Podcasts about yvonne godfrey

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Best podcasts about yvonne godfrey

Latest podcast episodes about yvonne godfrey

The Great Trials Podcast
DelCampo, Grayson & Lopez | Ramirez v. Avalon Mobile Home Park | $31 Million

The Great Trials Podcast

Play Episode Listen Later Apr 29, 2025 76:08


In this episode of the Great Trials Podcast, hosts Steve Lowry and Yvonne Godfrey discuss the case of Ramirez v. Avalon Mobile Home Park with guests Tony DelCampo, Randy Grayson, and Dax Lopez from DGL Attorneys At Law. Remember to rate and review GTP on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or your favorite platform. --- Case Details: "After a one-week trial, a jury returned a verdict of $31 million for the wrongful death of Israel Ramirez. Mr. Ramirez was living with his sister and brother-in-law at Avalon Mobile Home Park. Avalon had experienced multiple crimes in the years before Israel's death. While home from work for lunch, Israel and his sister saw a thief stealing his car from his home. Israel reacted quickly and confronted the thief, who shot and killed him. Avalon failed to have reasonable security in place to protect its residents from foreseeable crimes. At trial, Avalon tried to blame Israel for his own death, claiming he should not have reacted to the theft of his vehicle. The defense claimed Israel acted unreasonably for defending his property. Our firm introduced evidence that the husband of Avalon's property manager had left his own home to confront trespassers with a loaded gun on a previous occasion, contrasting the defense's blaming Israel while celebrating a different resident who survived a similar encounter. After hearing from Israel's family members, including his children, the jury determined the value of his lost life, pain and suffering and awarded $31 million against Avalon Mobile Home Park." (Source)  --- Guest Bio: Tony DelCampo J. Antonio DelCampo, an esteemed attorney and former State Court Judge in DeKalb County, brings a wealth of experience and a track record of success to his practice. Known for his adept handling of complex cases, Tony has presided over high-profile matters, including civil claims stemming from the Brian Nichols courthouse shooting case, intricate medical malpractice suits, and product liability trials with significant verdicts, including one of the largest in the state's history. Read Full Bio Guest Bio: Randall D. Grayson Randall Grayson is an experienced litigator and trial lawyer. He is a founding member of the firm and has been with DGL since 2013. He began his practice in Georgia at Alston & Bird, one of the largest law firms in the country. Over the years, he has represented individuals, businesses, executives, and workers in a wide variety of cases and has tried several different lawsuits to successful jury verdicts. Read Full Bio Guest Bio: Dax López For nearly 11 years, Dax served as a judge on the State Court of DeKalb County where he presided over hundreds of jury trials in complex criminal and civil matters. As only the second Hispanic judge on a court of record in the history of Georgia, Dax was known to be an efficient, fair, and just jurist who earned the respect of lawyers and litigants alike. Now as a trial lawyer, Dax uses his perspective as a former judge to fight for his clients, many of whom have been injured because of the negligence of others. Dax has been able to utilize the skills he learned while serving as a judge to obtain significant verdicts in the courtroom. Read Full Bio --- LINKS FROM THE EPISODE: DGL Attorneys on Facebook DGL Attorneys on Instagram DGL Attorneys Website --- Check out previous episodes and meet the GTP Team: Great Trials Podcast --- Show Sponsors: Legal Technology Services  Harris Lowry Manton LLP - hlmlawfirm.com Production Team: Dee Daniels Media Podcast Production

The Great Trials Podcast
Sagi Shaked | Tyler v. Gibbs & Register, Inc. | $12.24 Million

The Great Trials Podcast

Play Episode Listen Later Apr 15, 2025 51:05


In this episode of the Great Trials Podcast, hosts Steve Lowry and Yvonne Godfrey are joined by renowned Miami lawyer Sagi Shaked. They delve into a significant wrongful death case Shaked successfully tried in 2017, resulting in a $12,240,000 verdict. Remember to rate and review GTP on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or your favorite platform. --- Case Details: "After a 4-day trial, we obtained a $12,240,000.00 verdict on behalf of a family that lost their mother as a result of a tragic head-on automobile collision. The trial team consisted of Sagi Shaked, Joel Roth, Manny Lorenzana and Iury Carvalho. Unfortunately, Roitiki Tyler only got to see her star athlete son play one college game. Tyler was accompanied by her 11-year-old, who flew from Florida to Iowa to watch Devontre Tyler play middle linebacker in a Saturday game in November 2014. The following night, Tyler was driving home when a Ford F-150 truck hit them head-on at 65 mph. The mother of two died. Her young son survived his mother without physical injuries, but whose subsequent emotional traumatization led a jury to award them with $12.24 million." (Source) (More Coverage on Case Details) --- Guest Bio: Sagi Shaked As an experienced Miami personal injury lawyer, Sagi Shaked actively litigates cases involving catastrophic injuries and wrongful death on behalf of victims and their families. These cases include car accidents, product liability, medical negligence and malpractice, nursing home abuse and neglect, trucking accidents, industrial manufacturers, insurance disputes, premises liability, drowning accidents, airline accidents, burn-related accidents, and others. Sagi Shaked has been practicing law since 2000 and went on to found the successful Shaked Law Personal Injury Lawyers in 2007, where he became one of the Top 100 Trial Lawyers in the United States as named by the American Trial Lawyers Association. This highly coveted honor was bestowed upon Mr. Shaked for his exemplary legal expertise, compassion for his clients, and consistently recovering multi-millions of dollars in damages for those he represents.  Read Full Bio --- LINKS FROM THE EPISODE: Shaked Law Firm on Facebook Sagi Shaked on LinkedIn Shaked Law Firm on Instagram Shaked Law Firm on YOUTUBE --- Check out previous episodes and meet the GTP Team: Great Trials Podcast --- Show Sponsors: Legal Technology Services  Harris Lowry Manton LLP - hlmlawfirm.com Production Team: Dee Daniels Media Podcast Production

The Great Trials Podcast
Michael Lyons and Chris Simmons | Robert and Virginia Rymers v. CPS Energy | $109.5 Million

The Great Trials Podcast

Play Episode Listen Later Apr 1, 2025 84:00


In this episode of The Great Trials Podcast, hosts Steve Lowry and Yvonne Godfrey discuss the case of Robert and Virginia Rymers vs. CPS Energy with trial lawyers Mike Lyons and Chris Simmons of Lyons & Simmons. Remember to rate and review GTP on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or your favorite platform. --- Case Details: The case involves a devastating natural gas explosion in a San Antonio home that resulted in severe burn injuries to Robert and Virginia Rymers. The gas lines had not been properly maintained or inspected by CPS Energy. The defense argued it was not a natural gas explosion, positing alternative theories. However, the jury sided with the plaintiffs, resulting in a $109.5 million verdict. (Source) --- Guest Bios: Michael Lyons Michael Lyons is one of the founding partners of Lyons & Simmons and concentrates his practice on representing plaintiffs in catastrophic personal injury and wrongful death cases as well as “bet the company” complex business disputes. Lyons has a national reputation for achieving outstanding results for his clients by displaying a mastery of the facts and law while utilizing creativity, tenacity, and cutting-edge technology. Over the past 25+ years of practice, Lyons has tried cases to juries, judges, and arbitrators throughout the state of Texas and all over the country. In the process, Lyons has obtained verdicts, awards, and settlements totaling over a billion dollars on behalf of his clients—many involving high profile, high exposure matters. Lyons has extensive trial experience in cases involving catastrophic personal injuries, wrongful death, and product liability. Lyons' cases are as diverse and extensive as his approach to his cases. He has handled cases involving: brain and spinal cord injuries, electrocutions, aviation disasters involving helicopters and airplanes, trucking accidents, construction site accidents, industrial accidents, motor vehicle products liability, pharmaceutical, and medical device products liability, large business disputes involving breach of contract, fraud, and breach of fiduciary duties, medical malpractice, high profile contract disputes involving college football coaches and celebrities, and fire and explosion cases. Read Full Bio --- Guest Bios: Christopher Simmons Chris Simmons is one of the founding partners of Lyons & Simmons. He focuses his practice on representing plaintiffs in catastrophic personal injury and wrongful death cases. He has developed a reputation as a highly-skilled warrior who combines a tireless work ethic with a creative and innovative approach to achieve results for the people that matter most—his clients. Simmons treats his clients' problems as his own. Simmons wants his clients to know that he will stand up for them against their opponents. Anytime. Anywhere. Simmons is a firm believer that results speak louder than words and with that mindset he pursues justice for his clients. His pursuit of justice has resulted in him trying cases to verdict throughout the state of Texas and obtaining multimillion-dollar results for his clients in states across the country. Simmons, along with firm Co-Founder Michael Lyons, has assembled a team of lawyers that has been consistently recognized as leaders in their field. Simmons and his team have recovered hundreds of millions of dollars in judgments, awards, and settlements on behalf of their clients. Read Full Bio --- LINKS FROM THE EPISODE: Lyons & Simmons on Facebook Lyons & Simmons on LinkedIn Lyons & Simmons on Instagram --- Check out previous episodes and meet the GTP Team: Great Trials Podcast --- Show Sponsors: Legal Technology Services  Harris Lowry Manton LLP - hlmlawfirm.com Production Team: Dee Daniels Media Podcast Production

The Great Trials Podcast
Philip Sieff and Tara Sutton | McDougall v. CRC Industries | $7.75 Million

The Great Trials Podcast

Play Episode Listen Later Feb 18, 2025 58:35


In this episode of The Great Trials Podcast, hosts Steve Lowery and Yvonne Godfrey welcome guests Tara Sutton and Philip Seiff from Robbins Kaplan LLP. The discussion centers on the significant legal case, McDougal vs. CRC Industries, which resulted in a $7.75 million verdict (later over $10.5 million after post-judgment adjustments).    Remember to rate and review GTP on Apple Podcasts: Click Here to Rate and Review   Case Details: The Robins Kaplan trial team secured a groundbreaking $7.75 million verdict against CRC Industries, Inc., a manufacturer of aerosol dust remover products. This is believed to be the first known case against a dust remover manufacturer that has been tried to a plaintiff verdict. The litigation stemmed from a tragic vehicle crash in 2019 where the client's wife was killed after her car was struck by a driver who was impaired from huffing CRC Duster. Inhaling this product can cause dramatic impairment effects from the chemical used as a propellant.  The case focused on the well-known abuse of aerosol dust remover products, such as CRC Duster, and CRC Industries' responsibility for the foreseeable consequences of their products' misuse. (Source)   Guest Bio: Tara Sutton Tara Sutton, chair of Robins Kaplan's National Mass Tort Group, has built a distinguished career in mass tort litigation and is renowned for her dedicated, unyielding commitment to justice. Her career has been marked by steadfast advocacy, and an unrelenting pursuit for accountability over corporate misconduct. Tara stands out as the embodiment of legal excellence representing individuals, governments, and Tribal Nations harmed by defective products or corporate negligence. Her legal acumen and tenacity is evident as she navigates the complex landscape of mass torts — including cases involving defective products, dangerous pharmaceutical drugs, and faulty medical devices. Read Full Bio Philip Sieff Trial lawyer Phil Sieff battles for justice when wrongdoers cause serious injury or death. Intense and relentless, he helps clients find the courage they need to face those who have hurt them. He has significant experience representing families coping with the wrongful death of a loved one, particularly a child, having handled hundreds of wrongful death cases. He has particular experience in complex and high-profile cases, including: the I-35W Bridge Collapse (lead co-counsel of I-35W Consortium, a group of 17 law firms that provided legal services to over 100 collapse victims); the Red Lake High School Shooting; and the Holidazzle Parade Disaster. Read Full Bio Links: Robins Kaplan on Facebook Tara Sutton on LinkedIn Philip Sieff on LinkedIn Robins Kaplan on X Check out previous episodes and meet the GTP Team: Great Trials Podcast   Show Sponsors: Harris Lowry Manton LLP - hlmlawfirm.com Production Team: Dee Daniels Media Podcast Production Free Resources: Stages Of A Jury Trial - Part 1 Stages Of A Jury Trial - Part 2

The Great Trials Podcast
Mel Orchard | Donald Clark v. State of Iowa | $12 Million

The Great Trials Podcast

Play Episode Listen Later Jan 21, 2025 64:46


GTP hosts Steve Lowery and Yvonne Godfrey delve into the riveting case of Donald Clark vs. the State of Iowa with guest Mel Orchard from the Spence Law Firm. They explore the wrongful conviction of Donald Clark, a school counselor accused of sexual assault in 2009, and the subsequent legal malpractice case against his public defender for inadequate representation. The discussion highlights the significant emotional and physical toll on Clark during his six and a half years in prison, the courtroom strategies employed, and the eventual $12 million verdict for emotional distress.   Remember to rate and review GTP in iTunes: Click Here to Rate and Review   Case Details: The case revolves around a legal malpractice action against a state public defender, who represented a client convicted of sexual abuse. The client, Donald Lyle Clark, was convicted and sentenced to prison. The conviction was affirmed on appeal. However, in postconviction proceedings, the court determined that Clark's defense counsel had provided ineffective assistance and ordered a new trial. The state declined to prosecute, and Clark filed a civil action for legal malpractice against the state as the lawyer's employer. The district court granted partial summary judgment, holding that the finding of ineffective assistance in the postconviction proceedings established counsel's negligence as a matter of law. The jury found the lawyer negligent and awarded Clark $12 million in emotional distress damages. The Supreme Court of Iowa reversed the judgment for emotional distress damages. The court clarified that to recover emotional distress damages for legal malpractice, the plaintiff must prove more than negligence. The court held that the plaintiff must prove by a preponderance of clear, convincing, and satisfactory evidence that the criminal defense attorney acted with willful and wanton disregard for the client's rights or safety. The court concluded that the district court erred by instructing the jury that negligence was sufficient. The case was remanded for further proceedings consistent with this opinion. (Source)   Guest Bio: Mel Orchard Mel Orchard is a trial lawyer, trying cases in the courtrooms across America, for the past 27 years. Mel has litigated and/or tried hundreds of cases in his career and has recovered hundreds of millions of dollars in settlement and verdicts for his clients. During his trial career, Mel has been a part of record-breaking civil jury verdicts in various jurisdictions (Wyoming, Arizona, and Iowa). He has also devoted significant time to pro bono work through Lawyers and Advocates for Wyoming, and many local and national charities. In addition to preparing for trial or being in trial, Mel was a senior faculty member and board member at the Trial Lawyer's College in Wyoming and was recently selected to join the Board. Mel also lectures and presents to various legal organizations throughout the country including Bar Associations, Leadership Organizations and has taught Judicial Ethics to various groups of judges. He was Chairman for the Wyoming Commission for Judicial Conduct and Ethics where he served as a member for six years after appointment. Read Full Bio   Links: The Spence Law Firm on Facebook: Spence Law Firm Check out previous episodes and meet the GTP Team: Great Trials Podcast   Show Sponsors: Harris Lowry Manton LLP - hlmlawfirm.com   Free Resources: Stages Of A Jury Trial - Part 1 Stages Of A Jury Trial - Part 2

Lessons from Leaders with Brian Beckcom
Piracy, Kidnapping, & The Most Famous Case of the Past 20 Years: A Discussion of the Captain Phillips Case

Lessons from Leaders with Brian Beckcom

Play Episode Listen Later Sep 13, 2023 63:14


Piracy, Kidnapping, & The Most Famous Case of the Past 20 Years: A Discussion of the Captain Phillips Case I was recently a guest on the “Great Trials” podcast. Great Trials is a wonderful podcast hosted by Steve Lowry and Yvonne Godfrey in which they discuss in details some of the most famous trials in the country. In this episode, we delve into the infamous Captain Phillips case. When the U.S. merchant ship the Maersk Alabama was hijacked by armed Somali pirates, it made worldwide news. When American Navy Seals rescued the crew, that also made national news. And when Tom Hanks made a movie about Captain Richard Phillips, the Hollywood publicity machine ensured that the situation was broadcast all over the world for years. Brian Beckcom and his law firm, VB Attorneys, uncovered the real story of Captain Phillips, including reckless conduct, negligent orders, and disregarding the directives of the United States Government and other Western powers. This is the true story of Captain Phillips, told by Brian Beckcom, the lawyer who represented the crew against Captain Phillips and the negligent shipping company, the lawyer who ultimately forced the companies to settle with his clients after years of denying any responsibility.  And now I give you, the true story of the Maersk Alabama, told by the lawyer who won the case.

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The Great Trials Podcast
GTP Classic: Michael A. Kelly | Loren Kransky v. DePuy Orthopaedics, Inc. | $8.3 million verdict

The Great Trials Podcast

Play Episode Listen Later Jun 20, 2023 65:34


This week we're replaying a classic episode where your hosts Steve Lowry and Yvonne Godfrey interview Michael A. Kelly of Walkup, Melodia, Kelly & Schoenberger (https://www.walkuplawoffice.com)   Remember to rate and review GTP in iTunes: Click Here To Rate and Review   Episode Details: Accomplished California personal injury lawyer Michael A. Kelly, a shareholder at Walkup, Melodia, Kelly & Schoenberger and recent Trial Lawyer Hall of Fame inductee, shares how he secured justice for the first of thousands of victims of a defectively designed medical device. On December 5, 2007, U.S. Air Force veteran Loren "Bill" Kransky underwent hip surgery in Montana, receiving a DePuy ASR Acetabular Hip System orthopedic implant. DePuy, a subsidiary of Johnson & Johnson, first put the ASR Acetabular Hip System on the market in Europe in 2004, and soon after began receiving notifications from prominent surgeons that the device was flawed. Despite receiving these notifications, DePuy continued to market the metal implant as a low-wear product that required only one surgery and failed to report product issues to American doctors. On August 4, 2010, a recall was issued and the Depuy ASR Acetabular Hip System was labeled as defective, but the damage was already done for millions of patients, including Loren. Following the recall, Loren underwent revision surgery to have the implant removed because it was shedding metal debris into the tissue of his hip and bloodstream. In March 2013, a Los Angeles jury returned a verdict in favor of Loren, awarding $8,338,136.12 in damages for the pain caused by the defective design and ultimately helping to facilitate a $2.5 billion national settlement for all victims.  Click Here to Read/Download Trial Documents   Guest Bio: Michael A. Kelly Mike Kelly is one of the nation's top personal injury attorneys. For four decades he has protected consumers from corporate greed, medical mistakes, dangerous household products, unsafe medical devices, and motor vehicle accidents of every kind. He has tried, settled, and arbitrated more than 200 cases where the recovery by his client exceeded $1 million. In 2020 he helped negotiate the multibillion-dollar resolution of the 2017 California wildfire lawsuits brought against utility giant PG&E. Before that, his $8.341 million verdict in the first DePuy ASR/Johnson & Johnson metal-on-metal artificial hip litigation helped produce a $2.5 billion national settlement for all victims. In 2021 Mike was the number one vote-getter for the second year in a row on the 2021 list of Northern California “Super Lawyers”. A member of the prestigious Inner Circle of Advocates, Kelly was also included on the “Top 10” and “Top 100” list of lawyers in Northern California for the 18th time, as well as being selected by Best Lawyers to its prestigious roster for the 20th consecutive year. Recognized for his leadership in some of the most significant consumer protection cases in our state, Kelly made the list of the Los Angeles Daily Journal's 2021 Top Plaintiff Lawyers and was inducted into Lawdragon's Hall of Fame for his many years of pro-consumer successes, most recently demonstrated by his role in the litigation against the giant utility PG&E for the damage caused by the 2017-2018 Northern California wildfires and the devastating Butte County Camp Fire. When resolution by mediation or settlement fails, Kelly is ready to take his clients' cases before juries. Recent trials have produced a $4 million jury verdict against the Golden Gate Bridge Highway and Transportation District for the death of a pedestrian struck by one of its buses, a $5.6 million jury verdict against a Super Shuttle driver for the death of a retired restaurateur, a $12.75 million recovery against a domestic automaker(auto rollover), a $10.5 million settlement for the wrongful death of a single mother, and a major 8-figure confidential settlement against Kaiser Health Plan for a catastrophically injured infant. His $8.35 million verdict on behalf of a construction worker who lost an arm showed his skill in work-site injury cases. His $23.2 million jury verdict in a birth injury medical malpractice case in Minnesota ranks among that state's largest verdicts for obstetrical injury. Beyond stellar results for his clients, Kelly is proud of his many contributions to the legal community. He is a speaker for 360 Advocacy for whom he chairs its annual Trucking Litigation program. He teaches regularly for NITA, The Rutter Group, ABOTA, the Consumer Attorneys of California, AAJ, SFTLA, and the Bar Association of San Francisco. He served for 10 years as the Director of Teacher Training programs for the National Institute of Trial Advocacy and remains a member of its Board of Governors. He has long been active in protecting the rights of the underrepresented, working for pedestrian and bicyclist safety, lobbying for compensation fairness for medical malpractice victims, and protecting the rights of the LGBT community. Read Full Bio   Show Sponsors: Legal Technology Services - LegalTechService.com Digital Law Marketing - DigitalLawMarketing.com Harris Lowry Manton LLP - hlmlawfirm.com   Free Resources: Stages Of A Jury Trial - Part 1 Stages Of A Jury Trial - Part 2

The Great Trials Podcast
GTP CLASSIC: Kila Baldwin | Ebaugh v. Ethicon Women's Health and Urology | $57.1 million verdict

