Please contact me directly.
- Q: What is your hourly rate to provide deposition testimony?
- A: Fee schedule available upon request. Please contact me directly.
- Q: What is your hourly rate to provide testimony at trial?
- A: Fee schedule available upon request. Please contact me directly.
- Q: Please list any fees other than those stated above (E.g.: travel expenses, copy fees, etc.)
- A: All travel and misc. expenses are billed at cost.
Andrew B. Goodman
Novian & Novian LLP
agoodman@novianlaw.com
(310) 553-1222
Andrew Danas
Grove, Jaskeiwicz and Cobert, LLP
adanas@gjcobert.com
(202) 416-0219
Mikalia M. Kott, Esq.
Herman, Herman & Katz, LLP
mkott@hhklawfirm.com
(504) 581-4892