The Great Trials Podcast

Play Episode Listen Later Dec 27, 2022 77:29


This week we're replaying a classic episode where your hosts Steve Lowry and Yvonne Godfrey interview Kila Baldwin of Kline and Specter, PC (https://www.klinespecter.com/)   Remember to rate and review GTP in iTunes: Click Here to Rate and Review   Episode Details: A Philadelphia attorney with a strong track record leading complex cases against medical device manufacturers, Kila Baldwin of Kline and Specter, PC discusses the high-profile trial in which she represented Ella Ebaugh, a woman who sustained lifelong injuries due to defective transvaginal mesh implants designed by Ethicon, a subsidiary of Johnson & Johnson. In her 40s, Ella was diagnosed with stress urinary incontinence, which caused her bladder to leak unexpectedly. She was implanted with a TVT-Secur and TVT sling and later endured three mesh removal surgeries because the mesh had eroded into her bladder and urethra. Today, Ella is incontinent, wears adult diapers and suffers from frequent urinary tract infections. Using Ethicon and Johnson & Johnson's actions against them, including statements made in internal emails, Kila Baldwin was able to successfully persuade the Philadelphia jury to decide in favor of Ella. In 2017, the jury returned a verdict of $7.1 million in compensatory damages and $50 million in punitive damages, citing Ethicon and Johnson & Johnson's negligent design of the products and willful disregard for patient safety. View/Download Trial Documents   Guest Bio: Kila Baldwin Kila B. Baldwin, a partner at Kline & Specter, has been involved in a number of the firm's high-profile cases, including as lead counsel in trials that resulted in verdicts of $80 million, $57.1 million and $41 million against Johnson & Johnson in transvaginal mesh cases.  Baldwin was selected as a Pennsylvania Super Lawyer for 2019 and 2020. From 2011-2018 she was named a Pennsylvania Super Lawyer — Rising Star and for 2014-2019 as a New Jersey Super Lawyer -- Rising Star, designating her as among the top 2.5 percent of attorneys in the two states who are 40 or younger. She also was selected for the 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020 and 2021 editions of the peer-review publication Best Lawyers in America. In her latest major case, Baldwin in February 2020 achieved a $12.75 million settlement with a medical device manufacturer, Monteris Medical Inc., whose NeuroBlate Sidefire broke during surgery and caused brain damage to the patient. (Read article) Prior to that case, Baldwin obtained a $75 million settlement in a wrongful death case, the largest pre-trial settlement in a case in Pennsylvania history.  In May 2019, Baldwin was co-counsel in a six-week trial that resulted in an $80 million jury verdict against Johnson & Johnson subsidiary Ethicon Inc. for a Media, Pa., woman injured by a surgically implanted vaginal mesh device. The verdict in Philadelphia Common Pleas Court included $50 million in punitive and $30 million in compensatory damages, making it the country's largest compensatory award to date in a vaginal mesh case. (Read article) A few months earlier, Baldwin won a $41 million verdict -- including $25 million in punitive damages – against a J&J for a Lancaster, Pa., woman who suffered permanent injuries from a vaginal mesh device designed and marketed by a company subsidiary. (Read article) In late 2017, Baldwin won a major jury verdict against J&J for a Pennsylvania woman injured by a vaginal mesh device made by the company's Ethicon Inc. subsidiary. The award included $7.1 million in compensatory and $50 million in punitive damages for the behemoth drug and device maker's reckless behavior in selling the defective product implanted in women across the country.  (Read article) The verdict was featured on the BBC program Panorama. In earlier cases, Baldwin was co-counsel in two trials that resulted in verdicts of $12.5 million and $13.5 million for two other women injured by the surgically implanted vaginal mesh products. (See the Hammons and Carlino cases.) Read Full Bio Here   Show Sponsors: Legal Technology Services - LegalTechService.com Digital Law Marketing - DigitalLawMarketing.com Harris Lowry Manton LLP - hlmlawfirm.com   Free Resources: Stages Of A Jury Trial - Part 1 Stages Of A Jury Trial - Part 2

The Great Trials Podcast
GTP CLASSIC: Jim M. Perdue, Sr. & Jim M. Perdue, Jr. | Alexander v. Battaglia et. al. | $3.6 million verdict

The Great Trials Podcast

Play Episode Listen Later Dec 20, 2022 97:31


This week we're replaying a classic episode where your hosts Steve Lowry and Yvonne Godfrey interview Jim M. Perdue, Sr. and Jim M. Perdue, Jr of Perdue and Kidd (https://www.perdueandkidd.com/).    Remember to rate and review GTP in iTunes: Click Here to Rate and Review   Episode Details: Texas trial lawyers Jim M. Perdue, Sr. and Jim M. Perdue, Jr. -- Perdue & Kidd's father-and-son trial team -- take a look back at the first case they ever tried together. Listen as this accomplished trial team explains how they secured justice for the wrongful death of a patient who died as a result of the negligence of a nurse anesthetist during routine orthopedic surgery. In September 1997, 40-year-old Mark Alexander was scheduled to undergo arthroscopic surgery on his right shoulder, but the anesthesiologist left him in the hands of an inexperienced nurse anesthetist, who failed to provide Mark with adequate ventilation during the surgery and neglected to record Mark's heart rate for 17 minutes. As a result, Mark was deprived of adequate blood flow to the brain for 10 to 14 minutes and remained in a coma for two weeks before passing away on October 3, 1997. Involved in the case while Mark was still in a coma, Jim M. Perdue, Sr. was able to collect powerful pieces of evidence he presented at trial: phone recordings and messages from Mark's family. In spite of the defense's attempts to cast blame on the other anesthesiologists and professional associations named in the lawsuit or to distance themselves from having any role in Mark's medical care, the father-and-son legal team was able to hold the doctors accountable for their contribution to Mark's substandard care and proximate cause of death. Jim M. Perdue, Sr. and Jim M. Perdue, Jr. strategically engaged the jury's senses with impressive storytelling and by sharing a visual timeline of the tragic events, a video of Mark languishing in a coma and the hard data comparison of the anesthetist's records versus the medical equipment records. In October 1999, a Harris County, Texas jury unanimously found the four defendants negligent and awarded $3.6 million in damages to Mark's wife and surviving parents.  View/Download Trial Documents   Guest Bios: Jim M. Perdue, Sr: Jim M. Perdue, Sr. is Of Counsel to Perdue & Kidd. Mr. Perdue received both his Bachelor of Science cum laude and his Juris Doctorate cum laude from the University of Houston. Mr. Perdue has had over five decades of success in securing substantial and in some cases unprecedented multi-million dollar verdicts and recoveries for his clients. He has lectured across the country, speaking before law schools, scientific associations, medical groups, bar associations, trial lawyer organizations, and colleges of advocacy, delivering over 400 presentations on topics including the substantive law of malpractice and product liability, professional responsibility, rules of evidence, the psychology of jury persuasion, special issue submission, and trial strategy and technique. He has authored texts and treatises on the substantive law of medical malpractice and product liability. The appellate courts of Texas have often cited his books, law review, and law journal articles. Moreover, numerous appellate opinions in cases he has prosecuted have pioneered the way for today's victims of negligence, defective products and corporate indifference. In 1989, Forbes magazine dubbed Mr. Perdue “King of the Malpractice Lawyers.” He has been a trailblazer in plaintiffs' litigation for the past fifty plus years. He is one of the most well-known medical malpractice and product liability trial lawyers in Texas. Read Full Bio Here Jim M. Perdue, Jr: Jim M. Perdue, Jr. is a named partner at Perdue & Kidd, with a national practice focusing on trying lawsuits, from cases involving defective medical products and pharmaceutical liability claims to catastrophic injuries of all types. He is Board Certified in Personal Injury Trial Law by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization and Medical Professional Liability by the American Board of Professional Liability Attorneys. He currently serves on the Rules Advisory Committee of the Texas Supreme Court.  Jim Perdue Jr. is both an Advocate in the American Board of Trial Advocates and Fellow in the International Society of Barristers. Mr. Perdue is listed among the “Top 100 Attorneys in Texas” in Texas Monthly by Thomson Reuters, where he has been named a “Texas Super Lawyer” since the award was created 11 years ago. He is also named in “The Best Lawyers in America” (Woodward/White 2006-15) for Plaintiff's Personal Injury practice. Jim Perdue Jr. has tried over 30 personal injury cases to jury verdict, including multi-million dollar verdicts for cases involving pharmaceutical liability, workplace injury, and medical malpractice. This includes his $27.6 million dollar verdict against Boston Scientific, listed as one of the largest product liability verdicts of 2014 by the National Law Journal. Jim Perdue Jr. has spoken at over 100 legal seminars and published on a wide range of topics, from trial techniques to tort law. He has made appearances on Good Morning America, Court TV, and local television as a legal commentator on civil justice legislation, automotive safety, and product liability law. Jim Perdue Jr. r attended the University of Texas and graduated summa cum laude. He then received his J.D. cum laude at the University of Houston Law Center and was named their Outstanding Alumnus of the Year in 2006. He is Past-President of the Houston Trial Lawyers Association, Past-Chair of the Professional Negligence Section of the Association of Trial Lawyers of America, a member of Leader's Forum of American Association for Justice, a fellow of the Texas and Houston Bar Foundations, and a member of the College of the State Bar of Texas. The Houston Young Lawyers Association honored Jim Perdue Jr. with the Woodrow B. Seals Outstanding Young Attorney Award in 2002. Mr. Perdue serves on the Boards of TIRR Foundation, which is the charitable research arm of TIRR Hospital in Houston, Texas, St. Paul's United Methodist Church Foundation (Houston); and the Silver Spurs Alumni Association. Jim Perdue Jr. is a past director of the Texas Lyceum and Past President of the University of Houston Law Center Alumni Organization. He and his wife Nicole have three sons. Read Full Bio   Show Sponsors: Legal Technology Services - LegalTechService.com Digital Law Marketing - DigitalLawMarketing.com Harris Lowry Manton LLP - hlmlawfirm.com   Free Resources: Stages Of A Jury Trial - Part 1 Stages Of A Jury Trial - Part 2

The Great Trials Podcast
GTP CLASSIC: Joseph Preiser, Katrina Taraska & Ian Alexander | Estate of Sabanovic v. City of Chicago | $13.89 million verdict

The Great Trials Podcast

Play Episode Listen Later Dec 13, 2022 101:41


This week we're replaying a classic episode where your hosts Steve Lowry and Yvonne Godfrey interview Ian Alexander, Katrina Taraska, and Joseph Preiser of Goldberg & Goldberg (https://www.chicagomedicalmalpracticefirm.com/).   Remember to rate and review GTP in iTunes: Click Here to Rate and Review   Episode Details: Chicago trial lawyers Ian Alexander, Katrina Taraska, and Joseph Preiser of Goldberg & Goldberg share how they successfully represented 25-year-old model Irma Sabanovic's grieving family after Irma drove her car over an unmarked curb and drowned in the Chicago River. In May 2011, Irma drove her Ford Focus to Goose Island to pick up her boyfriend from a late-night performance at a nightclub and got lost on a dead-end street bisected by the Chicago River. Due to the City of Chicago's failure to maintain barriers or provide warnings to motorists --despite knowledge of a similar incident that occurred more than a decade earlier -- Irma unknowingly drove her car over the curb and into the water. After an extensive search, her body was discovered nine days later in her vehicle. At trial, the defense attempted to blame Irma for her own wrongful death, insinuating she was drunk, driving impaired, and not paying attention. In May 2016, a Cook County, Illinois jury awarded Irma's family $13,890,000 in damages, delivering the #6 verdict in Illinois in 2016.  View/Download Trial Documents   Guest Bios: Katrina M. Taraska Originally from the East Coast, Katrina M. Taraska grew up in a family of seven in Peoria, Illinois. Her mother was a language teacher proficient in French, Italian and Spanish who devoted her time to the enrichment of the lives of her students while teaching at area schools. Her father, a dedicated pathologist, was one of the four original founders of the Midwest affiliate of St. Jude Children's Hospital, which provides care to children with childhood diseases. Unique to Ms. Taraska's chosen career in personal injury law, she was the victim of a propane gas explosion, in which a commercial building collapsed on her, her mother, her brother, and a close family friend. The explosion left Taraska with extensive second and third-degree burns early in her life. She was hospitalized for 3 months, during which she underwent skin grafting of her arms, legs, hands, and chest. Incredibly, a year prior to the explosion, Ms. Taraska's father and a reconstructive surgeon opened the only downstate burn unit in Peoria where she was successfully treated despite the severity of her burns. It is this life-changing event that has played a significant role in Ms. Taraska's career of representing the injured. After graduating from law school Ms. Taraska has successfully represented clients and their families in complex litigation. In 1995, Katrina Taraska began practicing law in downstate Illinois where she grew up. In 2000 she became a partner with a Peoria law firm where she enjoyed the privilege of advocating for her clients in their respective claims for personal injuries, medical negligence, worker's compensation, and employment discrimination. She frequently appeared before the Circuit Court of Peoria County, Illinois, the Illinois Department of Human Rights, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, the Social Security Administration, the Department of Employment Security, and in the United States District Court for the Central District of Illinois. In 2009, Ms. Taraska joined the Chicago law firm of Goldberg & Goldberg, where she continued her professional experience as a Plaintiff's lawyer in tort litigation. As a focus of her practice, she concentrates on representing individuals and their families in catastrophic medical malpractice and wrongful death claims. Her cases have involved spinal cord injuries, brain injuries, complications from surgical procedures, cardiovascular injuries, birth injuries, interventional radiology, infections, negligence in the diagnosis and treatment of injuries involving alleged abuse and neglect, gynecological and obstetric injuries, and products liability cases. Ms. Taraska also represents individuals involved in transportation accidents (railroad grade crossings, motor vehicle accidents, and semi-truck collisions), as well as premises liability claims, and injuries from assault, battery, and false imprisonment. Throughout her career, Ms. Taraska has been active in professional organizations including the Peoria County Bar Association, the Illinois Trial Lawyers Association, the American Inns of Court (Abraham Lincoln Chapter), the National Employment Lawyers Association, and the Chicago Bar Association. She has been a guest writer for the Peoria Woman Magazine and enjoys mentoring younger lawyers in their professional endeavors. Ms. Taraska is a member of the Catholic Church and is active in the service of those individuals in need in the local community. Read Full Bio   Ian R. Alexander Mr. Alexander concentrates his practice on representing the victims of catastrophic injuries in the areas of medical malpractice and complex personal injury litigation. Mr. Alexander first joined Goldberg & Goldberg in 1999 and became a partner in 2004. Mr. Alexander has tried to verdict and/ or settled numerous medical malpractice, product liability, aviation, railroad, construction negligence, and other complex personal injury cases. Mr. Alexander has been appointed to the plaintiff's steering committee in the litigation arising out of the Amtrak-Bourbonnais Train Disaster, the Hinkley Air Disaster, and the Oshkosh Mid-Air Disaster, among other litigation. Mr. Alexander has published articles regularly on issues pertaining to medical malpractice litigation. Mr. Alexander was raised in north suburban Chicago and attended the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. He received his legal education at Tulane University in New Orleans, Louisiana. Mr. Alexander is admitted to practice before the Illinois Bar and the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois. He is also a member of the Federal Trial Bar. Mr. Alexander is married and has two children. He resides with his family in Highland Park, IL. Read Full Bio   Joseph Preiser Born in Chicago, Illinois, Joseph M. Preiser grew up in the suburbs of Oak Park and River Forest. Joseph's father, a personal injury attorney, unintentionally set Joseph on a path toward a career in law. From an early age, often unbeknownst to his father, Joseph read his father's books authored by prominent trial attorneys including, Gerry Spence, Robert Shapiro, Irving Younger, and Vincent Bugliosi, sparking Joseph's interest in law and justice. After graduating from Oak Park-River Forest High School, Joseph attended the University of Illinois in Urbana-Champaign. While pursuing his undergraduate degree, Joseph began to hone his skills as a trial lawyer by participating on the University of Illinois' Mock Trial team. During his senior year, Joseph's team won the Regional Mock Trial Championship and competed in the Mock Trial National Championship in Des Moines, Iowa. In 2006, after working for a year at a large Chicago law firm, Joseph received an Honors Scholarship and enrolled at Loyola University in the Juris Doctorate and MBA programs. While attending law and business school, Joseph worked as a judicial extern for Cook County Circuit Court Judge Thomas L. Hogan and as a traffic prosecutor for the City of Chicago, where he prosecuted over 185 bench trials to verdict. In 2009, Joseph graduated with a joint J.D./M.B.A. degree. While earning his degrees, Joseph obtained recognition on the Dean's List, was a participant on the Health Law Moot Court team, assisted at Loyola's Business Law Clinic, obtained his M.B.A. with honors, and became a Beta Gamma Sigma Honor Society member. After graduation, Joseph immediately went to work for the Cook County State's Attorney's office as an Assistant State's Attorney. In his first year, Joseph authored and filed more than 30 appellate briefs in the Illinois Appellate Court, First District. Notably, Joseph authored the State's brief in People v. Tripp, a matter of first impression in Illinois, in which the Appellate Court agreed with Joseph's position and published an opinion in his favor. Joseph also argued on behalf of the State before the Illinois Appellate Court in People v. Primbas, an animal cruelty case that resulted in the death of a Rottweiler, where the Appellate Court again agreed with Joseph and published an opinion in his favor. For the following four years, Joseph worked in the Traffic Division where he prosecuted DUIs and represented the victims of automobile crashes. During his time in the Traffic Division Joseph refined his skills in the courtroom, prosecuting over 600 trials to verdict including 14 jury trials. In recognition of his performance and dedication, the Alliance Against Intoxicated Motorists awarded Joseph with a Certificate of Recognition and Achievement. In late 2014, Joseph was assigned to the State's Attorney's Office's Felony Review Unit. During his time, he spoke to victims of crimes, Mirandized and obtained statements from violent offenders, reviewed evidence, and provided consultation on charging decisions to law enforcement agencies throughout Cook County. In 2015, Joseph joined Goldberg & Goldberg where he continued his practice as a civil trial lawyer with a concentration on representing the victims of medical malpractice. Joseph is involved in all matters related to the trial of these complex civil litigation matters, including taking and defending depositions, drafting and arguing contested motions, attending court, and assisting on all of the firm's catastrophic medical malpractice and wrongful death claims. Joseph has specialized knowledge in Illinois Traffic Law and crash investigations, particularly as they affect victims in car crashes, motorcycle crashes, and pedestrian injuries. Dedicated to the needs of all of his friends and clients, Joseph is willing to lend his assistance on any law-related matter. Joseph relishes the opportunity to work with and learn from the other talented lawyers at Goldberg & Goldberg. Joseph appreciates the firm's devotion to their clients, their comprehensive commitment to preparation, and their unrelenting fearlessness in the courtroom. Read Full Bio   Show Sponsors: Legal Technology Services - LegalTechService.com Digital Law Marketing - DigitalLawMarketing.com Harris Lowry Manton LLP - hlmlawfirm.com   Free Resources: Stages Of A Jury Trial - Part 1 Stages Of A Jury Trial - Part 2

The Great Trials Podcast
GTP CLASSIC: Christine Spagnoli | Mauro v. Ford Motor Company | $73 million verdict

The Great Trials Podcast

Play Episode Listen Later Dec 6, 2022 82:30


This week we're replaying a classic episode where your hosts Steve Lowry and Yvonne Godfrey interview Christine Spagnoli of Greene Broillet & Wheeler LLP (https://www.gbw.law/).   Remember to rate and review GTP in iTunes: Click Here to Rate and Review   Episode Details: Santa Monica, California attorney Christine Spagnoli of Greene Broillet & Wheeler LLP shares how she advocated for injured church members and their grieving families after a Ford E350 15-passenger van overturned following a tire tread separation. In April 2004, four members of Fair Oaks Presbyterian Church traveled on Sacramento's I-5 in a van equipped with Goodyear Load Range E tires. Due to known tread separation problems, Goodyear conducted a voluntary replacement program on these tires, but Ford failed to notify its dealers. The tread on the church van's factory-mounted Goodyear tires separated, causing the van to flip four times, killing the driver William Brownell and front-seat passenger Tony Mauro and injuring passengers Marlene Shirley and Alexander Bessonov. Ford knew the E350 15-passenger van was susceptible to overturning, given professional driver tests that indicated oversteering and handling issues, but the company allowed the vehicle to go to market without modifying the design. In 2011, a Sacramento jury found Ford Motor Company negligent and returned a $73 million verdict, including $50 million in punitive damages against Ford in favor of the plaintiffs. View/Download Trial Documents   Guest Bio: Christine D. Spagnoli Christine D. Spagnoli is a partner of Greene, Broillet & Wheeler in Santa Monica, specializing in representing plaintiffs in product liability, personal injury and legal malpractice actions. She has obtained many multimillion-dollar verdicts, including the 1999 General Motors case in which a defective fuel tank was found responsible for the burn injuries of two adults and four children. The jury returned with a landmark $4.9 billion verdict. She was co-counsel in the largest personal injury verdict in California, which resulted in a $58 million verdict for a man severely burned by a defective O-ring. Chris is one of the state's most trusted legal leaders as a member of the Los Angeles Judicial Selection Advisory Committees (JSACs). In January 2020, Governor Gavin Newsom named Ms. Spagnoli to the influential committee that reviews judicial candidates under consideration for nomination and appointment and will provide important feedback before forwarding their names to the Governor for review. The awards and honors bestowed on Chris by these various organizations include the Consumer Attorneys of California's 2014 Robert E. Cartwright Award and its 2010 Marvin E. Lewis Award as well as the Consumer Attorneys of Los Angeles 2005 Ted Horn Memorial Award. These awards recognized Chris for her excellence in trial advocacy and her dedication to teaching trial advocacy to her colleagues as well as her selfless gift of her talents in service to the organizations and consumers. She was honored as one of Loyola Law School of Los Angeles' Champions of Justice in 2013. In May 2017, Consumer Watchdog, a non-profit consumer advocacy group, bestowed on Chris its Rage for Justice Lifetime Legal Achievement Award. On June 7, 2018, the Consumer Attorneys of Los Angeles inducted Chris into its Hall of Fame, honoring CAALA members with distinguished legal careers who have made significant contributions to the legal profession and society. In 2018 Chris was named as one of California's Top 30 Plaintiff attorneys by the Daily Journal, which also has ranked her as one of the Top 100 Most Influential Attorneys in California and one of the Top 50 Women Litigators since 2004. She has also been named a “Super Lawyer” in the Southern California Super Lawyers peer-nominated listings compiled and published by Law & Politics, and one of the Best Lawyers in America by Woodward/White, Inc., based on a survey of her peers. As a frequent lecturer and author, Chris has shared her expertise on various trial techniques including demonstrative evidence, direct and cross-examination methods, written discovery and demonstrating head trauma injury in children. Among the organizations she has addressed are CAALA, CAOC, AAJ, the American Bar Association, the Los Angeles County Bar Association, and Trial Lawyer associations in Colorado, Connecticut, Missouri, Washington, and the Western Trial Lawyers Association. Read Full Bio   Show Sponsors: Legal Technology Services - LegalTechService.com Digital Law Marketing - DigitalLawMarketing.com Harris Lowry Manton LLP - hlmlawfirm.com   Free Resources: Stages Of A Jury Trial - Part 1 Stages Of A Jury Trial - Part 2

The Great Trials Podcast
GTP CLASSIC: Dan Huff | Thomas v. Joshi, M.D., and Radiology Associates of DeKalb | Defense Verdict

The Great Trials Podcast

Play Episode Listen Later Nov 29, 2022 95:17


This week we're replaying a classic episode where your hosts Steve Lowry and Yvonne Godfrey interview Dan Huff of Huff, Powell & Bailey, LLC (https://www.huffpowellbailey.com/).   Remember to rate and review GTP in iTunes: Click Here to Rate and Review   Episode Details: Georgia defense attorney Dan Huff of Huff, Powell & Bailey, LLC, a firm specializing in the defense of medical negligence cases for physicians and hospitals, explains how he secured a unanimous verdict in favor of radiologist Dr. Joshi and the staff at Radiology Associates of DeKalb, who were faced with charges of medical malpractice and the wrongful death of 51-year-old podiatry patient Lisa Calhoun. In June 2014, Lisa went to her podiatrist with leg pain and was told she may be suffering from deep vein thrombosis (DVT), or blood clots in her legs. The podiatrist ordered an ultrasound, which was then interpreted by Dr. Joshi.  The ultrasound confirmed a DVT diagnosis, but there was a factual dispute as to whether the diagnosis was communicated by Dr. Joshi's office to the podiatrist.  A few days later, Lisa was admitted to the emergency room, complaining of severe chest pain and shortness of breath. While in the hospital, she claimed that she was unaware of the ultrasound results and died of cardiac arrest several hours later.  Disputing the claim that Dr. Joshi's office did not communicate the ultrasound results to the podiatrist, Dan walked the jury through the proper procedures associated with communicating radiology results and shared evidence of phone calls between Lisa and her podiatrist's office as well as between the radiology technologist and the podiatrist's office. This evidence convinced a DeKalb County, Georgia jury that Dr. Joshi and the staff at Radiology Associates of DeKalb neither violated the standard of care nor served as a proximate cause to Lisa's death, resulting in a defense verdict. View/Download Trial Documents   Guest Bio: Dan Huff Since 1991, Dan has specialized in the defense of high damages lawsuits, primarily medical malpractice lawsuits and claims. He has represented defendants in more than 110 jury trials. He has defended and successfully tried cases for every specialty of medicine and numerous hospitals throughout Georgia. Dan's trial record would be a proud career for any defense lawyer and remarkable because Dan has tried and won so many cases in so few years. In the past five years Dan has tried more than 30 medical malpractice cases in Georgia. Many of those cases have been against the best plaintiffs' attorneys in the state. Because of Dan's trial record and reputation with plaintiffs' attorneys, he is able to obtain the best possible outcomes for physicians and hospitals whether the case is tried or resolved. In addition to representing defendants, Dan is a regular contributor to legal and medical publications and seminars. Dan and his firm are proud to donate their time and resources to help several local charities and provide pro bono legal representation to indigent clients. In 2018, Dan became a Fellow in the American College of Trial Lawyers. Founded in 1950, the College is composed of the best of the trial bar from the United States and Canada. Fellowship in the College is extended by invitation only and only after careful investigation, to those experienced trial lawyers of diverse backgrounds, who have mastered the art of advocacy and whose professional careers have been marked by the highest standards of ethical conduct, professionalism, civility and collegiality. Lawyers must have a minimum of fifteen years trial experience before they can be considered for Fellowship. Membership in the College cannot exceed one percent of the total lawyer population of any state or province. There are currently approximately 5,800 members in the United States. Read Full Bio   Show Sponsors: Legal Technology Services - LegalTechService.com Digital Law Marketing - DigitalLawMarketing.com Harris Lowry Manton LLP - hlmlawfirm.com   Free Resources: Stages Of A Jury Trial - Part 1 Stages Of A Jury Trial - Part 2

The Great Trials Podcast
GTP CLASSIC: Mark Avera │Wiederhold v. Domino's Pizza LLC│$9 Million Verdict

The Great Trials Podcast

Play Episode Listen Later Nov 22, 2022 71:51


This week we're replaying a classic episode where your hosts Steve Lowry and Yvonne Godfrey interview Mark Avera of Avera and Smith (https://www.avera.com/).   Remember to rate and review GTP in iTunes: Click Here to Rate and Review   Episode Details: Gainesville, Florida trial lawyer Mark Avera of Avera & Smith explains how he secured justice for Yvonne Wiederhold, the wife of the late Rich Wiederhold, by connecting the actions of one negligent delivery driver in Orlando, Florida to the larger Domino's Pizza corporation through established right-of-control practices. Rich, a retired Brevard County District Fire Chief, strategically swerved and ultimately rolled his truck to avoid crashing into a Domino's delivery car that pulled out in front of him. Rich was rendered a quadriplegic and died 15 months later due to complications. An Orange County, Florida jury returned a verdict of $8,977,788.55 in damages against Domino's Pizza LLC. View/Download Trial Documents   Guest Bio: Mark Avera Like his father before him, Mark Avera has a history of many years of service to the people of Florida. His knowledge and understanding of the legal needs of his clients come not only from the practice of law but from his early career as sheriff's deputy in Alachua County. Before becoming a law partner at Avera & Smith in 1989 (then Avera & Avera), Mark served as a sheriff's deputy for Alachua County. He became the department's youngest deputy ever to be promoted to the rank of Sergeant. His primary assignments were uniform patrol division, SWAT, and the supervision of the department's Street Crimes Unit. Mark completed his bachelor's degree at the University of Florida while working midnight shifts for the Sheriff's Department and went on to graduate from UF with a law degree. Today, Mark serves as Managing Partner for Avera & Smith and works alongside his brother, Lance Avera, who specializes in workers' compensation law, and partner Rod Smith, who specializes in personal injury law. Mark is Board Certified in Civil Trial Law (B.C.S.) by the Florida Bar. He received his initial certification in 1998 and has remained qualified for board certification in civil trial law since that time. Board Certification is the Florida Bar's highest level of evaluation in competence and experience within a specific area of law and indicates superior professionalism and ethics in practice. Only slightly more than 1,000 of the more than 100,000 lawyers currently licensed in the State of Florida are actually Board Certified in Civil Trial Law. During his career, Mark's professionalism and dedication to his work as a trial advocate are reflected by his induction into the American Board of Trial Advocates (ABOTA) and in 2015 his induction into the International Society of Barristers. His accomplishments in the courtroom are recognized yearly in legal publications such as Florida Trend's Legal Elite, Florida's Super Lawyers, and in 2007 he was recognized by Lawdragon as one of the top 500 Plaintiff's lawyers in America. After the landmark Supreme Court decision in Engle v. Liggett Group, Inc., Mark has been involved in representing Engle plaintiffs against various tobacco companies responsible for the deaths of smokers who began smoking as children in the 1940s and 1950s. Beyond his professional achievements, he believes in community service to give back to the community which has been an integral part of his life. Mark serves on the Board of Directors for the Santa Fe College Foundation and in the past served on the Boards of Directors for the Children's Home Society, North Central Florida Community Foundation, and the Executive Committee of the North Florida Heart Ball, American Heart Association. Mark is married to the former Stacy Marie Upchurch and their blended family consists of four children; Alexandria, Danielle, Myles, and Weston. They all enjoy the outdoors and travel. Read Full Bio   Show Sponsors: Legal Technology Services - LegalTechService.com Digital Law Marketing - DigitalLawMarketing.com Harris Lowry Manton LLP - hlmlawfirm.com   Free Resources: Stages Of A Jury Trial - Part 1 Stages Of A Jury Trial - Part 2

The Great Trials Podcast
GTP CLASSIC: Patrick Malone | Gambino v. MedStar Georgetown University Hospital | $3.6 million verdict

The Great Trials Podcast

Play Episode Listen Later Nov 15, 2022 70:20


This week we're replaying a classic episode where your hosts Steve Lowry and Yvonne Godfrey interview Patrick Malone of Patrick Malone & Associates, P.C. (https://www.patrickmalonelaw.com/).   Remember to rate and review GTP in iTunes: Click Here to Rate and Review   Episode Details: Acclaimed Washington, D.C. plaintiff's attorney Patrick Malone discusses how he secured a $3.6 million verdict on behalf of a two-week-old baby girl who suffered a serious chemical burn from an intravenous line delivering liquid nutrition and antibiotics in her ankle at Georgetown University Hospital. The tip of the intravenous needle migrated into the muscle and fat, causing permanent injury that required multiple medical interventions. At trial, Malone demonstrated that the nursing staff at the hospital allowed the IV line to go unchecked, directly contributing to the severity of the burn. View/Download Trial Documents   Guest Bio: Patrick Malone Patrick Malone is a leading patient safety advocate and attorney who represents seriously injured people in medical malpractice lawsuits, product liability cases and other types of lawsuits. Mr. Malone has won a long string of exceptional verdicts and settlements on behalf of his clients. He is the co-author of an acclaimed book teaching other attorneys how to win cases: Rules of the Road: A Plaintiff' Lawyer's Guide to Proving Liability. Patrick Malone is a son of the Midwest. He grew up in an Irish Catholic family in Wichita, Kansas, the oldest of seven children. After graduating summa cum laude from the University of Kansas, he worked as a reporter for United Press International in Kansas City, then won a prestigious journalism fellowship at the University of Michigan, where he studied public health issues and wrote freelance articles for the Washington Post. Malone then worked as a medical writer and investigative reporter for the Miami Herald, where he won a number of awards, including a finalist designation for the Pulitzer Prize for a series co-authored on “dangerous doctors.” After he was accepted at Yale Law School, Malone and his wife Vicki sold their home in Miami and moved to a rental apartment in New Haven, Connecticut with their infant son. They had one more son while at Yale and a third after moving to the Washington area. At Yale, Malone won several student awards, including best “moot court” argument. He worked for a year after graduating for a prominent federal judge, U.S. District Judge Gerhard Gesell in Washington, D.C. In 1985, Patrick Malone began his career as an attorney representing seriously injured people. Read Full Bio   Show Sponsors: Legal Technology Services - LegalTechService.com Digital Law Marketing - DigitalLawMarketing.com Harris Lowry Manton LLP - hlmlawfirm.com   Free Resources: Stages Of A Jury Trial - Part 1 Stages Of A Jury Trial - Part 2

The Great Trials Podcast
GTP CLASSIC: Betty Nguyen Davis & Bethany Schneider │Laguerre v. Cajun Contractors, Inc.│$5 Million Verdict

The Great Trials Podcast

Play Episode Listen Later Nov 8, 2022 95:46


This week we're replaying a classic episode where your hosts Steve Lowry and Yvonne Godfrey interview Betty Nguyen Davis (http://www.bettydavislaw.com) & Bethany Schneider (https://schneiderlawpc.com/).   Remember to rate and review GTP in iTunes: Click Here to Rate and Review   Episode Details: The National Trial Lawyers 40 Under 40 honoree Bethany Schneider of Schneider Law, P.C. and three-time Georgia Super Lawyers honoree Betty Davis of The Davis Injury Firm LLC discuss a recent personal injury case involving a metro Atlanta hotel, a general contractor, a subcontractor, and a Haitian cab driver. Struck by an 8-foot metal pipe falling from the construction site four floors above, cab driver Max Laguerre sustained a traumatic brain injury, due to a lack of safety precautions taken by Cajun Contractors, Inc. In June, a DeKalb County, Georgia jury returned a $5 million verdict, which was added to a $1 million pre-trial settlement with the hotel and over $500,000 in punitive damages.   View/Download Trial Documents   Guest Bios: Betty Nguyen Davis Betty Nguyen Davis is an Atlanta injury attorney who solely focuses her practice on plaintiff's personal injury work. Betty is consistently recognized by her peers as a top attorney in Georgia by Super Lawyers and Georgia Trend and is highly recommended by her clients as an aggressive and persistent, yet caring and accessible attorney. Read Full Bio   Bethany Schneider With more than a decade of trial experience, Bethany has built a reputation as a preeminent trial lawyer in Georgia and Florida. Bethany has always had a passion for fairness and justice and knew from an early age that she wanted to be a trial lawyer, fighting on behalf of others in the courtroom. Bethany grew up in Franklin, Tennessee, before attending the University of Georgia from 2002-2005, where she graduated with an ABJ and BA with highest honors, Phi Beta Kappa. She briefly left the Southeast for law school and graduated from the University of Texas at Austin with honors in 2009. While in law school, she honed her trial skills on the mock trial team and was honored with the award for the Best Advocate in her graduating class. Read Full Bio Show Sponsors: Legal Technology Services - LegalTechService.com Digital Law Marketing - DigitalLawMarketing.com Harris Lowry Manton LLP - hlmlawfirm.com   Free Resources: Stages Of A Jury Trial - Part 1 Stages Of A Jury Trial - Part 2

The Great Trials Podcast
GTP CLASSIC: Russ Herman | Scott vs American Tobacco | $591 Million

The Great Trials Podcast

Play Episode Listen Later Nov 1, 2022 84:36


This week we're replaying a classic episode where your hosts Steve Lowry and Yvonne Godfrey interview Russ Herman, Senior Partner of Herman, Herman & Katz, L.L.C. (hhklawfirm.com).   Remember to rate and review GTP in iTunes: Click Here to Rate and Review   Episode Details: In late 2011, HH&K partner Russ Herman helped finalize the 14-year-old class action lawsuit, Scott v. American Tobacco Company, with a judgment that ordered certain tobacco companies to fund a statewide, 10-year smoking cessation program benefiting more than 200,000 Louisiana smokers who are members of the plaintiff class (the “Scott Class”). The judgment created a court-established and court-supervised smoking cessation program to benefit Louisiana residents who began their smoking habit before September 1, 1988. Since the judgment, the defendant tobacco companies have deposited the funds with the Court to create the Smoking Cessation Trust (“SCT”). View/Download Trial Documents   Guest Bio: Russ Herman Russ M. Herman is a Senior Partner of Herman, Herman & Katz, L.L.C. He graduated from Tulane University with a B.A. Degree and L.L.B. in 1966. In 1977, he was chosen “Outstanding Trial Lawyer” by the Louisiana Trial Lawyers Association and was LTLA President in 1980-81. He has authored over 200 articles, papers and books in various aspects of Civil Trial Practice and has been published in various works including Am Jur; Trials; Shepard's/McGraw Hill; The National Business Institute; Trial Magazine; The Forum; and Personal Injury Annual by Matthew Bender. Read Full Bio Show Sponsors: Legal Technology Services - LegalTechService.com Digital Law Marketing - DigitalLawMarketing.com Harris Lowry Manton LLP - hlmlawfirm.com   Free Resources: Stages Of A Jury Trial - Part 1 Stages Of A Jury Trial - Part 2

The Great Trials Podcast
GTP CLASSIC: Brian Panish | Jason Lo v. Dominick Consolazio | $41.8 million verdict

The Great Trials Podcast

Play Episode Listen Later Oct 25, 2022 63:05


This week we're replaying a classic episode where your hosts Steve Lowry and Yvonne Godfrey interview Brian Panish of Panish Shea Boyle Ravipudi LLP (www.psbr.law).   Remember to rate and review GTP in iTunes: Click Here to Rate and Review   Episode Details: Trial lawyer Brian Panish shares how he secured a multi-million dollar verdict for a U.S. Air Force Academy Captain who suffered catastrophic injuries after a truck driver hit him while riding his motorcycle. The truck driver, who suffered from seizures, was charged for his negligent behavior after dragging the Captain for more than a football field.   View/Download Trial Documents   Guest Bio: Brian Panish One of the country's leading trial attorneys, Los Angeles personal injury lawyer Brian Panish has obtained some of the most significant jury verdicts in United States history on behalf of plaintiffs. His courtroom victories include a $4.9 billion record verdict in the landmark products liability case Anderson v. General Motors, over 100 verdicts and settlements in excess of $10 million, six verdicts in excess of $50 million, and more than 250 verdicts and settlements over one million dollars in personal injury, car accident, wrongful death, and business litigation cases. Mr. Panish consistently serves in a leading role in the largest personal injury cases in California and the country — he currently serves as Plaintiffs lead counsel in the Southern California Fire Cases litigation arising from the 2017 Thomas Fire and subsequent debris flows in Montecito, California and serves on the Plaintiffs Executive Committee for the 2017 North Bay Fires in Northern California. Additionally, Mr. Panish has been appointed Lead Trial Counsel in the Porter Ranch/Aliso Canyon Gas Blowout Litigation and has served in leadership roles in the Asiana Airlines Crash Litigation, the Olympus Superbug CRE Litigation, and DePuy ASR Hip Implant Litigation, among others. Read Full Bio   Show Sponsors: Legal Technology Services - LegalTechService.com Digital Law Marketing - DigitalLawMarketing.com Harris Lowry Manton LLP - hlmlawfirm.com   Free Resources: Stages Of A Jury Trial - Part 1 Stages Of A Jury Trial - Part 2

The Great Trials Podcast
GTP CLASSIC: Eric Fong | William Tisdale v. Apro LLC, a Delaware Limited Liability Corporation | $91 million verdict

The Great Trials Podcast

Play Episode Listen Later Oct 18, 2022 76:39


This week we're replaying a classic episode where your hosts Steve Lowry and Yvonne Godfrey interview Eric Fong of Fong Law (https://www.ericfonglaw.com/).   Remember to rate and review GTP in iTunes: Click Here to Rate and Review   Episode Details: Eric Fong, an accomplished lawyer who has tried more than 100 civil and criminal jury trials, shares how he successfully represented his client William Tisdale after being brutally attacked by a robber due to a convenience store's lack of employee training and proper security measures. Around 11 p.m. on November 4, 2015, William Tisdale entered an Apro convenience store in Parkland, Washington, and was immediately told by the clerk to call 911. Not realizing that there was a robber inside the store who was threatening to kill the clerk and demanding money from the register, William stepped outside to call 911 only to be violently beaten by the baseball bat-wielding thief as he stole William's car. Eric Fong used enhanced animation to show jurors the severity of William's numerous injuries, including multiple skull fractures, traumatic brain injury, and retinal damage, as they occurred in real-time via the video footage of the attack. In spite of the defense's attempts to minimize William's injuries and to blame him for not remembering to take his medications due to a TBI, the jury responded to Eric Fong's re-telling of William's story and his appeal for empathy and compassion for his client. In June 2021, a Pierce County, Washington jury — limited by COVID-19 precautions and virtual trial proceedings — found Apro was 90% at fault and William was 10% at fault in this groundbreaking premises liability case. The jury awarded William $91 million in total damages, which is the largest compensatory damages verdict for an individual plaintiff in Washington state.  View/Download Trial Documents   Guest Bio: Eric Fong Imaginative and yearning to explore with measured recklessness, Eric Fong lives for the adrenalin only a courtroom provides.  With over 100 civil and criminal jury trials under his belt, he is recognized as an innovator of creative trial work in both fields of law.     Eric protected low-income housing residents of WA State against oppressive crime control measures, creating the constitutional right to intimate association. His $91,000,000 verdict is the largest compensatory damages verdict for one person in Washington State. His representation of iconic funk musician & legend, George Clinton allowed Mr. Clinton to keep his historic body of work. Decided in the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals, this is the definitive copyright case in the United States.  Eric lives with his beloved fiancé and co-collaborator Courtney, 2 amazing daughters, and his courtroom dog “Happy” on the beautiful Burley Lagoon.   Read Full Bio   Show Sponsors: Legal Technology Services - LegalTechService.com Digital Law Marketing - DigitalLawMarketing.com Harris Lowry Manton LLP - hlmlawfirm.com   Free Resources: Stages Of A Jury Trial - Part 1 Stages Of A Jury Trial - Part 2

The Great Trials Podcast
GTP CLASSIC: Gilion Dumas | Kerry Lewis v. Corporation of the Presiding Bishop of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, The Boy Scouts of America et al. | $19.9 million verdicts

The Great Trials Podcast

Play Episode Listen Later Oct 11, 2022 85:55


This week we're replaying a classic episode where your hosts Steve Lowry and Yvonne Godfrey interview Gilion Dumas of Dumas & Vaughn, LLC (https://dumasandvaughn.com/).   Remember to rate and review GTP in iTunes: Click Here to Rate and Review   Episode Details: Gilion Dumas, a partner at Dumas & Vaughn, LLC in Portland, Oregon, and an experienced litigator in child sexual abuse cases, explains how she successfully represented former Boy Scout Kerry Lewis, who was sexually abused by an adult Boy Scout volunteer multiple times in the early 1980s. From 1982 to 1984, Kerry was mentored by Timur Dykes, who admitted to a Bishop of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints -- the organization that sponsored Kerry's Boy Scout troop -- that he had abused 17 boys before January 1983. Despite this admission, the church, the Boy Scouts of America organization, and the Portland-based Cascade Pacific Council allowed Dykes to remain involved in the organization and to work directly with children, failing to notify the parents of Boy Scouts, like Kerry, who unfortunately became another abuse victim following Dykes' admission. Through a groundbreaking use of the Boy Scouts of America's secret "perversion files" containing allegations of sex abuse within the organization, trial lawyer Gilion Dumas and her legal team were able to hold the Boy Scouts of America and local Cascade Pacific Counsel responsible for the abuse Kerry, who was 38 at the time of trial, suffered as a boy.  In 2010, a Multnomah, Oregon jury awarded $1.4 million in non-economic damages, assigning 60% of the negligence to the Boy Scouts of America, 15% to the Cascade Pacific Council, and 25% to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, which settled before the trial began. In a separate six-week trial, a jury returned a punitive damages award of an additional $18.5 million against the Boy Scouts of America.  View/Download Trial Documents   Guest Bio: Gilion Dumas Gilion Dumas is a partner at Dumas & Vaughn, LLC in Portland, Oregon. She has substantial litigation experience, most recently representing survivors of child sexual abuse and sexual assault. She is known for her diligent advocacy and compassion for her clients, bringing legal savvy, clear communication, and common sense to the stressful and often confusing experience of civil litigation. Gilion knows her way around the courtroom, having tried many cases, both on her own and as “second chair.” She obtained a judgment of over $4.5 million for a young Oregon woman who was sexually molested as a child. She was also one of the trial attorneys in the 2010 child sexual abuse trial in Portland against the Boy Scouts that resulted in a $19.9 million verdict for the plaintiff.  Gilion is currently involved in dozens of claims on the West Coast and around the country against schools, churches, and youth-serving organizations that allowed children to be abused by employees or volunteers. She and her law partner Ashley Vaughn represent many alumni of Catlin Gabel, an elite private school in Portland, for claims of abuse dating back to the 1960s; over 60 men with claims in the Boy Scouts' bankruptcy; 12 men with claims for abuse in the Assemblies of God Royal Ranger program; and several cases involving adult women sexually assaulted by medical professionals.  Gilion graduated cum laude from Lewis & Clark Law School in Portland, where she was an editor on the law review.  She is an active member of the state and federal bars in Oregon, Washington, California, and Idaho. She recently served on the Executive Committee of the Oregon State Bar's Litigation Section, is a former Chair of the Oregon State Bar's Business Litigation Section, and is a former President of the Oregon Chapter of the Federal Bar Association. Gilion is active in her community, including serving on the Board of Directors of the Cascade Policy Institute. She is an avid reader and the author of a popular book blog, Rose City Reader. Read Full Bio   Show Sponsors: Legal Technology Services - LegalTechService.com Digital Law Marketing - DigitalLawMarketing.com Harris Lowry Manton LLP - hlmlawfirm.com   Free Resources: Stages Of A Jury Trial - Part 1 Stages Of A Jury Trial - Part 2

The Great Trials Podcast
GTP CLASSIC: Neama Rahmani | United States of America v. Laura Elana Trejo-Macias | Guilty Verdict

The Great Trials Podcast

Play Episode Listen Later Oct 4, 2022 67:33


This week we're replaying a classic episode where your hosts Steve Lowry and Yvonne Godfrey interview Neama Rahmani of West Coast Trial Lawyers (https://westcoasttriallawyers.com/).    Remember to rate and review GTP in iTunes: Click Here to Rate and Review   Episode Details: West Coast Trial Lawyers' President and co-founder Neama Rahmani looks back on his days as an Assistant U.S. Attorney and shares how he convinced a California jury that Laura Elana Trejo-Macias intentionally and knowingly tried to cross the U.S.-Mexico border with more than nine pounds of methamphetamine in her car. In March 2011, a trained drug detection dog at the San Ysidro port of entry alerted Customs and Border Protection Officers of contraband in Laura's newly acquired 2003 Chevy Tahoe. U.S. border officials found nine packages of methamphetamine with a street value of $130,000 in a modified shell of the vehicle's radiator. In spite of the defense's attempts to portray Laura as a successful businesswoman who was tricked into being a blind mule by an employee who had access to the car the day before, Neama Rahmani presented evidence that convinced the jury that Laura was, in fact, guilty of trafficking methamphetamine. In 2012, Laura was sentenced to more than 12 years in jail.  Click Here to Read/Download the Trial Documents   Guest Bio: Neama Rahmani Neama is the President and co-founder of West Coast Trial Lawyers. Neama graduated from UCLA at the age of 19 and Harvard Law School at the age of 22, making him one of the youngest graduates in the 200-year history of the law school. Upon graduation, Neama was hired by O'Melveny & Myers, the largest law firm in Los Angeles at the time, where he represented companies such as Disney, Marriott, and the Roman Catholic Church. But Neama wanted to help ordinary people, not corporations, so he joined the United States Attorney's Office, where he prosecuted drug and human trafficking cases along the United States-Mexico border. While working as a federal prosecutor, Neama captured and successfully prosecuted a fugitive murderer and drug kingpin who had terrorized Southern California and was featured on “America's Most Wanted.” Neama was then appointed to be the Director of Enforcement of the Los Angeles City Ethics Commission, an independent watchdog that oversees and investigates the elected officials and highest-level employees of the City of Los Angeles, including the Mayor and City Council. He held that position until becoming a trial lawyer for the people. Neama has extensive trial experience. He has led teams of more than 170 attorneys in litigation against the largest companies in the world. Neama has successfully tried dozens of cases to verdict as lead trial counsel and has argued and won before both state and federal appeals courts. Over the course of his career, Neama has handled thousands of cases, obtaining many seven and eight-figure settlements and judgments, and has helped his clients win more than one billion dollars. Neama is a regular legal commentator on news and television and sits on the UCLA Political Science Board of Advisors. He lives in Los Angeles with his wife, an attorney for foster children, son, daughter, and dog, Lola. Read Full Bio   Show Sponsors: Legal Technology Services - LegalTechService.com Digital Law Marketing - DigitalLawMarketing.com Harris Lowry Manton LLP - hlmlawfirm.com   Free Resources: Stages Of A Jury Trial - Part 1 Stages Of A Jury Trial - Part 2

The Great Trials Podcast
GTP CLASSIC: Marc Diller | Cathrine Erickson v. Rosalie A. Cunio et al | $2.3 million verdict

The Great Trials Podcast

Play Episode Listen Later Sep 27, 2022 85:14


This week we're replaying a classic episode where your hosts Steve Lowry and Yvonne Godfrey interview Marc Diller of Diller Law, P.C. (https://www.dillerlaw.com/). Remember to rate and review GTP in iTunes: Click Here To Rate and Review   Episode Details: Multi-Million Dollar Advocates Forum member Marc Diller of Diller Law, P.C. explains how he secured justice for tenant Cathrine Erickson when her landlord failed to prepare her Watertown, Massachusetts rental property for winter, creating a dangerous situation that resulted in permanent injury to Cathrine's right leg. After being informed by Cathrine and other tenants that the drain at the end of the sloped driveway was not working properly, landlord Rosalie Cunio chose to withhold important property information and ignore the contractor's proposed solution in favor of a cheap fix. The repair was ineffective, as water continued to pool, taking days to drain. The drainage problem was compounded when winter came and Rosalie did not "winterize" the rental property, including shutting off the exterior water. In February 2013, Cathrine returned home from her job as head coach of Northeastern University's track and field team and slipped on black ice caused by water spraying from a hose. As a result, Cathrine sustained a serious injury requiring a titanium rod as well as seven screws to stabilize her right leg. Today, this accomplished coach struggles with mobility and suffers from chronic pain. In March 2019, trial lawyer Marc Diller detailed the landlord's negligence and violations of common sense safety practices to a Middlesex County, Massachusetts jury. The jury returned a verdict in favor of Cathrine, awarding $2,324,815.62 in damages. Read/Download Trial Documents   Guest Bio: Marc Diller On May 15, 1992, Marc Diller was a senior in high school in Brookline, MA. Brookline's local paper, The Brookline Citizen, profiled Marc Diller as its Brookline Student of The Week. The article was titled, “Diller, an attorney in training”. Even back then, Marc's passion for service and the law was evident. Nearly 30 years later, Marc uses that passion to deliver safety and justice to his clients. Marc helps people and their families during their most vulnerable times. It's his ethos to hold corporations and insurance companies accountable for wrongdoings. Marc fights corporate and individual wrongdoers when it results in wrongful death or catastrophic injury. Marc doesn't back down from the fight. Throughout his 20+ year career, Marc has held property owners, who maintain dangerous conditions, accountable for their wrongdoings. He has made companies take responsibility for the death or losses that result from making, designing or selling dangerous products. Marc also makes employers on construction sites answer for unsafe work conditions. When motorcyclists, pedestrians, bicyclists and those in cars are killed or injured by dangerous drivers and the companies that employ them, Marc seeks justice. He goes after the drunk, distracted and drowsy drivers, the companies that employ them and the restaurants, bars, and clubs that ignore safe service practices and let drivers drive dangerously. “Our client's trust us to do right by them,” says Diller “and I insist that all Diller Law, PC's lawyers care about safety and accountability in our community.” Marc grew up in Brookline, MA, the son of a lawyer and an educator. At the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor he wrote for the Michigan Daily newspaper, majoring in English and communications. From there, he went to Suffolk University Law School, his father William's alma mater. Marc worked with his dad at the Law Offices of William Diller starting in 1997. William mentored Marc until 2013. Marc learned a lot from William's 40+ years experience in law. William was the editor-in-chief of the Suffolk Law Review ('69), clerked for Justice Reardon at the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court ('70), was an associate at one of Boston's premier law firms, and during William's 40 years in private practice, he handled many complex and significant personal injury cases. In 2013 Marc started DILLER LAW, P.C. Marc's aggressive, yet practical approach to litigating and resolving personal injury cases has earned him recognition from his peers in the legal community. Professionally, Marc serves on numerous legal organizations and committees dedicated to the ethical and competent litigation of cases as well as the proper administration of justice. Personally, Marc is the father of two children. He coaches recreational basketball for his sons. In his free time, Marc enjoys golfing and watching movies. Lawyers all over the country consult Marc, who has appeared in State and Federal trial courts as well as our State's appellate court. Read Full Bio   Show Sponsors: Legal Technology Services - LegalTechService.com Digital Law Marketing - DigitalLawMarketing.com Harris Lowry Manton LLP - hlmlawfirm.com

The Great Trials Podcast
GTP CLASSIC: Randy Kinnard │Wade v. HealthSouth Cane Creek Rehabilitation Hospital, Lowry, M.D.│ $15.2 million verdict

The Great Trials Podcast

Play Episode Listen Later Sep 13, 2022 63:50


This week we're replaying a classic episode where your hosts Steve Lowry and Yvonne Godfrey interview Randy Kinnard of Kinnard Law (www.kinnardclaytonandbeveridge.com/).   Remember to rate and review GTP in iTunes: Click Here To Rate and Review   Episode Details: Accomplished trial lawyer, veteran and Purple Heart recipient Randy Kinnard of Kinnard, Clayton & Beveridge Attorneys at Law explains how he secured the largest verdict in Weakley County, Tennessee history for Cody Wade. At the age of 17, Cody was intubated following a traumatic car crash and struggled to breathe normally once it was removed. With the trach tube re-inserted, he was transferred to Cane Creek Rehabilitation Hospital and put under the care of a doctor who failed to consult a specialist or to provide reasonable care when Cody expressed concern and signs of respiratory distress following the second removal of the trach tube. Without the tube, Cody's airway collapsed and he sustained irreversible brain damage, leaving him unable to speak or move. A Dresden, Tennessee jury returned a $15.2 million verdict following a lengthy five-week trial. Click Here to Read/Download Trial Documents   Guest Bio: Randy Kinnard Before becoming a trial lawyer, Randy Kinnard was a soldier. He graduated from West Point and then served in the 173rd Airborne Brigade in Vietnam as a Lieutenant and airborne ranger. He commanded 250 men in combat. He was awarded the Vietnamese Cross of Gallantry, the Bronze Star for Valor, Purple Heart and Combat Air Medal for 28 air assaults in combat. After his military service, Randy went to law school in Memphis. Randy has tried over 250 jury trials for plaintiffs. He has won many record setting verdicts, including the Erin Andrews' case of $55 million. He's a past president of the Tennessee Association for Justice. Randy is a member of the Inner Circle of Advocates and he lives in Nashville. He has served on several non-profit boards. Read Full Bio   Show Sponsors: Legal Technology Services - LegalTechService.com Digital Law Marketing - DigitalLawMarketing.com Harris Lowry Manton LLP - hlmlawfirm.com   Free Resources: Stages Of A Jury Trial - Part 1 Stages Of A Jury Trial - Part 2

The Great Trials Podcast
GTP CLASSIC: Mark Mandell | Moulton, et al. v. UTGR, Inc. d/b/a Twin River, et al. | $21.27 million verdict

The Great Trials Podcast

Play Episode Listen Later Sep 6, 2022 83:17


This week, we're replaying a classic episode where your hosts Steve Lowry and Yvonne Godfrey interview Mark Mandell of Mandell, Boisclair & Mandell, Ltd (https://www.mbmjustice.com/).   Remember to rate and review GTP in iTunes: Click Here To Rate and Review   Episode Details: Acclaimed trial lawyer Mark Mandell of Mandell, Boisclair & Mandell, Ltd. explains how he successfully advocated for Alissa Moulton, who was ejected from her boyfriend Alexander Arango's car after he lost control while driving under the influence, leaving her paralyzed. In April 2010, Alexander, who was only 18 years-old at the time, became highly intoxicated after he was illegally served alcoholic drinks at Twin River Casino and Royal Liquors store in Rhode Island. While under the influence, Alexander drove his mother's 1997 Toyota Camry and lost control of the passenger-filled vehicle as it struck a median barrier, crossed two highway lanes, rolled onto its roof and hit a tree, ejecting Alissa and another passenger. Today, Alissa is paralyzed from the chest down and confined to a wheelchair. Despite the defense's attempts to poke holes in the established timeline of events and to question whether Alexander was served drinks at the casino, a Providence, Rhode Island jury found in favor of the plaintiff Alissa, returning a total judgment of $21,270,455.69 in November 2016. This landmark dram shop liability case is also featured in Mark Mandell's book Advanced Case Framing. Click Here to Read/Download Trial Documents   Guest Bio: Mark Mandell Mark Mandell graduated from Georgetown University Law Center receiving his J.D. in 1974. When Mark graduated from Georgetown he served as a law clerk for the Honorable U.S. District Judge Edward W. Day in the United States Federal District Court in Providence for a year before entering private practice. Mark is certified for his expertise in civil trials by two national organizations. He is a Board Certified Civil Trial Specialist by the National Board of Legal Specialty Certification. Attorney Mandell is also nationally recognized and Board Certified as an expert in medical negligence litigation by the American Board of Professional Liability Attorneys. Double board certification nationally is rare for trial lawyers. Both certifications require trial experience and passing a national certification examination. Mark is actually Triple Board Certified as he is also board certified in Civil Pretrial Practice by the National Board of Legal Specialty Certification. Mark is a member of the prestigious Inner Circle of Advocates. Membership in the Inner Circle is limited to 100 of the best trial lawyers in the country. The Inner Circle has been described as “an invitation-only group of the best plaintiffs lawyers in the United States”. Mark is also a Fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers. Membership in the College is an honor that is given only after a lengthy and rigorous evaluation. Attorney Mark Mandell is a Fellow of the American Academy of Appellate Lawyers and a member of the American Law Institute. He has also attained bar membership in United States Supreme Court, United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit, United States District Court for the District of Rhode Island and in the States of Rhode Island and Alabama. Mark Mandell has served as President of the Association of Trial Lawyers of America, the Roscoe Pound Institute of Civil Justice, the Rhode Island Bar Association and the Rhode Island Trial Lawyers Association. He has chaired the Board of Bar Examiners for the United States District Court for the District of Rhode Island and is a Past Chair of the National Center for Victims of Crime. He is also a Past President of the National Crime Victims Bar Association. He not only has served these presidential roles but has served many intermediary positions in these prestigious groups. Attorney Mandell is a current member of the Rhode Island Supreme Court Ethics Advisory Panel and has also served on the Governor's Advisory Commission on Judicial Appointments, the Rhode Island Supreme Court Commission on the Future of Rhode Island Judicial System, the Rhode Island Board of Medical Licensure and Discipline, and the Governor's Council on Mental Health. He is currently a member of the Alabama Bar Association, the American Bar Association, the American Association for Justice, the Rhode Island Association for Justice, and the Rhode Island Bar Association. Mark has written 22 articles in well-known journals and has lectured many hundreds of times to Trial Lawyers Associations, state and national, in 45 different states and internationally. Attorney Mandell is currently listed in the publication “The Best Lawyers in America“. Read Full Bio   Show Sponsors: Legal Technology Services - LegalTechService.com Digital Law Marketing - DigitalLawMarketing.com Harris Lowry Manton LLP - hlmlawfirm.com   Free Resources: Stages Of A Jury Trial - Part 1 Stages Of A Jury Trial - Part 2

The Great Trials Podcast
GTP CLASSIC: Jeffrey Kroll | Tierney Darden v. City of Chicago, et al. | $148 million verdict

The Great Trials Podcast

Play Episode Listen Later Aug 30, 2022 74:35


This week, we're replaying a classic episode where your hosts Steve Lowry and Yvonne Godfrey interview Jeffrey Kroll of Kaveny + Kroll Trial Attorneys (www.KavenyKroll.com).   Remember to rate and review GTP in iTunes: Click Here To Rate and Review   Episode Details: Accomplished trial attorney Jeffrey Kroll of Kaveny + Kroll Trial Attorneys shares how he secured one of the largest premises liability compensatory awards in the nation and the largest verdict ever reported against the city of Chicago on behalf of college dance student Tierney Darden. In 2015, Tierney suffered life-altering injuries at O'Hare International Airport after a poorly maintained pedestrian shelter weighing 750 pounds fell on top of her, shattering her spinal cord. Today, Tierney is paralyzed from the waist down and suffers from severe neuropathic pain on a daily basis. A post-verdict settlement of $115 million was reached with the city of Chicago. Click Here to Read/Download Trial Documents   Guest Bio: Jeffrey Kroll Jeffrey J. Kroll is an award-winning attorney who has represented injured victims of negligence throughout the country for nearly three decades in the areas of trucking accidents, products liability, and medical malpractice. In 2017, Mr. Kroll was part of the trial team that obtained a record-breaking $148 million jury verdict on behalf of a dancer who was paralyzed when a shelter collapsed on her at Chicago's O'Hare International Airport. Overall, his verdicts and settlements have exceeded $1 million on 80 separate occasions. Mr. Kroll has lectured throughout the country on personal injury and wrongful death matters. He has had more than 125 legal articles published on topics ranging from strategic jury selection and maximizing an injured client's recovery, to successfully handling wrongful death cases and preparing and cross-examining expert witnesses. He is well known in Chicago media for countless segments and publications, and has taught Trial Advocacy and Medical Malpractice Law at DePaul University and Northwestern Law School. Mr. Kroll was the only Illinois attorney to be published in the Anatomy of a Personal Injury Lawsuit, 4th Edition, released by Trial Guides and the American Association for Justice. Read Full Bio   Show Sponsors: Legal Technology Services - LegalTechService.com Digital Law Marketing - DigitalLawMarketing.com Harris Lowry Manton LLP - hlmlawfirm.com   Free Resources: Stages Of A Jury Trial - Part 1 Stages Of A Jury Trial - Part 2

The Great Trials Podcast
Great Trials Podcast Recap | Jeff Harris, Steve Lowry, Jed Manton and Yvonne Godfrey

The Great Trials Podcast

Play Episode Listen Later Aug 23, 2022 78:34


This week your hosts Steve Lowry and Yvonne Godfrey are joined by Jeff Harris and Jed Manton to recap 4 years and 150+ episodes of the Great Trials Podcast! (https://www.hlmlawfirm.com/).   Remember to rate and review GTP in iTunes: Click Here To Rate and Review   Episode Details: Today's episode includes lessons learned from over 150 interviews with America's top trial lawyers. We discuss key takeaways on anchoring damages, demonstratives, expert witnesses, and much more. Click Here to Read/Download Trial Documents   Guest Bios: Jeff Harris One of the nation's top trial attorneys, Jeff Harris is an award-winning litigator who handles high-profile, complex cases across a wide variety of practice areas. He excels at securing justice for clients who have been seriously injured or killed, holding responsible parties accountable for their actions as well as their negligence. Over the course of his career, Jeff has secured hundreds of millions in jury verdicts and settlements for his clients and has helped make a variety of products, vehicles and industries safer for everyone. His cases have been featured in The New York Times, Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Washington Post, Los Angeles Times, USA Today, 20/20, CBS Evening News and many other national media outlets. Jeff has obtained numerous record-setting verdicts and settlements on behalf of his clients and has been repeatedly included on the annual survey of top jury verdicts in the United States, compiled by the National Law Journal. He has been inducted to the Georgia Verdicts Hall of Fame and honored on the Georgia Super Lawyers Top 100 list, the National Trial Lawyers Top 100 list and the National Association of Distinguished Counsel's Top One Percent list. Jeff has earned a reputation as a strategic, aggressive litigator who takes on major corporations and wins cases on behalf of his clients. Jeff has successfully litigated cases involving product defects, business disputes, wrongful death, catastrophic injury, bad faith, aviation accidents, medical negligence and industrial accidents. His specialty is trying cases to a jury. He is routinely brought into complex cases at the request of other attorneys to handle the trial of those disputes. Read Full Bio   Jed Manton Jed Manton is committed to representing individuals and business that have been harmed by the actions of others. With a solid track record, Jed has helped numerous clients who have been seriously injured or who have lost a loved one obtain justice, while holding the wrongdoer accountable. Many injuries occur because of a single individual's carelessness. However, Jed also recognizes that oftentimes tragedy strikes as a result of a series of missteps by multiple people. For example, the poor design of a road or the defective design of a particular automobile often plays a significant role in an automobile wreck. In three recent cases, Jed helped secure over $8 million for families where the police initially determined that HLM's client was at fault for the collision. After the firm's thorough investigation, the true cause for each wreck was determined to be a poorly designed road. Jed has also helped families secure millions of dollars of compensation related to defective automobiles. Whether it is a defective tire, a poor braking system, an overworked truck driver or the improper location of a guardrail, Jed always digs deep into the underlying facts of each case to ensure that all responsible parties are identified and held accountable for their actions. While the cornerstone of the justice system is making sure an injured client is fairly compensated for his or her past and future injuries, Jed takes particular satisfaction in knowing that HLM's work has resulted in roads being made safer, cars being designed differently and facilities being investigated by law enforcement to prevent needless injuries to others. Read Full Bio   Show Sponsors: Legal Technology Services - LegalTechService.com Digital Law Marketing - DigitalLawMarketing.com Harris Lowry Manton LLP - hlmlawfirm.com   Free Resources: Stages Of A Jury Trial - Part 1 Stages Of A Jury Trial - Part 2

The Great Trials Podcast
GTP CLASSIC: Mary E. Alexander | Mary Hall v. Yosemite Park and Curry Company | $13.3 million verdict

The Great Trials Podcast

Play Episode Listen Later Aug 16, 2022 71:48


This week we're replaying a classic episode where your hosts Steve Lowry and Yvonne Godfrey interview Mary E. Alexander of Mary Alexander and Associates, P.C. (https://www.maryalexanderlaw.com).   Remember to rate and review GTP in iTunes: Click Here To Rate and Review   Episode Details: Former president of the American Association for Justice Mary E. Alexander of Mary Alexander & Associates, P.C. explains how she secured justice for a University of Arizona college student severely injured after riding a rented Curry Company bicycle in California's Yosemite Park. The bike's used brakes caused Mary Hall to crash, rendering her a quadriplegic dependent upon a breathing machine. A jury in Fresno County, California returned a $13.3 million verdict, including $11.17 million in special damages.   Click Here to Read/Download Trial Documents   Guest Bio: Mary E. Alexander Widely recognized as one of San Francisco's top personal injury attorneys, Mary Alexander established her stellar reputation in the legal community after obtaining some of the largest and highest profile verdicts and settlements in the state of California over the course of her career. She earned a national reputation for her work protecting consumer rights, and her dedication to her clients has won her numerous awards from attorneys, clients, legal publications and others. Ms. Alexander is a Past-President of both the Association of Trial Lawyers of America and Consumer Attorneys of California, and her lobbying work for consumer rights is matched only by her success on behalf of her clients. Read Full Bio Here   Also mentioned in the episode: www.trialbyagreement.com   Show Sponsors: Legal Technology Services - LegalTechService.com Digital Law Marketing - DigitalLawMarketing.com Harris Lowry Manton LLP - hlmlawfirm.com   Free Resources: Stages Of A Jury Trial - Part 1 Stages Of A Jury Trial - Part 2

The Great Trials Podcast
GTP CLASSIC: Stephen Susman | Terry Casey et. al. v. Harold Simmons, et. al. | $178.7 Million Verdict

The Great Trials Podcast

Play Episode Listen Later Aug 9, 2022 59:40


This week we're replaying a classic episode where your hosts Steve Lowry and Yvonne Godfrey interview Steve Susman of Susman Godfrey, L.L.P. ( https://www.susmangodfrey.com/)   Remember to rate and review GTP in iTunes: Click Here To Rate and Review   Episode Details: Leading trial lawyer Stephen “Steve” Susman of Susman Godfrey LLP talks about how he obtained the largest verdict in 2009 in Dallas County, Texas by representing a trio of NL Industries stockholders (Efficasey Environmental LLC, Highland Environmental Management, LLC and Industrial Recovery Capital Holding Company) who were being offered a fraction of their stock's worth because NL Industries' management had depleted the company's funds. Rather than admit to wrongdoing, NL Industries attempted to intentionally miscalculate or undervalue the stocks, committing a breach of fiduciary duty and breach of contract that did not sit well with the jury, who also delivered a $5 million punitive damage verdict against NL Industries' general counsel. Click Here to Read/Download Trial Documents   Guest Bio: Steve Susman Recognized as one of the most successful plaintiff's attorneys in the United States, Stephen Susman has built an unparalleled history of legal victory on an extremely straightforward idea — he gets paid for results, not effort. Although his career can be measured in many ways — the dozens of professional awards he has received, the very successful firm he has built, his remarkable record of winning very high-profile cases, working for plaintiffs against an array of large corporate interests, his defense work for select corporate and individual clients, it can all be traced back to Susman's deep-rooted belief that his compensation should come from getting results. Honored as one of the nation's Top 10 litigators, The National Law Journal(June 5, 2006) issue, Susman is among a highly select group to have been included Chambers USA for over 10 years in The Best Lawyers in America for over 25 years. The Business Insider, Law Review (January 20, 2010 issue), named him one of the eleven lawyers you definitely do not want to see across the aisle. Jury consultant, Don Vinson, in his book America's Top Trial Lawyers, ranks Susman among the 14 best trial lawyers in the United States and International Commercial Litigation's worldwide annual poll of lawyers ranked Susman as the Litigator of the Year and then top litigator in the United States in two separate years.  Read Full Bio Here Also mentioned in the episode: www.trialbyagreement.com   Show Sponsors: Legal Technology Services - LegalTechService.com Digital Law Marketing - DigitalLawMarketing.com Harris Lowry Manton LLP - hlmlawfirm.com   Free Resources: Stages Of A Jury Trial - Part 1 Stages Of A Jury Trial - Part 2

The Great Trials Podcast
GTP CLASSIC: Russ Herman | Scott vs American Tobacco | $591 Million Verdict

The Great Trials Podcast

Play Episode Listen Later Aug 2, 2022 84:36


This week we're replaying a classic episode where your hosts Steve Lowry and Yvonne Godfrey interview Russ Herman, Senior Partner of Herman, Herman & Katz, L.L.C. (hhklawfirm.com)   Remember to rate and review GTP in iTunes: Click Here To Rate and Review   Case Details: In late 2011, HH&K partner Russ Herman helped finalize the 14-year-old class action lawsuit, Scott v. American Tobacco Company, with a judgment that ordered certain tobacco companies to fund a statewide, 10-year smoking cessation program benefiting more than 200,000 Louisiana smokers who are members of the plaintiff class (the “Scott Class”). The judgment created a court-established and court-supervised smoking cessation program to benefit Louisiana residents who began their smoking habit before September 1, 1988. Since the judgment, the defendant tobacco companies have deposited the funds with the Court to create the Smoking Cessation Trust (“SCT”). Read/Download Trial Documents   Guest Bio: Russ M. Herman is a Senior Partner of Herman, Herman & Katz, L.L.C. He graduated from Tulane University with a B.A. Degree and L.L.B. in 1966. In 1977, he was chosen “Outstanding Trial Lawyer” by the Louisiana Trial Lawyers Association and was LTLA President in 1980-81. He has authored over 200 articles, papers and books in various aspects of Civil Trial Practice and has been published in various works including Am Jur; Trials; Shepard's/McGraw Hill; The National Business Institute; Trial Magazine; The Forum; and Personal Injury Annual by Matthew Bender. Read Full Bio   Show Sponsors Legal Technology Services - LegalTechService.com Digital Law Marketing - DigitalLawMarketing.com Harris Lowry Manton LLP - hlmlawfirm.com   Free Resources: Stages Of A Jury Trial - Part 1 Stages Of A Jury Trial - Part 2

The Great Trials Podcast
GTP CLASSIC: Shanin Specter │Michael Goretzka v. West Penn Power Company │ $109 million verdict

The Great Trials Podcast

Play Episode Listen Later Jul 19, 2022 79:33


This week we're replaying a classic episode where your hosts Steve Lowry and Yvonne Godfrey interview Shanin Specter of www.klinespecter.com   Remember to rate and review GTP in iTunes: Click Here To Rate and Review   Episode Details: Inner Circle of Advocates member Shanin Specter of Kline & Specter, PC shares how he obtained the largest contested liability personal injury verdict in Pennsylvania history after 39-year-old Carrie Goretzka was fatally electrocuted by a 7200 volt power line. West Penn Power linemen failed to properly clean the wires with a wire brush before installing them, per the manufacturer's instructions, resulting in the line overheating and falling to the ground as a live wire in her yard.  The result of this premises liability case led to the re-training of Pennsylvania linemen, infra-red inspections of power lines and the creation of an Electric Safety Division by the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission to investigate reported electrical injuries. An Allegheny County jury returned a $109 million verdict, including $48 million in compensatory damages and $61 million in punitive damages.   Click Here to Read/Download Trial Documents   Guest Bio: Shanin Specter Shanin Specter is a preeminent American trial lawyer. He is a founding partner of Kline & Specter, one of the leading catastrophic injury firms in the United States. Specter has obtained more than 200 verdicts and settlements in excess of $1 million, including jury verdicts of $153 million against a major automaker and $109 million against a Pennsylvania power company. In all, he has achieved 16 eight- or nine-figure verdicts, among them news-making cases involving medical malpractice, defective products, medical devices, premises liability, auto accidents, and general negligence. He is a member of the Inner Circle of Advocates, whose membership is limited to the top 100 plaintiffs' trial attorneys in the United States. Beyond winning substantial monetary compensation for his clients, many of Specter's cases have prompted changes that provide a societal benefit, including improvements to vehicle safety, nursing and hospital procedures, the safe operation of police cars, training for the use of CPR at public institutions, and inspections, installation and maintenance of utility power lines. One case spurred the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission to create a new Electric Safety Division to investigate reported electrical injuries. Most recently, Specter's lawsuit on behalf of the victims of a fire escape collapse helped move the City of Philadelphia in 2016 to enact an ordinance requiring all fire escapes to be regularly inspected. Specter earned his undergraduate degree with honors from Haverford College, his law degree from the University of Pennsylvania and an LL.M. with First Honors from Cambridge University. Read Full Bio   Show Sponsors: Legal Technology Services - LegalTechService.com Digital Law Marketing - DigitalLawMarketing.com Harris Lowry Manton LLP - hlmlawfirm.com   Free Resources: Stages Of A Jury Trial - Part 1 Stages Of A Jury Trial - Part 2

The Great Trials Podcast
GTP Classic: Paula Jossart | Scott Kowalewski v. BNSF Railway Company | $15.3 million verdict + $4.6 million misconduct penalty + attorney's fees

The Great Trials Podcast

Play Episode Listen Later Jul 12, 2022 73:11


This week we're replaying a classic episode where your hosts Steve Lowry and Yvonne Godfrey interview Paula Jossart of Jossart Law Office, LLC (https://www.jossartlaw.com/)   Remember to rate and review GTP in iTunes: Click Here To Rate and Review   Episode Details: Award-winning Minnesota personal injury lawyer Paula Jossart of Jossart Law Office, LLC discusses how she secured justice for Scott Kowalewski, a switchman who was exposed to toxic hydrocarbons while working at the Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railway (BNSF) Northtown Yard in Minneapolis in 2014 and, as a result, suffered a severe neurological injury. Rail cars carrying hazardous chemicals from a fracking site in Texas leaked, causing Scott to feel a burning pain in his chest and to lose consciousness. Scott was later diagnosed with a progressive neurological disorder, which significantly diminishes his motor function, making it difficult to swallow, write, get out of bed or perform everyday tasks. Despite BNSF's claims that the company is not responsible for Scott's health problems and many evidence and discovery abuses, a Hennepin County, Minnesota jury returned a verdict of $15,343,753 in damages against BNSF for violating the Federal Employers' Liability Act. Following the jury trial, Judge Amy Dawson assigned a $4.6 million misconduct penalty to BNSF for concealing and destroying evidence related to the case, paying off a witness and misleading federal investigators.    Click Here To Read/Download Trial Documents   Guest Bio: Paula Jossart Paula Jossart is an experienced personal injury attorney and railroad injury attorney recognized for her record of success in actions against railroads and insurance companies. She has achieved multiple seven and eight-figure verdicts in her career including a recent $21 million judgment against the BNSF.  In 2015, she achieved three million-dollar-plus verdicts for victims with personal injury claims in Hennepin County (Minneapolis, MN). She also attained one of Minnesota's larger personal injury verdicts ─ totaling more than $12.5 million ─  for a man burned by steam from a boiler on which he was working.   A fearless advocate for her clients, Paula Jossart has represented persons in personal injury and FELA (Federal Employees' Litigation Act) cases in Minnesota and states across the country, including Arizona, Iowa, Illinois, Missouri, North Dakota, South Dakota, Washington and Wisconsin. She served as lead counsel for injured victims in the nation's largest anhydrous ammonia spill and has worked on many other large chemical exposure cases.   Choosing the right personal injury attorney your important life matter can make a significant difference in the outcome. Paula Jossart encourages potential clients to do their own research before hiring an attorney. Ask about the attorney's actual courtroom and trial experience. Ask about the results that are being advertised on their website. Who achieved the results? What did the result actually mean for the client? Does the attorney put clients first? Or, does the attorney have a record of urging most clients to settle out of court?   Paula Jossart is a union designated attorney, a tenacious fighter, and a caring and compassionate client advocate. Respected by her peers, she was honored as a Minnesota Attorney of the Year, Outstanding Trial Lawyer by the Minnesota Association of Justice, a Rising Star by Minnesota Law & Politics numerous times, and named one of the Top Young Lawyers. She is a member of the Academy of Rail Labor Attorneys and the Minnesota Association of Justice. Read Full Bio   Show Sponsors: Legal Technology Services - LTSatlanta.com Digital Law Marketing - DigitalLawMarketing.com Harris, Lowry, and Manton - hlmlawfirm.com   Free Resources: Stages Of A Jury Trial - Part 1  Stages Of A Jury Trial - Part 2

The Great Trials Podcast
Mike Papantonio │Carla Maria Bartlett and Jon William Bartlett v. E.I. DuPont de Nemours and Company and David Freeman v. E.I. DuPont│$920 million settlement and multiple jury verdicts

The Great Trials Podcast

Play Episode Listen Later Jul 5, 2022 68:45


This week we're replaying a classic episode where your hosts Steve Lowry and Yvonne Godfrey interview Mike Papantonio of Levin Papantonio ( https://www.levinlaw.com/ ).   Remember to rate and review GTP in iTunes: Click Here To Rate and Review   Episode Details: Trial Lawyer Hall of Fame inductee Mike Papantonio, a senior partner with Levin Papantonio in Pensacola, Florida, takes a deep dive into the high-profile $920 million dollar class-action settlement and multiple jury verdicts against DuPont related to the company's West Virginia plant discharging the Teflon chemical PFOA (C8) into the air and water around the Ohio River Valley. Area citizens were exposed to a highly toxic chemical for decades, causing a number of serious health problems. This high-profile case -- which is featured in the documentary, The Devil We Know -- highlights the dangers of DuPont's chemical C8 and the connection between C8 and various forms of cancer, ulcerative colitis, and other diseases. Click Here to Read/Download Trial Documents   Guest Bio: Rex Parris Mike Papantonio is a senior partner with the law firm of Levin-Papantonio. He has received numerous multi-million dollar verdicts on behalf of victims of corporate malfeasance. His award-winning work handling thousands of mass tort cases throughout the nation has helped make Levin-Papantonio one of the largest plaintiff law firms in the country. Mr. Papantonio is a Board Certified Civil Trial Lawyer by the Florida Bar and the National Board of Trial Advocacy. He is a fellow in the International Academy of Trial Lawyers and the International Society of Barristers. He is a member of The National Trial Lawyers (past president), American Board of Trial Advocates, the American Association for Justice, the Southern Trial Lawyers Association, and the Florida Justice Association, where he served on the board of directors for five years. Mr. Papantonio is one of the few living attorneys inducted into the Trial Lawyer Hall of Fame. He is listed in the publications Best Lawyers in America and Leading American Attorney. Read Full Bio   Show Sponsors: Legal Technology Services - LegalTechService.com Digital Law Marketing - DigitalLawMarketing.com Harris Lowry Manton LLP - hlmlawfirm.com   Free Resources: Stages Of A Jury Trial - Part 1 Stages Of A Jury Trial - Part 2

The Great Trials Podcast
GTP CLASSIC: Rex Parris | Taylor v. Schilling | $41.6 million verdict

The Great Trials Podcast

Play Episode Listen Later Jun 28, 2022 72:01


This week we're replaying a classic episode where your hosts Steve Lowry and Yvonne Godfrey interview Rex Parris of Parris Lawyers (https://www.parris.com/).   Remember to rate and review GTP in iTunes: Click Here To Rate and Review   Episode Details: National Institute for Trial Advocacy Master Advocate Rex Parris describes how he obtained one of the nation's top motor vehicle accident verdicts in 2018 on behalf of Anthony Taylor. Only 25 at the time of the collision with Schilling's car, Taylor suffered a broken neck and severe spinal cord injury that rendered him a quadriplegic. A previous corrective back surgery for adolescent scoliosis conflicted with the post-accident reconstructive back surgery, causing serious infection and extensive hospital stays. Today, Taylor requires round-the-clock care. A Los Angeles, California jury returned a verdict of $41,634,170 in damages.     Click Here to Read/Download Trial Documents   Guest Bio: Rex Parris Rex Parris is recognized as one of the most successful and innovative trial lawyers alive today. Rex handles a wide variety of cases, ranging from severe personal injury to class actions, products liability, and business torts. When he is not in trial, Rex tours the country speaking to trial lawyer organizations about the intersection of cognitive science and the persuasion of jurors. Rex has been profiled in numerous national media outlets, including “20/20,” “Nightline,” the Wall Street Journal, the Los Angeles Times, the New York Times, and a myriad of legal journals. Rex has achieved outstanding results in the courtroom over the span of his career – he obtained the first million-dollar verdict in California's Kern County as a young lawyer and, years later, obtained a historic, record-breaking defamation jury verdict in Los Angeles for $370,000,000. In between, Rex has obtained dozens of seven-, eight- and nine-figure verdicts and settlements. His success is hardly happenstance – Rex prepares every case for trial using the latest science in persuasion skills. Everything from metaphoric choices, word selection and visuals are tested and re-tested before each trial. In addition to managing his trial calendar and the Firm's diversified practice, Rex also manages one of California's fastest-growing cities. As the mayor of Lancaster since 2008, Rex has gained nationwide media attention for his efforts to improve the wellbeing of the city's residents. For example, gang violence dropped 82%, the city's downtown area was completely redeveloped during the worst economic downturn in over 75 years, and all of the city's municipal buildings were converted to solar power. Rex and his wife, Carrol, founded the Firm in 1985 with the goal of building a truly great law firm. That goal has never changed – they continue to innovate and work tirelessly to improve the service and results they provide daily. Read Full Bio   Show Sponsors: Legal Technology Services - LegalTechService.com Digital Law Marketing - DigitalLawMarketing.com Harris Lowry Manton LLP - hlmlawfirm.com   Free Resources: Stages Of A Jury Trial - Part 1 Stages Of A Jury Trial - Part 2

The Great Trials Podcast
Frank Mangiaracina | Coryell v. Morris, et. al. | $2.1 million verdict

The Great Trials Podcast

Play Episode Listen Later Jun 21, 2022 64:24


This week your hosts Steve Lowry and Yvonne Godfrey interview Frank Mangiaracina of Kline & Specter PC (https://www.klinespecter.com/).    Remember to rate and review GTP in iTunes: Click Here To Rate and Review   Episode Details: Philadelphia-based personal injury attorney Frank Mangiaracina with Kline & Specter PC discusses how he secured justice for David Coryell, a motorcycle driver involved in an automobile wreck with a delivery driver employed by a Domino's franchise. On July 27, 2016, defendant Steven Morris was driving a delivery vehicle to deliver Domino's food when he made a sudden left turn into oncoming traffic, crashing his vehicle into David and his motorcycle. David suffered severe physical and emotional injuries from this incident. After numerous operations, he was left with the decision to either amputate his left leg or experience permanent and progressive pain. Despite the defense's attempts to claim that Domino's did not have control over a franchisee's operations and therefore could not be held accountable for the actions of a franchisee's employee, Mangiaracina established that Domino's and the franchisee have a “master-servant relationship,” arguing that Domino's did, in fact, have control over the franchisee and therefore should be held responsible. The jury agreed, and on August 13, 2021, a Philadelphia County jury returned a $2,009,553 verdict in favor of plaintiff David Coryell.     Click Here to Read/Download Trial Documents   Guest Bio: Frank Mangiaracina Frank Mangiaracina focuses his practice on catastrophic personal injury. He is a staunch advocate and proven trial lawyer who helped compile more than $60 million in recoveries in the five years before coming to Kline & Specter.  Most recently, in a COVID-era trial during the summer of 2021, Mangiaracina won a $2.1 million verdict against Domino's Pizza for a client who suffered severe and permanent injuries to his leg when his motorcycle was struck by a delivery driver. As co-lead counsel at trial, Mangiaracina gave a closing argument that helped convince the jury that Domino's was responsible for the actions of a franchisee.  He was also co-counsel in litigation that achieved a $44 million pre-trial settlement in a product liability case for an oil rig worker who was left a quadriplegic after he was struck by a falling light fixture.  In medical malpractice cases, among others, Mangiaracina helped win settlements of $5.5 million, $5 million and $3.5 million for, respectively, failures to timely diagnose stroke, diagnose and treat sepsis and to treat an aortic aneurysm.  These recoveries were made with Mangiaracina's prior firm, Sheridan & Murray LLC in Fort Washington, Pa. He also worked as an attorney at Berger & Montague in Philadelphia and as a law clerk with the Philadelphia firm of Saltz, Mongeluzzi & Bendesky.  Because of his litigation success, Mangiaracina has been named a Pennsylvania Rising Star by Super Lawyers for four consecutive years (2019-2022). The independent lawyers survey group recognizes the top 2.5 percent of attorneys in the state who are 40 or younger.  Mangiaracina earned his law degree at the Temple University Beasley School of Law, where he graduated magna cum laude, in the top five percent of his class and was a member of the Order of the Coif honor society. He was, simultaneously, staff editor for the Temple Law Review and a member of Temple's renowned National Trial Team, which placed in the semifinals of the National Institute of Trial Advocacy's “Tournament of Champions,” an invitation-only competition.  At Temple, Mangiaracina won several awards and scholarships, including the Integrated Trial Advocacy Graduation Award, the Benjamin and Natalie Levin Memorial Scholarship, the Class of 1978 Scholarship and the Faculty Law Scholarship. Read Full Bio   Show Sponsors: Legal Technology Services - LegalTechService.com Digital Law Marketing - DigitalLawMarketing.com Harris Lowry Manton LLP - hlmlawfirm.com   Free Resources: Stages Of A Jury Trial - Part 1 Stages Of A Jury Trial - Part 2

The Great Trials Podcast
Andy Conn and Drew Gilliland | Wilson v. Evans + Allison v. Sorrell | $1.225 million + $218,400 verdicts

The Great Trials Podcast

Play Episode Listen Later Jun 14, 2022 84:30


This week your hosts Steve Lowry and Yvonne Godfrey interview Andy Conn of Harris Lowry Manton, LLP (https://www.hlmlawfirm.com/) and Drew Gilliland of the Nick Schnyder Law Firm, LLC (https://www.schnyderlawfirm.com/).   Remember to rate and review GTP in iTunes: Click Here To Rate and Review   Episode Details: In this informative episode, Georgia trial lawyers Andy Conn and Drew Gilliland share their strategies to maximize verdicts in relatively small motor vehicle accident cases. On May 5, 2022, a Cobb County, Georgia jury awarded $1.225 million to a couple who sustained injuries as the direct result of a rear-end collision. Harris Lowry Manton LLP partner Andy Conn served as lead counsel in the Cobb County State Court case, which resulted in a notable jury verdict totaling more than 17 times the value of the plaintiffs' original medical bills. On May 2, 2022, a Douglas County, Georgia jury awarded $218,400 to a plaintiff who was severely injured in a motor vehicle accident involving texting and speeding. Drew Gilliland at Nick Schnyder Law Firm, LLC secured a jury verdict totaling more than 10 times the value of the plaintiff's original medical bills.    Click Here to Read/Download Trial Documents   Guest Bios: Drew Gilliland Drew is a trial attorney who loves helping clients through difficult times. His client philosophy is simple: treat every client like a family member. After graduating from Emory University School of Law (where he was the recipient of the Dean's Honor Scholarship), Drew started his legal career as a felony prosecutor for the State of Florida, and tried more than 50 jury trials during his tenure. Drew and his wife then moved back to Georgia where he represented Fortune 500 companies in personal injury lawsuits. After seven years of learning the ins and outs of how the defense industry protects itself against personal injury lawsuits, Drew decided to use his skills to represent people who have been injured by another's negligence. Since he became a personal injury lawyer, Drew has worked for the largest personal injury firm in the country as well as a boutique litigation firm. Drew has lectured on trial strategies and is frequently asked to co-counsel on cases with other attorneys. He has recovered millions of dollars for his clients since he became a personal injury attorney. Read Full Bio   Andy Conn Andrew (Andy) Conn joined Harris Lowry Manton LLP in 2016, after earning his J.D. from the University of Georgia School of Law and B.B.A. from University of the Georgia's Terry College of Business. At the firm, Andy's legal practice includes complex civil litigation matters including catastrophic injury cases and business tort litigation. He excels at trial work and has extensive experience in commercial motor vehicle, products liability, medical malpractice and premises liability cases. Andy is very active in the legal community where he is a member of the Georgia Trial Lawyers Association (GTLA), State Bar of Georgia and American Association for Justice. He currently serves as the Education Chair for GTLA and has been a member of the GTLA Political Action Committee since 2018. Over the years, he has held a number of leadership positions, including serving as the Savannah Trial Lawyers Association Scholarship Chair, GTLA New Lawyers Division Chair, GTLA Membership Committee Chair and Savannah Bar Association Young Lawyers Division Executive Board member. In 2015, Andy was selected for the GTLA LEAD Program, where he sharpened his leadership skills and pushed for trial policies protecting individuals' rights. For five consecutive years, Andy has been honored as a Georgia Super Lawyers Rising Star and has been recognized for his work in areas ranging from medical malpractice to products liability. Passionate about causes involving children, Andy volunteers with Make-A-Wish Georgia and is heavily involved with the Kids Cancer Alliance, a non-profit organization based out of Louisville, Kentucky that fosters positive experiences and creates valuable memories for children fighting cancer and their families. He also participates in the CJA program, where he works with indigent court-appointed clients in need of legal representation in Georgia's Southern District Federal Court. Read Full Bio Show Sponsors: Legal Technology Services - LegalTechService.com Digital Law Marketing - DigitalLawMarketing.com Harris Lowry Manton LLP - hlmlawfirm.com   Free Resources: Stages Of A Jury Trial - Part 1 Stages Of A Jury Trial - Part 2

The Great Trials Podcast
GTP Classic: John Gomez | William & Elaine Kidd v. WKS Restaurant Corporation (El Pollo Loco) | $16.2 Million Verdict

The Great Trials Podcast

Play Episode Listen Later Jun 7, 2022 66:14


This week we're replaying a classic episode where your hosts Steve Lowry and Yvonne Godfrey interview John Gomez of Gomez Trial Attorneys (https://www.thegomezfirm.com/)   Remember to rate and review GTP in iTunes: Click Here To Rate and Review   Episode Details: Award-winning trial lawyer John Gomez of Gomez Trial Attorneys shares how he secured justice for a California couple whose lives changed forever after a slip-and-fall in an El Pollo Loco restaurant. Because WKS Restaurant Corporation refused to pay overtime for workers to clean the grills after closing, employees chose to violate company policy and began cleaning an hour before closing. The resulting slippery floors caused a customer to fall, tear his quadricep and suffer a traumatic brain injury that has left him with severe optical problems.    Click Here to Read/Download Trial Documents   Guest Bio: John Gomez John Gomez founded the firm alone in 2005. He acts today as President and Lead Trial Attorney. From humble beginnings, he attended three separate San Diego public high schools and Grossmont Junior College before graduating from the Nation's top-ranked law school, Yale University, in 1993. In between, John was named an Academic All-American football player for the University of San Diego's Toreros. He clerked for a federal judge, worked for the international law firm of Latham & Watkins and served the United States as an Assistant United States Attorney until becoming a trial lawyer for people in 2000. Since that time, he has established himself as one of California's most recognized and accomplished trial lawyers. Lawyers USA named him the national Lawyer of the Year in 2010. He has twice been named San Diego's Trial Lawyer of the Year. The Consumer Attorneys of San Diego have awarded him an unprecedented nine separate Outstanding Trial Lawyer Awards. He has been named a Top 100 California Attorney overall by the Los Angeles Daily Journal, a Top 10 San Diego attorney overall by San Diego Metropolitan Magazine, and has been voted by peers a top 10 San Diego Super Lawyer every year since 2012.  He was featured as the subject of the cover story in that 2012 publication. Read Full Bio   Show Sponsors: Legal Technology Services - LegalTechService.com Digital Law Marketing - DigitalLawMarketing.com Harris Lowry Manton LLP - hlmlawfirm.com   Free Resources: Stages Of A Jury Trial - Part 1 Stages Of A Jury Trial - Part 2

The Great Trials Podcast
Render Freeman | White v. Robert M. McCommons et. al. | $22 million verdict

The Great Trials Podcast

Play Episode Listen Later May 31, 2022 79:20


This week, your hosts Steve Lowry and Yvonne Godfrey interview Render Freeman of Andersen, Tate & Carr, P.C. (https://www.atclawfirm.com/).   Remember to rate and review GTP in iTunes: Click Here To Rate and Review   Episode Details: Georgia trial lawyer Render Freeman, a partner at Andersen, Tate & Carr, P.C., explains how he secured a landmark verdict for the grieving widow of a metro Atlanta orthodontist who was killed while riding his dirt bike at a popular off-roading park in Union Point, Georgia. On September 28, 2019, Dr. Adam White was riding his dirt bike on the trails at Durhamtown Off Road Park when he was fatally struck by a 62-foot falling tree. The tree was knocked down by an excavator being driven on the track, which was a direct violation of Durhamtown Off Road Park's rule prohibiting maintenance or construction work on the track while it was in use. Durhamtown owner Mike McCommons' negligence in bringing an excavator onto the active trail served as a major focus at trial. Despite the court's ruling on the inadmissibility of evidence in three other deaths at Durhamtown Off Road Park as well as McCommons' attempts to avoid personal liability with the selling and re-branding of the park, Freeman convinced the jury to make a strong statement by delivering a verdict in this tragic wrongful death case. On April 29, 2022, a Greene County, Georgia jury found McCommons and five associated corporate entities liable for Dr. White's death and delivered a $22 million verdict. This is the largest verdict ever awarded in the Ocmulgee Judicial Circuit and in Greene County, Georgia history.  Click Here to Read/Download Trial Documents   Guest Bio: Render C. Freeman Render Freeman has dedicated his legal career to helping injured victims hold wrongdoers financially responsible for their carelessness. As a trial attorney, Mr. Freeman has a broad range of experience in litigating complex disputes, including wrongful death, personal injury, products liability, motor vehicle and trucking collisions, medical malpractice, nursing home abuse and malpractice, premises liability, negligent hiring and negligent security. Mr. Freeman has been lead trial counsel in jury trials all over Georgia from Federal District Court in Atlanta to smaller Superior Courts in the remote corners of our State. Mr. Freeman has developed a national reputation for expertise in litigating and trying personal injury lawsuits. He has lectured in Palm Springs, CA; Boca Raton, FL; Newport, RI; Rogers, AK; Cincinnati, OH; Fargo, ND; and other cities around the country. Mr. Freeman is a 2015 graduate of the Trial Lawyers College in Wyoming – an exclusive 4-week program providing advanced training for personal injury trial lawyers. Mr. Freeman is an active member of the Georgia Trial Lawyers Association and the American Association for Justice (“AAJ”), regularly attending advanced seminars to hone his litigation and trial skills. Read Full Bio   Show Sponsors: Legal Technology Services - LegalTechService.com Digital Law Marketing - DigitalLawMarketing.com Harris Lowry Manton LLP - hlmlawfirm.com   Free Resources: Stages Of A Jury Trial - Part 1 Stages Of A Jury Trial - Part 2

The Great Trials Podcast
GTP Classic: Laura Shamp | Jordan V. Phillip Morris | $11 Million Verdict

The Great Trials Podcast

Play Episode Listen Later May 24, 2022 74:49


This week, we're replaying a classic episode where your hosts Steve Lowry and Yvonne Godfrey interview Laura Shamp of Shamp Silk, LLC (https://www.shampsilk.com/).   Remember to rate and review GTP in iTunes: Click Here To Rate and Review   Episode Details: Laura Shamp obtained a verdict of $11 million dollars for an ex-smoker in a case against Philip Morris USA Inc. The jury awarded $3.2 million in punitive damages after finding that the tobacco company had committed fraud and intentionally misrepresented the dangers of smoking to consumers. (Jordan v. Philip Morris Tobacco Co.) The verdict was affirmed on appeal. Click Here to Read/Download Trial Documents   Guest Bio: Laura M. Shamp From her career as a college athlete playing in the Final Four to graduating with honors from Harvard Law School, Laura Shamp has always been a fierce competitor and has always played to win. Over the past 20 years, she has handled all types of major litigation and is known as one of the few trial lawyers able to get multi-million dollar verdicts in some of the toughest jurisdictions and has an $11 million dollar jury verdict against Philip Morris to prove it. So, it is not surprising that she is consistently listed as one of Georgia's “Super Lawyers.” Laura's success as a trial lawyer is only matched by her success as an appellate advocate. Her reported cases have helped shaped the law in Georgia regarding medical malpractice and the use of expert witness testimony in professional negligence cases and include: Hankla v. Postell, 293 Ga. 692, Georgia Supreme Court 2013; EHCA Cartersville v. Turner, 280 Ga. 333, Georgia Supreme Court 2006; Lee v. Phoebe Putney Memorial Hospital, 297 Ga. App. 692, Georgia Court of Appeals (2009); Houston v. Phoebe Putney Memorial Hospital, 295 Ga. App. 674, Georgia Court of Appeals 2009. Laura also chairs the Georgia Trial Lawyers Amicus Committee, which submits “friend of the court” briefs to the Georgia Supreme Court and Georgia Court of Appeals on issues affecting the civil justice system. Laura graduated in 1988 from Harvard Law School with honors. After graduating, she served as a federal law clerk to United States District Court Judge Robert H. Hall. In 2004, she returned to Harvard to study patient safety and medical errors under Don Berwick and Lucian Leape, leaders in the field of patient safety, and in 2005 obtained a Masters Degree in Public Health from the Harvard School of Public Health. Laura is dedicated to working to try and improve the quality of medical care in Georgia and serves on several committees that review legislation to try and address issues of medical error and patient safety. Before founding Shamp Silk, Laura had a successful solo practice for over 15 years. Before that she was at Doffermyre, Shields, Canfield, Knowles & Devine, where she practiced for four years doing plaintiffs and general civil litigation work. She began her career at Sutherland Asbill & Brennan as a general civil litigator. Laura is admitted to practice before the United States Supreme Court and the Supreme Court of the State of Georgia, as well as all other trial and appellate courts in the State of Georgia. Read Full Bio   Show Sponsors: Legal Technology Services - LegalTechService.com Digital Law Marketing - DigitalLawMarketing.com Harris Lowry Manton LLP - hlmlawfirm.com   Free Resources: Stages Of A Jury Trial - Part 1 Stages Of A Jury Trial - Part 2

The Great Trials Podcast
GTP Classic: Chris Stewart | Radkey vs Safe Investments, LLC | $1.5 Million Verdict

The Great Trials Podcast

Play Episode Listen Later May 17, 2022 73:58


This week, we're replaying a classic episode where your hosts Steve Lowry and Yvonne Godfrey interview Chris Stewart of Stewart Miller Simmons Trial Attorneys - https://smstrial.com/   Remember to rate and review GTP in iTunes: Click Here To Rate and Review   Episode Details: "Our client was staying at a local motel in a small rural county in Georgia when she was sexually assaulted by a total stranger who gained access to her room by handing a key card to the desk clerk and asking her to re-code it. Our client suffered severe mental and physical injuries. We were able to prove at trial the hotel was negligent and at fault for failing to have a written procedure in place regarding hotel keys and failure to train its employees." Click Here to Read/Download Trial Documents   Guest Bio: Chris Stewart Chris handles a variety of cases including wrongful death, civil rights, premises liability, mass torts and sexual assaults. Chris has won numerous record-setting jury verdicts and made U.S history when he won the first billion-dollar jury verdict for a rape victim. Chris is also recognized worldwide as one of the top civil rights lawyers of his generation. He has represented some of the most famous civil rights cases of this century including George Floyd, Ahmaud Arbery and Rayshard Brooks. He also represented Walter Scott, who was shot in the back on video by a police officer. The Walter Scott case settled for $6.5 million dollars – the highest in South Carolina history, and the officer received a twenty-year prison sentence. Chris also represented Alton Sterling who was held down and killed on video by police in Baton Rouge. Other high profile cases include Gregory Towns of Georgia, which led to a record settlement and two prison sentences for the officers involved, Chase Sherman of Florida who was killed on video which led to a record settlement, and Deaundre Phillips who was shot on video by police which is still in court. Read Full Bio   Show Sponsors: Legal Technology Services - LegalTechService.com Digital Law Marketing - DigitalLawMarketing.com Harris Lowry Manton LLP - hlmlawfirm.com   Free Resources: Stages Of A Jury Trial - Part 1 Stages Of A Jury Trial - Part 2

The Great Trials Podcast
Nathan Werksman and Jon Davidi | Jennefer Jones v. Mathew Epstein | $309,250 verdict

The Great Trials Podcast

Play Episode Listen Later May 10, 2022 75:13


This week your hosts Steve Lowry and Yvonne Godfrey interview Nathan Werksman of Merson Law PLLC (https://mersonlaw.com/) and Jon Davidi at Panish|Shea|Boyle|Ravipudi LLP (https://www.psbr.law/)   Remember to rate and review GTP in iTunes: Click Here To Rate and Review   Episode Details: Trial lawyers Nathan Werksman of Merson Law PLLC and Jon Davidi at Panish|Shea|Boyle|Ravipudi LLP discuss how they secured justice for a woman who was viciously attacked by a dog as well as the challenges of conducting a jury trial held at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. On December 15, 2016, plaintiff Jennefer Jones took a walk around her neighborhood and attempted to pass neighbor Mathew Epstein, who was walking a 55-pound Rhodesian Ridgeback named Turkey on the sidewalk. Turkey lunged and attacked Jennefer, biting her right forearm, breaking the skin and dragging her to the ground, where she fell on her elbow. Jennefer was later diagnosed with two injuries: radial tunnel syndrome in her forearm and lateral epicondylitis in her elbow. Despite being put in a cast, injected with platelet-rich plasma and more than 80 physical therapy sessions, Jennefer continued to experience pain that greatly affected her ability to perform everyday tasks and to work as a golf instructor. The defense argued that Turkey didn't bite Jennefer but simply scratched her and asserted that any pain is from a pre-existing condition or an overuse injury related to her golf instruction career. Nathan Werksman and Jon Davidi called out the defense's tactic of referring to Jennefer's lateral epicondylitis by its more common name of "tennis elbow" to persuade the jury of the injury's true origin. In October 2020, an Orange County, California jury found in favor of Jennefer and awarded her $309,250 in damages.  Click Here to Read/Download Trial Documents   Guest Bios: Nathan Werksman As a trial attorney at Merson Law PLLC, lawyer Nathan Werksman fights for the injured and wronged in complex personal injury, medical malpractice, products liability, sexual abuse, and mass tort litigation. Prior to joining Merson Law, Mr. Nathan Werksman recovered hundreds of millions of dollars for his clients through both settlement and trial at the distinguished California personal injury firm Panish, Shea & Boyle LLP. Prior to that, Mr. Werksman clerked at internationally renowned law firm Kirkland & Ellis, plaintiffs'-side class-action giant Robbins Geller Rudman Down, and at the Office of the San Francisco Public Defender. While at Robbins Geller, he worked on behalf of cities and counties across the U.S. suing the opioid manufacturers for the irreparable damage caused by their products. During his time at the San Francisco Public Defender, Mr. Werksman assisted in a trial resulting in an acquittal on all felony counts for his client. Mr. Werksman obtained his law degree from Stanford Law School where he founded and served as president of the Stanford Plaintiffs' Lawyers Association. While at Stanford, he also served as co-president of the American Constitution Society (ACS) and earned prizes for achieving the highest marks in several classes, including The Plaintiffs' Lawyer: Institutional Constraints and Ethical Challenges. He also served as research assistant to Professor Nora Freeman Engstrom, a scholar on tort law and legal ethics. Mr. Werksman completed his undergraduate studies at the University of Pennsylvania, where he graduated summa cum laude double majoring in History and Spanish. Nathan is very involved in the New York legal community and in making New York a more just place for the injured.  He is on the Board of Directors of the New York State Trial Lawyers Association, is a member of the Products Liability Committee at the New York City Bar Association, and is on the Executive Committee of the UJA's Young Lawyers Division. Fluent in Spanish, Mr. Werksman is admitted to practice law in New York, California, and Nevada. Read Full Bio   Jon Davidi As a trial attorney at Panish | Shea | Boyle | Ravipudi LLP, Jon Davidi represents individuals in complex personal injury, wrongful death, and product defect cases. Passionate about trial work and representing people in their time of need, Mr. Davidi has obtained over $10 million in verdicts and settlements for his clients. Most recently, he obtained two jury verdicts that were more than double the defense's best offer. Notably, one of those verdicts was awarded during the first post-Covid, socially-distanced jury trial in Orange County, California. Mr. Davidi received his J.D. from the University of California, Hastings College of the Law where he was a member of the Honor Society and graduated cum laude. He was also a member of the mock trial team and recognized as one of the nation's top advocates after winning the National Championship in the American Association for Justice (AAJ) Trial Tournament. Throughout the competition, judges commented on his ability to be persuasive and to evoke compassion for his client. Fluent in Farsi, Mr. Davidi is a member of the State Bar of California as well as an active member of both the Consumer Attorneys Association of California (CAALA) and the Consumer Attorneys of California (CAOC). Outside of work, he enjoys live music, new restaurants, and the Los Angeles Lakers. Ironically, he's never seen an episode of Law & Order. Read Full Bio   Show Sponsors: Legal Technology Services - LegalTechService.com Digital Law Marketing - DigitalLawMarketing.com Harris Lowry Manton LLP - hlmlawfirm.com   Free Resources: Stages Of A Jury Trial - Part 1 Stages Of A Jury Trial - Part 2

The Great Trials Podcast
Michael A. Kelly | Loren Kransky v. DePuy Orthopaedics, Inc. | $8.3 million verdict

The Great Trials Podcast

Play Episode Listen Later May 3, 2022 65:34


This week your hosts Steve Lowry and Yvonne Godfrey interview Michael A. Kelly of Walkup, Melodia, Kelly & Schoenberger (https://dicellolevitt.com/)   Remember to rate and review GTP in iTunes: Click Here To Rate and Review   Episode Details: Accomplished California personal injury lawyer Michael A. Kelly, a shareholder at Walkup, Melodia, Kelly & Schoenberger and recent Trial Lawyer Hall of Fame inductee, shares how he secured justice for the first of thousands of victims of a defectively designed medical device. On December 5, 2007, U.S. Air Force veteran Loren "Bill" Kransky underwent hip surgery in Montana, receiving a DePuy ASR Acetabular Hip System orthopaedic implant. DePuy, a subsidiary of Johnson & Johnson, first put the ASR Acetabular Hip System on the market in Europe in 2004, and soon after began receiving notifications from prominent surgeons that the device was flawed. Despite receiving these notifications, DePuy continued to market the metal implant as a low-wear product that required only one surgery and failed to report product issues to American doctors. On August 4, 2010, a recall was issued and the Depuy ASR Acetabular Hip System was labeled as defective, but the damage was already done for millions of patients, including Loren. Following the recall, Loren underwent revision surgery to have the implant removed because it was shedding metal debris into the tissue of his hip and bloodstream. In March 2013, a Los Angeles jury returned a verdict in favor of Loren, awarding $8,338,136.12 in damages for the pain caused by the defective design and ultimately helping to facilitate a $2.5 billion national settlement for all victims.  Click Here to Read/Download Trial Documents   Guest Bio: Michael A. Kelly Mike Kelly is one of the nation's top personal injury attorneys. For four decades he has protected consumers from corporate greed, medical mistakes, dangerous household products, unsafe medical devices, and motor vehicle accidents of every kind. He has tried, settled, and arbitrated more than 200 cases where the recovery by his client exceeded $1 million. In 2020 he helped negotiate the multibillion-dollar resolution of the 2017 California wildfire lawsuits brought against utility giant PG&E. Before that, his $8.341 million verdict in the first DePuy ASR/Johnson & Johnson metal-on-metal artificial hip litigation helped produce a $2.5 billion national settlement for all victims. In 2021 Mike was the number one vote-getter for the second year in a row on the 2021 list of Northern California “Super Lawyers”. A member of the prestigious Inner Circle of Advocates, Kelly was also included on the “Top 10” and “Top 100” list of lawyers in Northern California for the 18th time, as well as being selected by Best Lawyers to its prestigious roster for the 20th consecutive year. Recognized for his leadership in some of the most significant consumer protection cases in our state, Kelly made the list of the Los Angeles Daily Journal's 2021 Top Plaintiff Lawyers and was inducted into Lawdragon's Hall of Fame for his many years of pro-consumer successes, most recently demonstrated by his role in the litigation against the giant utility PG&E for the damage caused by the 2017-2018 Northern California wildfires and the devastating Butte County Camp Fire. When resolution by mediation or settlement fails, Kelly is ready to take his clients' cases before juries. Recent trials have produced a $4 million jury verdict against the Golden Gate Bridge Highway and Transportation District for the death of a pedestrian struck by one of its buses, a $5.6 million jury verdict against a Super Shuttle driver for the death of a retired restaurateur, a $12.75 million recovery against a domestic automaker(auto rollover), a $10.5 million settlement for the wrongful death of a single mother, and a major 8-figure confidential settlement against Kaiser Health Plan for a catastrophically injured infant. His $8.35 million verdict on behalf of a construction worker who lost an arm showed his skill in work-site injury cases. His $23.2 million jury verdict in a birth injury medical malpractice case in Minnesota ranks among that state's largest verdicts for obstetrical injury. Beyond stellar results for his clients, Kelly is proud of his many contributions to the legal community. He is a speaker for 360 Advocacy for whom he chairs its annual Trucking Litigation program. He teaches regularly for NITA, The Rutter Group, ABOTA, the Consumer Attorneys of California, AAJ, SFTLA, and the Bar Association of San Francisco. He served for 10 years as the Director of Teacher Training programs for the National Institute of Trial Advocacy and remains a member of its Board of Governors. He has long been active in protecting the rights of the underrepresented, working for pedestrian and bicyclist safety, lobbying for compensation fairness for medical malpractice victims, and protecting the rights of the LGBT community. Read Full Bio   Show Sponsors: Legal Technology Services - LegalTechService.com Digital Law Marketing - DigitalLawMarketing.com Harris Lowry Manton LLP - hlmlawfirm.com   Free Resources: Stages Of A Jury Trial - Part 1 Stages Of A Jury Trial - Part 2

The Great Trials Podcast
Christopher Stombaugh | Adriana Guzman v. The Boeing Company | $2.27 million verdict

The Great Trials Podcast

Play Episode Listen Later Apr 26, 2022 75:36


This week your hosts Steve Lowry and Yvonne Godfrey interview Christopher Stombaugh of DiCello Levitt Gutzler (https://dicellolevitt.com/)   Remember to rate and review GTP in iTunes: Click Here To Rate and Review   Episode Details: Accomplished trial lawyer Christopher Stombaugh, a partner at DiCello Levitt Gutzler in Chicago, shares how he successfully represented Costa Rican native Adriana Guzman after she suffered PTSD following a sudden decompression incident on a commercial Boeing 757 flight. On October 26, 2010, Adriana boarded a Boeing 757 in Miami. During the flight, a two-foot hole developed in the fuselage of the Boeing plane, causing a sudden decompression and a rapid descent from 32,000 feet to 10,000 feet. Adriana recalls the frightful incident, saying it felt like "a kick in the stomach" and that she feared was going to die. Years later, Adriana continued to suffer a range of medical issues from the traumatic experiences of that day aboard the Boeing plane. In spite of the defense's attempts to claim that Adriana's injuries were pre-existing conditions related to her past psychological history or to draw attention to Adriana's leave of absence from her doctoral program at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, trial lawyer Christopher Stombaugh kept the jurors focused on Adriana's life-altering injuries. Christopher Stombaugh used a timeline of events, expert witnesses and a physical demonstration of the impact of altitude on the body via a shaken soda can to help the jury understand the nature of Adriana's injuries. On April 12, 2018, a Massachusetts District Court jury returned a $2.2 million verdict in favor of plaintiff Adriana Guzman with damages deducted and prejudgment interest added, resulting in a final verdict of $2,271,651. The Boeing Company's attorneys filed an appeal claiming that Christopher Stombaugh and the plaintiff's trial team utilized controversial reptile tactics at trial, but a U.S. Magistrate Judge denied the appeal.  Click Here to Read/Download Trial Documents   Guest Bio: Christopher Stombaugh For more than 30 years, Chris Stombaugh has been devoted to his true passion, advancing the art and science of trial advocacy. Chris focuses on trial.  He has successfully tried to verdict cases for people around the country injured by hospitals, aircraft manufacturers, insurance companies, agribusiness, construction companies, truck companies and many other industries. His approach empowers people to tell their stories in a way that resonates with juries and has led to several record-setting, seven and eight figure jury verdicts. Chris speaks regularly to state bar and trial lawyer associations nationwide on modern and effective trial advocacy and is a key member of DiCello Levitt's Trial Practice Team. In addition to his own successful practice, Chris teaches trial lawyers cognitive neuroscience to benefit their clients. Chris is the past president of the Wisconsin Association for Justice, having served as president of the WAJ 2014 term. He has been chosen as a Wisconsin Super Lawyer every year since 2010.  He is an active member in a number of other trial lawyer associations. Read Full Bio Show Sponsors: Legal Technology Services - LegalTechService.com Digital Law Marketing - DigitalLawMarketing.com Harris Lowry Manton LLP - hlmlawfirm.com   Free Resources: Stages Of A Jury Trial - Part 1 Stages Of A Jury Trial - Part 2

The Great Trials Podcast
GTP CLASSIC: Nick Rowley and Steve Halteman | Jordan, et al. v. TGI Fridays, et al. | $40 million verdict

The Great Trials Podcast

Play Episode Listen Later Apr 19, 2022 71:40


This week we're replaying a classic episode where your hosts Steve Lowry and Yvonne Godfrey interview Nick Rowley and Steve Halteman of Carpenter, Zuckerman, & Rowley, (https://czrlaw.com/).   Remember to rate and review GTP in iTunes: Click Here To Rate and Review   Episode Details: Award-winning trial lawyer Nick Rowley -- a U.S. Air Force and Army veteran and one of the youngest trial lawyers to be named Consumer Attorneys Association of Los Angeles' Trial Lawyer of the Year -- explains how he represented grieving mother Carmen Jordan after her 33-year-old son Orlando Jordan was stabbed and killed in a Riverside, California TGI Fridays restaurant by an intoxicated minor and his friend.  Steve Halteman, jury consultant and Nick's co-author of the book, Trial By Human, assisted with the case and joins Steve and Yvonne to discuss this trial.  In January 2009, Orlando was enjoying a date with his girlfriend when her son Michael Castillo, 20, and his friend Louis Martinez, 27, arrived at the restaurant. Already intoxicated, Michael and Louis ordered 12 servings of alcohol in the span of 30 minutes without being asked for identification. Michael proceeded to get into a heated argument with Orlando and stabbed him. Orlando later succumbed to his injuries. Despite TGI Fridays restaurant operator Briad Group's attempts to deny any responsibility, the family's allegations were supported by the head bartender, who testified that Briad Group made a deliberate decision to not card minors in order to increase profits on Fridays and Saturdays. A Riverside County, California jury awarded Orlando's parents $40 million in damages and assigned 55% of the blame to Briad Group. Michael and Louis were both convicted in separate criminal trials and sentenced to serve time in state prison. Click Here to Read/Download the Complete Trial Documents   Guest Bio: Nicholas C. Rowley Many consider Nicholas C. Rowley, founder of Attorneys for Justice and partner at Carpenter, Zuckerman, & Rowley, to be the most accomplished trial lawyer of his generation having won more than $1.5 Billion in verdicts and settlements for injury victims and families across the country. Winner of the 2018 Attorney of the Year and five-time finalist, he is one of the youngest trial lawyers in history to be presented with the award.  He has extensive courtroom experience representing victims of serious injuries and medical malpractice, especially those who have suffered traumatic brain injuries, spinal injuries, and chronic pain. Nick has been recognized by dozens of publications for his record-breaking verdicts and work for injury victims and their families.  In 2018, Nick was named to The National Law Journal's Elite Attorneys for having a top 50 verdict in the nation.  He was also named “Los Angeles Top Litigators in 2018” by the Los Angeles Business Journal.  In 2015, Nick was listed in TopVerdict.com's Top 100 Largest US Verdicts in the nation.  In 2012, Nick was a finalist for the “Consumer Attorney of the Year” award, given by Consumer Attorney s of California (CAOC). Nick was recognized by the Los Angeles Daily Journal for winning a “Top Verdict of 2010” for his $31.6 million jury verdict for the victim of a traumatic brain injury. In 2009, the Consumer Attorney s of San Diego awarded Nick its “Outstanding Attorney ” award. In 2013, Nick was honored with the organization's top award – “Outstanding Attorney of the Year”. Some of Nick's other recent successes include a record-setting $131,000,375 verdict for the victim of a car accident after the driver was over-served at a bar, a record-setting $74,525,000 verdict for a victim of medical malpractice, $40,000,000 for two parents whose 33 year old son was negligently killed due to corporate negligence, a $38,600,000 verdict for a young man who fell from a hotel balcony while intoxicated, a $17,000,000 win for a woman who suffered a mild traumatic brain injury caused by a fall from a hotel window, $16,500,000 for a young girl who was a birth injury victim, a $13,860,000 win for a mild traumatic brain injury caused by an automobile crash, $10,250,000 for a man who suffered a below-knee amputation, $10,000,000 for an Iowa family in a wrongful death lawsuit, and $10,000,000 for a child with a mild traumatic brain injury. Read Full Bio   Steven Halteman Steven Halteman lives in Los Angeles with his significant other and her two lovely children. He is also a trial strategist and jury consultant for a number of attorneys including Nick Rowley. In his career, Mr. Halteman has consulted on cases resulting in verdicts of more than $600 million in total. His trial philosophy demands that lawyers relentlessly narrow their case to its heart, eliminating ancillary issues that distract jurors from the truth. Mr. Halteman often analogizes his trial strategy to furniture building, his hobby. The strongest and most elegant chair or table has no unnecessary parts or flourishes. Likewise, he believes that every component of a trial must have an important purpose, or it must be shed. Mr. Halteman credits his unclouded perspective of what jurors and judges really want with having lived overseas for most of his adult life, his travels through over 100 countries, and having himself served as a court commissioner in Maryland. In his spare time, he has completed six marathons, a couple of ultramarathons, and hiked both the 2,650-mile Pacific Crest Trail and 3,100-mile Continental Divide Trail. But his greatest accomplishment is having a 15-year-old daughter who still speaks to him with a measure of fondness. Read Full Bio   Show Sponsors: Legal Technology Services -LegalTechService.com Digital Law Marketing - DigitalLawMarketing.com Harris Lowry Manton LLP - hlmlawfirm.com   Free Resources: Stages Of A Jury Trial - Part 1 Stages Of A Jury Trial - Part 2

The Great Trials Podcast
GTP CLASSIC | Robin Frazer Clark | Marshall Fox, Individually and as Administrator of the Estate of Jayne B. Fox v. Emory Healthcare, Inc., The Emory Clinic, Inc., et. al. | $2.35 million verdict

The Great Trials Podcast

Play Episode Listen Later Apr 12, 2022 76:04


This week we're replaying a classic GTP episode where your hosts Steve Lowry and Yvonne Godfrey interview Robin Frazer Clark of The Law Firm of Robin Frazer Clark, P.C. (https://www.gatriallawyers.net/)   Remember to rate and review GTP in iTunes: Click Here To Rate and Review   Episode Details: Former State Bar of Georgia President Robin Frazer Clark explains how she secured justice for the only son of 75-year-old Jayne Fox, a woman who suffered a traumatic vocal cord injury during intubation for a lung biopsy, causing Jayne to suffer post-surgical aspiration pneumonia and leading to her death. Admitted to Emory University Hospital in Atlanta for a biopsy of a spot on her lung, Jayne was initially intubated with equipment that was much too large for her petite 97 lb., 5-foot frame. Following the surgery, nurses observed Jayne having difficulty clearing secretions, and an Ear, Nose and Throat (ENT) specialist found abnormalities indicating aspiration pneumonia.  However, the ENT and nurses failed to report their observations to the attending physician, Dr. Roy Rajan, who also failed to properly supervise Jayne's medical care or visit her in person. As a result, Jayne's treatment plan was not adjusted to treat her condition, and she passed away at Emory University Hospital nearly six weeks after her surgery. Despite the defense's attempts to blame Jayne's age, her son and the rarity of her post-operation condition, a Dekalb County, Georgia jury returned a verdict of $2,350,000 in damages against Emory Clinic and Dr. Rajan.   Read/Download the Complete Trial Documents   Guest Bio: Robin Frazer Clark Robin Frazer Clark is the owner and founder of the law firm of Robin Frazer Clark, P.C., and has practiced law in Georgia for 31 years. Ms. Clark devotes her practice exclusively to plaintiff's personal injury.  Her motto is “A Rising Tide Lifts All Boats.” She is the Co-host of the podcast “See You In Court.”  Ms. Clark was sworn in as the Fiftieth President of the State Bar of Georgia on June 2, 2012, only the second woman ever to serve as President of the State Bar of Georgia and served as President of the 45,000-member association in 2012-2013.  One of Ms. Clark's initiatives she created while President is the State Bar of Georgia's Suicide Prevention Campaign, “How to Save a Life.”   Ms. Clark is a Past President of the Georgia Trial Lawyers Association (GTLA), also only the second woman in the organization's history to lead GTLA.  Ms. Clark is a Past President of The Lawyers Club of Atlanta (LCA), in which she has been a member for over 25 years. Ms. Clark is the only person ever to have served as President of all three of those professional associations, the State Bar of Georgia, GTLA and Lawyers Club of Atlanta.  Ms. Clark is a Fellow of the International Society of Barristers (ISOB) whose membership is by invitation only and which is dedicated to the preservation of trial by jury, the adversary system and an independent judiciary. ISOB founders conceived the organization to bring together the best of the trial bar in a setting devoid of partisan interests. Ms. Clark also serves on the Board of Directors of the ISOB Foundation.  Ms. Clark is an Associate of the American Board of Trial Advocates (ABOTA), a National professional association dedicated to the preservation and promotion of the right to trial by jury as guaranteed by the 7th Amendment to the United States Constitution.  Ms. Clark is also a member of the Georgia Association for Women Lawyers (GAWL), and a Fellow of the Litigation Counsel of America (LCA), a trial lawyer honorary society composed of less than one-half of one percent of American lawyers. She is a Past Chair of the Atlanta Bar Association Litigation Section.  Ms. Clark serves on the Board of Directors of the Georgia Civil Justice Foundation (GCJF) and previously served on the Board of Directors of the Commission on Continuing Lawyer Competency (CCLC). Ms. Clark previously served on the Board of Directors for the Commission on Dispute Resolution, on the Board of Directors of the Institute for Continuing Judicial Education (ICJE), the Board of Directors of the Institute for Continuing Legal Education (ICLE) and the Board of Directors for the Chief Justice's Commission on Professionalism (CJCP).  She is also a member of the American Association for Justice (AAJ) and a member of the American Bar Association (ABA).  Ms. Clark has previously served on the State Bar of Georgia Office of General Counsel's Investigative Panel and the Review Panel. Ms. Clark has testified extensively before the Georgia General Assembly on issues as far ranging as the discriminatory effect of caps on damages, the detrimental impact of the proposed elimination of vicarious liability in Georgia, the Juvenile Justice Reform Legislation, signed into law in 2013 by Governor Deal, and the elimination of the assignability of legal malpractice claims.  Ms. Clark served on the Georgia General Assembly Bicameral Evidence Code Committee that was responsible for drafting the Georgia Evidence Code that was passed and signed into law in 2011 and went into effect in January 2013. Through her advocacy on behalf of Georgia citizens with the Georgia Legislature, she has built strong relationships with numerous Legislators and has worked to promote the cause of justice and protect the constitutional rights of all Georgia citizens. Ms. Clark received her Bachelor of Science in Biology from Vanderbilt University in 1985 and received her Juris Doctor from Emory University School of Law in 1988. Ms. Clark has been extensively published.  As President of the State Bar of Georgia she had 162 articles published in 84 different publications, with a total circulation of 3,122,569. Clark is the author of “Who's Your Neighbor? Our Moral Obligation to Discuss Mental Health with Our Peers,” Verdict Magazine, Winter 2018; “I'd Rather See a Sermon,” Verdict Magazine, Fall 2016; Building a Connection: Saving the Life of Your Fellow Lawyer, Daily Report, August 2016; “ARE YOU OKAY? ”The Most Important Conversation No One Wants to Have, Atlanta Bar Association Magazine, March 2015; “Realizing the Dream of Equality for All,”  Georgia Bar Journal, Vol. 18, No. 7, June 2013; State Bar's Suicide Prevention Campaign Tells ‘How to Save a Life,' Daily Report, September 2013;“All I Really Know About Professionalism I Learned in Golf,”  Georgia Bar Journal, Vol. 18, No. 6, April 2013;  “Decisions Are Made By Those Who Show Up,”  Georgia Bar Journal, Vol. 18, No. 5, February 2013; “How To Save a Life,”  Georgia Bar Journal, Vol. 18, No. 4, December 2012; “Legal Trailblazers:  Women in Leadership,”  Georgia Bar Journal, Vol. 18, No. 2, October 2012; “Sharing the Abundance and Lifting All Boats,”  Georgia Bar Journal, Vol. 18, No. 1, August 2012;   There is No Me Without You~Don Keenan:  The Road to Serendipity, a Passion for Children, Verdict Magazine, Winter 2011;  There is No Me Without You~Pressing On for a Cure: Patrick Chance's Story, Verdict Magazine, Winter 2009;   Voir Dire: It's Elementary, My Dear Watson, Verdict Magazine, Winter 2009; There You Go Again:  Other Similar Incidents in Medical Malpractice Cases (A Case Study of Bean v. Northeast Georgia Medical Center), Verdict Magazine, Vol. 29, No. 3, Fall/Winter 2004, Essential Tools for Overcoming Trial Fear, Trial Excellence, Advanced Trial Tactics for Attorneys,  May 2001 and Closing Argument Tips: Compensatory and Punitive Damages, Trial Excellence, Tactics, Legal Updates & Samples, September 2001. Ms. Clark is admitted to the State and Superior Courts of Georgia, the Georgia Court of Appeals, the Georgia Supreme Court, the United States District Court for the Northern and Middle Districts, the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit and the United States Supreme Court.  Ms. Clark has tried over 70 jury trials and has argued before Georgia appellate courts over 40 times.  Ms. Clark has given numerous speeches for the State Bar of Georgia, the Institute of Continuing Legal Education of Georgia and for the Georgia Trial Lawyers Association, has appeared on The Layman's Lawyer on Atlanta Public Television on the issue of products liability and has appeared on Leyes Cotidianas or Everyday Law on Georgia Public Television on the issue of harmful change of Georgia Civil Justice System in 2005. Ms. Clark has served as volunteer counsel for The Carter Center program “Not Even One Child's Death by a Firearm is Acceptable or Inevitable”, the Georgia Council for the Hearing Impaired and the Atlanta Bar Foundation's Truancy Intervention Project. Ms. Clark is also a volunteer lawyer with Civil Lawyers Against World Sex Slavery (CLAWSS).  Ms. Clark is married to William T. Clark, Director of Political Affairs for Georgia Trial Lawyers Association.  They have two children, Chastain “Chaz”, age 25, and Alexandria “Alex”, age 22.  Chaz is a graduate of Georgia College and State University and is attending graduate school at Georgia Institute of Technology's School of Architecture. Alex is a graduate of the University of Georgia, where she was Captain of the UGA Rowing Team and is now a 2L at the University of Georgia School of Law. Ms. Clark is a member of Glenn Memorial United Methodist Church on the beautiful Emory University Campus.  Ms. Clark is an avid golfer, carrying a 19 handicap. You may read more about Ms. Clark on her website, www.gatriallawyers.net, or her blog, www.atlantainjurylawyerblog.com.  You may reach Ms. Clark also at robinclark@gatriallawyers.net and follow her on Twitter @robinfclark. Read Full Bio   Show Sponsors: Legal Technology Services -LegalTechService.com Digital Law Marketing - DigitalLawMarketing.com Harris Lowry Manton, LLP - hlmlawfirm.com   Free Resources: Stages Of A Jury Trial - Part 1 Stages Of A Jury Trial - Part 2

The Great Trials Podcast
Doris Cheng | Maria Renteria v. Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority | $1.4 million verdict

The Great Trials Podcast

Play Episode Listen Later Apr 5, 2022 92:03


This week your hosts Steve Lowry and Yvonne Godfrey interview Doris Cheng of Walkup, Melodia, Kelly & Schoenberger (https://www.walkuplawoffice.com/)   Remember to rate and review GTP in iTunes: Click Here To Rate and Review   Episode Details: Acclaimed California trial lawyer and former San Francisco Bar Association president Doris Cheng of Walkup, Melodia, Kelly & Schoenberger shares how she successfully represented a grieving mother after her son was fatally struck by a city bus while riding his bike. On May 15, 2017, Maria Renteria's son, Luis Alvarez, Jr., rode his bike in the right lane of a Los Angeles street until he came upon a stopped Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority (LACMTA) bus and, adhering to the rules of the road, moved to the left lane to pass the bus. In an attempt to return to the right lane and travel in front of the bus, Luis was struck by the bus, dragged 70 feet and killed on impact. Trial lawyer Doris Cheng argued that the bus driver failed to be aware of her surroundings and did not adhere to her training, while defense counsel countered that the bus driver should not be held to a higher standard of care than Luis or any bicyclist. In spite of the defense's tactics, which included revealing the estrangement between Luis and his mother due to Luis's father's chronic abuse, a Los Angeles County jury assigned a percentage of negligence to both LACMTA and Luis, awarding Maria $1,400,000 in damages for the tragic loss of her son. In this in-depth discussion, Doris Cheng discusses everything from dealing with bad facts in voir dire to when to abandon the conventional "rules of the road" formula, instead focusing on the fundamental rules of persuasion: ethos, pathos and logos.     Click Here to Read/Download the Complete Trial Documents   Guest Bio: Doris Cheng A frequent guest lecturer and adjunct professor, Ms. Cheng has trained lawyers and judges nationally and internationally. As part of the Rule of Law Initiative, she has had the privilege of training trial lawyers and judges in Mexico, Kosovo, and Macedonia.  She has also collaborated and trained with civil practitioners in Singapore and Belfast. This past year, she led trial skills training for criminal prosecution offices in Glasgow, Scotland and multiple Caribbean countries. Ms. Cheng is also the Program Director of the National Institute for Trial Advocacy's Western Region Advocacy Teacher Training Program. In 2012, she was awarded the Robert E. Keeton Award for outstanding service by the National Institute for Trial Advocacy. She is the 2015 recipient of the University of San Francisco Professional Achievement Award. Ms. Cheng is involved in local bar associations and community organizations. She is the current President (former Secretary) of the San Francisco Bar Association and immediate Past President of the San Francisco Trial Lawyers Association.  She is a former Chair of the Civility Matters! Program and current national representative for the American Board of Trial Advocates (San Francisco Chapter).  She is a member of the American College of Trial Lawyers. She serves on the Kaiser Arbitration Oversight Board. She is a co-author of the eminent Rutter Group California Practice Guide on Personal Injury, and the trial practice guide, Mastering the Mechanics of Civil Jury Trials. Following the induction of new Fellows of The American College of Trial Lawyers, Doris Cheng gave a speech to all the new inductees about being awarded such an elite honor. Read Full Bio   Show Sponsors: Legal Technology Services - LegalTechService.com Digital Law Marketing - DigitalLawMarketing.com Harris Lowry Manton LLP - hlmlawfirm.com   Free Resources: Stages Of A Jury Trial - Part 1 Stages Of A Jury Trial - Part 2

The Great Trials Podcast
GTP CLASSIC: Chrysta Castañeda | Mesa Petroleum Partners LP v. Baytech LLP, J. Cleo Thompson and James Cleo Thompson, Jr., LP, and Delaware Basin Resources LLC | $146 million verdict

The Great Trials Podcast

Play Episode Listen Later Mar 29, 2022 78:32


This week we're replaying a classic episode where your hosts Steve Lowry and Yvonne Godfrey interview Chrysta Castañeda of The Castañeda Firm (https://castaneda-firm.com/) Remember to rate and review GTP in iTunes: Click Here To Rate and Review Episode Details: Accomplished Dallas oil and gas litigator Chrysta Castañeda of The Castañeda Firm discusses how she secured justice for oil tycoon T. Boone Pickens, the owner of Mesa Petroleum Partners, in a landmark breach of contract case against three Texas oil companies, securing the nation's 12th largest verdict in 2016. In January 2007, Mesa Petroleum Partners signed a participation agreement with J. Cleo Thompson and Baytech, affording Mesa 15% ownership in oil wells and other assets in Texas over a five-year period. Mesa Petroleum elected to participate in all offered deals, but unbeknownst to Pickens, Mesa Petroleum's 15% interest was being used to purchase assets and to drill more than 160 wells under the auspices of two newly formed companies: Patriot Resources and Delaware Basin Resources. In 2009, Delaware Basin Resources attempted to buy out Mesa Petroleum from the original agreement and recruited Baytech to initiate an offer that Mesa Petroleum ultimately rejected. Despite the defense's claims that Pickens stated in a phone call that he wanted out of the agreement, except for his initial investment in a Lyda Well, and assertions that Pickens did not pay his fair share and was looking to repair his reputation after making poor business decisions during the 2008-2009 financial crisis, Chrysta Castañeda secured justice for her client. In November 2016, after a five-week trial, a Reeves County, Texas jury returned a verdict in favor of the plaintiff, awarding more than $140 million in damages plus legal fees. This groundbreaking case is also featured in the book The Last Trial of T. Boone Pickens, written by Chrysta Castañeda and Loren Steffy. Read/Download the Complete Trial Documents   Guest Bio: Chrysta Castañeda Chrysta Castañeda is a go-to lawyer for high-stakes litigation in the energy industry and beyond.  Practicing for over twenty-five years, she has built a solid reputation for adeptly handling technical litigation, often serving as lead trial counsel in high-profile disputes of media interest.  Her win for T. Boone Pickens' Mesa Petroleum Partners was recognized as the 12th largest verdict in 2016 in the nation by The National Law Journal and earned her a spot as one of the NLJ's Elite Trial Lawyers of 2018, as well as induction into Texas Lawyer‘s Texas Verdicts Hall of Fame. Following this series of high-profile recognitions, Chrysta was inducted as a fellow of the Texas Bar Foundation in the beginning of 2020. Chrysta developed her reputation and commitment to excellence from practicing for more than two decades at top firms worldwide.  Since founding the Castañeda Firm, Chrysta has prioritized delivering the quality of representation found in large law firms in a personalized way. Chrysta and her team strive to out-prepare the opposition, from investigation through trial. Chrysta not only has more than two decades of experience litigating energy and oil and gas matters but also holds a degree in engineering.  Her technical training in combination with her experience in crisis communications frequently proves invaluable to clients, enabling her to effectively explain complex scientific concepts to judges and juries. Clients value Chrysta's strength and tenacity.  As Chrysta puts it, “We take pride in having both the knowledge and experience clients require, as well as the necessary tenacity and creativity to craft winning strategies.  We aim to prepare so thoroughly that we can adapt without hesitation to changing dynamics at trial or in discovery.  I want our clients to feel confident and assured when The Castañeda Firm is on their case.” Outside of the oil and gas and energy industries, Chrysta has extensive experience in commercial litigation, trade secrets, products liability, pharmaceutical, medical device, and toxic tort litigation. Read Full Bio Book Link: The Last Trial of T. Boone Pickens   Show Sponsors: Legal Technology Services -LegalTechService.com Digital Law Marketing - DigitalLawMarketing.com Harris Lowry Manton, LLP - hlmlawfirm.com   Free Resources: Stages Of A Jury Trial - Part 1 Stages Of A Jury Trial - Part 2

The Great Trials Podcast
GTP CLASSIC: Victor Vital | Mugdock Tavern Investments and Duffy I, LP, v. CAT Seattle, LLC et al. | Take Nothing Verdict

The Great Trials Podcast

Play Episode Listen Later Mar 22, 2022 62:10


This week we're replaying a classic episode where your hosts Steve Lowry and Yvonne Godfrey interview Victor Vital of Barnes & Thornburg LLP (https://btlaw.com/)   Remember to rate and review GTP in iTunes: Click Here To Rate and Review   Episode Details: Texas Lawyer Verdicts Hall of Fame inductee Victor Vital, a partner at Barnes & Thornburg LLP, shares how he secured a take-nothing defense verdict in a business fraud claim against his clients, CAT Seattle and Ascend Health Corporation. Both companies countersued Jim Graham, a Dallas oil magnate, and his company, Duffy, for illegally wiretapping a conversation that resulted in a $2 million purchase agreement. Jim Graham secretly and without consent recorded a critical conversation with a "spy pen" during business negotiations. A Dallas County, Texas jury sided with Victor's clients regarding the wiretapping claim, resulting in the recovery of attorneys' fees.      Click Here to Read/Download the Complete Trial Documents   Guest Bio: Victor Vital Victor's trial experience ranges from patent litigation, unfair competition, contract disputes, business tort cases, and high net worth divorce cases to trade secret and non-compete litigation, real estate disputes, products liability matters, catastrophic injury and death cases, consumer fraud matters, and white-collar criminal matters. Because of his broad trial experience, clients and lawyers turn to Victor regardless of subject matter when they need a trial lawyer for their important cases. Beyond his trial experience, Victor has successfully resolved through settlement and dismissal all types of complex civil litigation matters. Moreover, Victor has secured favorable plea deals and indictment declinations in a range of white-collar criminal matters, including wire fraud and mail fraud, tax evasion, securities fraud, Ponzi cases, and money laundering. Notably, Victor was inducted into the Texas Lawyer Verdicts Hall of Fame for securing a No. 1 verdict -- the largest employment verdict in Texas in 2012 – for a corporate plaintiff in a complicated noncompete/trade secrets matter. In 2016, Victor secured the largest (No. 1) verdict in the fraud category in the Texas Lawyer Top Texas Verdicts & Settlements of 2016, with a jury verdict of nearly $34 million (including $16 million in punitive damages) in a partnership dispute involving claims of fraud and breach of fiduciary duty. This top 2016 jury verdict also made the National Law Journal Top 100 list. Victor is often brought onboard on the eve of trial – in the final months or weeks leading up to trial – because of his deep trial experience. Moreover, Victor is a prolific author and invited lecturer/educator on trial issues. He also teaches trial practice techniques and provides commentary on major trials and cases in the media. Victor previously served as a partner in national and international law firms and has prosecuted cases in a prominent district attorney's office. Read Full Bio Show Sponsors: Legal Technology Services - LegalTechService.com Digital Law Marketing - DigitalLawMarketing.com Harris Lowry Manton LLP - hlmlawfirm.com   Free Resources: Stages Of A Jury Trial - Part 1 Stages Of A Jury Trial - Part 2

The Great Trials Podcast
Cruz v. Allied Aviation Fueling Company of Houston, Inc., and Reginald Willis | $352.77 million verdict

The Great Trials Podcast

Play Episode Listen Later Mar 15, 2022 68:04


This week, your hosts Steve Lowry and Yvonne Godfrey interview Randall Sorrels and Alexandra Farias-Sorrels of Sorrels Law (https://sorrelllawfirm.com/)   Remember to rate and review GTP on iTunes: Click Here To Rate and Review   Case Details: Husband-and-wife trial team Randall Sorrels and Alexandra Farias-Sorrels of Sorrels Law share how they secured justice for an airline wing walker who was struck by a fueling truck and catastrophically injured. On September 7, 2019, Ulysses Cruz donned his yellow vest and held bright orange wands to guide a United Airlines plane when Allied Aviation Fueling Company truck driver Reginald Willis struck Ulysses with the vehicle. Ulysses was paralyzed on impact, underwent spine stabilization surgery and suffered an accident-related stroke that affected the right side of his body and the left side of his brain. In the courtroom, award-winning trial lawyers Randall and Alexandra Sorrels sparred against the defense attorney, who attempted to place blame on United Airlines and to label Ulysses as a wing walker with a lack of "situational awareness." The Sorrels Law duo countered with proof that Reginald Willis violated Allied Aviation Fueling Company's policies by continuing to drive while blinded by the sun. On October 25, 2021, a Harris County, Texas jury found Allied Aviation Fueling Company 70% responsible and driver Reginald Willis 30% responsible for the accident and awarded Ulysses Cruz and his family a $352.77 million verdict, which is believed to be the largest actual damages verdict in U.S. history for an injured worker.    Click Here to Read/Download the Complete Trial Documents Guest Bios: Randy Sorrel Randy Sorrels holds the unique distinction of being the only Texas board-certified plaintiffs' lawyer ever to have been elected to serve as President of the State Bar of Texas and selected as one of the Top 100 lawyers in the state by Texas Super Lawyers magazine. His passionate representation of clients and lawyers has garnered statewide recognition and numerous prestigious awards. Randy and his partner/wife obtained what is believed to be the largest actual damages verdict in United States' history for an injured worker — $352.7 million – in a fully contested jury trial. In short, whether it is in the courtroom or in the boardroom, Randy has an unparalleled track record of success for his clients and the organizations he leads. As a leader, Randy was voted by Texas lawyers to become the 2019-2020 State Bar President by the widest margin of victory in State Bar history. During his presidential service, he traveled Texas solidifying his reputation for helping not only those who hire him, but also helping fellow lawyers. His network of friends and relationships throughout the state is vast, and he is often hired by lawyers who are in need of representation. As a zealot advocate for his clients, Randy holds four board certifications including in Personal Injury Trial Law, Civil Trial Law and Civil Trial Advocacy from the Texas Board of Legal Specialization and the National Board of Trial Advocacy. And in a peer selection process, for the last 14 years he has been named one of the Top 100 lawyers in the state. He is sought after by the nationwide and local media for legal analysis, commentary and perspective. Randy's success in the courtroom is also well-known throughout Texas and the nation. He has taken dozens of cases to trial, securing multi-million-dollar verdicts in personal injury cases, medical malpractice cases, plant explosion cases and business lawsuits. During the time of Covid, Randy and the Sorrels Law team secured two of the largest personal injury jury verdicts in the country in high-profile cases that received media attention worldwide. In one of the cases, the jury returned an actual damages verdict of $352.7 million for an injured worker who suffered catastrophic injuries, while in the other the jury awarded two minor league baseball players $3.24 million. For 2022, Randy has been named the Best Lawyers® Personal Injury – Plaintiffs “Lawyer of the Year” in Houston, and has been named the Best Lawyers' Medical Malpractice Law – Plaintiffs “Lawyer of the Year” in Houston on three separate occasions. He has received some of the highest legal honors in the state, including being awarded the State Bar of Texas President's Award (recognizing the one Texas Lawyer who provided the most outstanding contributions through distinguished service to the lawyers of Texas), the Judge Sam Williams Award (recognizing the Texas lawyer who provides the greatest contribution to both local bars and the State Bar of Texas), and the Houston Bar Association President's Award (recognizing significant contributions to an HBA program). Early in his career, Randy was honored with the Woodrow B. Seals Outstanding Young Lawyer of Houston Award (recognizing the one young Houston lawyer who exemplified significant professional traits both inside and outside the practice of law). He started his career as a lawyer at the internationally acclaimed Fulbright & Jaworski (now Norton Rose Fulbright). Read Full Bio   Alex Farias-Sorrels Alex Farias-Sorrels is a passionate litigator, who left “Big-Law” to pursue her desire to help people who have been wrongly injured. She treats her clients like family and handles every aspect of her cases as if she were handling them for her own mother, father, sister, or brother. A Latina, native Houstonian, and bilingual lawyer, Alex is proud to bring a woman's touch to personal injury law. Alex attended both undergrad (2007) and law school (2010) at the University of Miami in Coral Gables, graduating with honors.  While graduating in the top 10% of her law school class, Alex also interned for the appellate division of the U.S. Attorney's office in Houston and for Legal Services of Greater Miami. After law school, as part of a fellowship program, Alex served as a full-time law clerk for U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Jeff Bohm for a year.  At the same time, and on a part-time basis, she received her first exposure to plaintiffs' work at a respected personal injury law firm in Houston where she handled personal injury cases and business disputes.  In her second year of practice, she worked as a briefing attorney for the Supreme Court of Texas, clerking for Justice David Medina. There, she assisted the Court in assessing complex state law issues and also helped draft the Court's opinions. After her term at the Court, Alex joined the international law firm Morgan, Lewis & Bockius, a Philadelphia-based firm with over 2,200 lawyers worldwide.  Alex practiced in the firm's Houston litigation section and focused mostly on complex commercial cases and insurance recovery cases.  She also handled products liability and personal injury cases, including aircraft crashes.  She served as first-chair counsel in more than ten trials, and was often called on to assist on thorny appellate issues.  Alex's largest victory came in an arbitration award, as she was instrumental in securing an almost $300 million arbitration award on behalf of a major Fortune 500 company on a fraudulent transfer claim.   Alex and her husband Randy Sorrels have a young son, Houston Alexander, who is bilingual, and keeps them busy when they are not working.  They also have two rescue dogs – Gio and Luna.  Alex is active in the bar, currently serving as a board member on both the Texas Bar Foundation and the Houston Young Lawyers Foundation. Read Full Bio Show Sponsors: Legal Technology Services - LegalTechService.com Digital Law Marketing - DigitalLawMarketing.com Harris Lowry Manton LLP - hlmlawfirm.com   Free Resources: Stages Of A Jury Trial - Part 1 Stages Of A Jury Trial - Part 2

The Great Trials Podcast
GTP Classic: Micha Star Liberty | Denis Le Moullac and Jessie Jewitt v. Daylight Foods, Inc. | $4 million verdict

The Great Trials Podcast

Play Episode Listen Later Mar 8, 2022 72:37


This week we're replaying a classic episode where your hosts Steve Lowry and Yvonne Godfrey interview Micha Star Liberty of Liberty Law Office, Inc. (https://libertylaw.com/).    Remember to rate and review GTP in iTunes: Click Here To Rate and Review   Episode Details: Award-winning California trial attorney Micha Star Liberty discusses how she successfully advocated for the grieving parents of 24-year-old Amelie Le Moullac after she was fatally struck by a commercial vehicle while riding in a San Francisco bike lane in 2013. A responsible bicyclist, Amelie wore her helmet and stayed in the designated bicycle lane, but neither action prevented her from being run over by a 13,000-ton Daylight Foods, Inc. box truck, which illegally crossed the bike lane to make a sudden right turn. Amelie died from her injuries, including a fractured skull and crushed torso. Micha Star Liberty helped secure key video footage of the crash from a nearby business security camera after the San Francisco Police Department failed to conduct a thorough investigation, which was later revealed to be part of a larger bias against bicyclists. Despite the defense's attempts to blame Amelie and to depict her as a reckless bicyclist, Micha Star Liberty invoked a California Vehicle Code statute, which underscored the fact that Amelie had the right to remain in her bike lane and treat it as a safety zone in the event of a turning vehicle, which trumped the defense's use of a more general statute. In January 2015, a San Francisco jury ruled that Amelie shared no responsibility in her tragic death, found the driver to be at fault and awarded Amelie's parents a total of $4 million in damages.   Read/Download the Complete Trial Documents   Guest Bio: Micha Star Liberty Micha Star Liberty is the owner of Liberty Law Office, Inc. — a diverse legal practice primarily representing individuals who have suffered a serious injury or abuse, including child sexual abuse. The firm also represents employees who have been discriminated against or harassed in the workplace, and Micha has assisted businesses with finding a common ground when releasing an employee on best terms. Ms. Liberty is a graduate of the University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA) and the University of California, Hastings College of the Law. She has held the title of President and Vice President of multiple legal and political organizations, expanding her network of associates and resources, which often helps to expedite the legal process for the greater benefit of her clients. “My clients come to me during a time of tremendous pain, anguish, and often confusion. They need help and a specialized kind of help. Someone to talk to who will listen; someone who can offer confidential protection under the law; someone with trial knowledge who has worked with similar experiences so they know they are not alone. Everyone needs help and compassion during hard times. My calling in life is to be that advocate for my clients, and I'm never one to back down from a fight for what is right.” Ms. Liberty is a frequent lecturer and published author, focusing much of her public speaking on trial practice, discovery techniques, the importance of mentoring, and best practices for opening a law office and law office management. In 2015, the Consumer Attorneys of California — an organization made up of more than 3000 lawyers in California alone — presented her with the Street Fighter of the Year award at their 54th annual convention held at The Palace in San Francisco. Ms. Liberty was granted the award after holding the Contra Costa County School District accountable for a child sexual molestation case in which school officials were aware of the abuse and took no action. Every year since 2005, she's been given the Presidential Award of Merit. In 2005 and 2006 she was presented the Defender of Justice Award and the Outstanding Service Award, respectively. In 2018, she was awarded the Women's Advocate of the Year Award for her hard work on legislation and for prosecuting numerous cases dealing with the #me too era. Ms. Liberty was a contributing author and editor for the following practice guides: California Client Communications Manual, and California Basic Practice Handbook, both published by Continuing Education of the Bar. Read Full Bio   Show Sponsors: Legal Technology Services -LegalTechService.com Digital Law Marketing - DigitalLawMarketing.com Harris, Lowry, and Manton - hlmlawfirm.com   Free Resources: Stages Of A Jury Trial - Part 1 Stages Of A Jury Trial - Part 2

The Great Trials Podcast
Brandon McHugh & Jeananne Ayoub│GibsonBros., Inc., et al. v. Oberlin College, et al. │ $44 million verdict

The Great Trials Podcast

Play Episode Listen Later Jul 23, 2019 73:35


This week, your hosts Steve Lowry and Yvonne Godfrey interview Brandon Mchugh of  Tzangas Plakas Mannos Ltd. ( https://www.lawlion.com).     Remember to rate and review GTP in iTunes: Click Here To Rate and Review     Case Details:     Tzangas Plakas Mannos Ltd. attorneys Brandon McHugh and Jeananne Ayoub explain how their team secured justice for a multi-generational Ohio bakery after it was defamed as a racist business by Oberlin College administrators and students.   In November 2016, a Gibson's Bakery employee confronted three African-American Oberlin College students for attempted shoplifting, which resulted in student protests, flyers encouraging boycotts, and the termination of the college's business with the bakery. With no evidence of racial discrimination, Oberlin College continued to harm the bakery's reputation and failed to retract or correct the wrongful statements, leading the jury to conclude that Oberlin College acted with actual malice that warranted punitive damages.   Click Here to Read/Download the Complete Trial Documents     Guest Bio:   Brandon W. McHugh is an associate attorney with our firm.  His practice includes business litigation, legal malpractice litigation, personal injury cases, and general litigation.   Mr. McHugh is a native of Summit County, Ohio and graduated summa cum laude from the University of Akron with a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science.  Mr. McHugh graduated summa cum laude from the University of Akron School of Law where he received CALI Excellence for the Future Awards for obtaining the highest grades in Civil Procedure, Constitutional Law, Basic and Incorporated Business Associations, Torts, and Contracts I courses.  While at Akron Law, Mr. McHugh refined his oral and written advocacy skills as a member of the Evidence Team for the Akron Law Chapter of the Moot Court Honor Society.  Mr. McHugh also served as an Associate Editor for the Akron Law Review.   Mr. McHugh was admitted to the Ohio Bar in 2017, where he scored in the 100th percentile on the Ohio Bar Examination, and is licensed to practice in all courts in the State of Ohio.   Read Full Bio     Show Sponsors:     Legal Technology Services - LTSatlanta.com     Digital Law Marketing - DigitalLawMarketing.com     Harris, Lowry, and Manton - hlmlawfirm.com     Free Resources:   Stages Of A Jury Trial - Part 1 Stages Of A Jury Trial - Part 2

The Great Trials Podcast
Steve Vartazarian & Matt Whibley│Reed v. County of San Bernardino Children and Family Services│ $113.4 million verdict

The Great Trials Podcast

Play Episode Listen Later Jul 16, 2019 88:08


This week, your hosts Steve Lowry and Yvonne Godfrey interview Steve Vartazarian & Matt Whibley of The Vartazarian Law Firm (https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-vartazarian-law-firm/).     Remember to rate and review GTP in iTunes: Click Here To Rate and Review     Case Details:     Four-time Southern California Super Lawyer honoree Steve Vartazarian and Matt Whibley of the Vartazarian Law Firm share their strategy for holding San Bernadino County liable for its failure to follow mandatory regulations in a case of extreme child abuse against 5-year-old Noah Reed. Despite multiple reports to Children and Family Services and a visit to the home, county social workers did not implement a case plan or follow-up on Noah's welfare. Months later, Noah lay comatose in the hospital. Today, he is confined to a wheelchair with devastating injuries, including permanent brain damage. The jury awarded $13.4 million in economic losses and $100 million in non-economic losses, which is believed to be California's largest pain and suffering award in a case without punitive damages.   Click Here to Read/Download the Complete Trial Documents     Guest Bios:   Steven Vartazarian Biography Steve graduated cum laude from Oklahoma City University and cum laude from Thomas Jefferson School of Law. He is a member of the American Board of Trial Attorneys (ABOTA), and he serves on the Board of the Consumer Attorney's Association of Los Angeles (CAALA), the Los Angeles Trial Lawyer's Charities (LATLC), Brain Society of California, and is a member of the Cowboy Lawyers Association and the Armenian Bar Association. After starting out as an associate in a Los Angeles based personal injury firm, Steve opened his own firm, the Vartazarian Law Firm, in 2010. The Varazarian Law Firm prides itself on obtaining significant non-economic damages awards on cases where the economic damages are relatively low. Awards and notes: - two verdicts in the TopVerdict list of top 100 verdicts of 2018 - two verdicts in the TopVerdict list of top 100 verdicts of 2017 - CVN's top 10 most impressive verdict of 2017 - winner of the DK Global Golden Advocate award in 2015 - member of the National Association of Distinguished Counsel   Matthew Whibley Biography Matt attended the University of Ottawa in Ontario, Canada, then went on to tour the world with a platinum-selling and Grammy-nominated Canadian punk rock band. He then attended Southwestern Law School in Los Angeles, quickly obtaining numerous academic awards and scholarships eventually graduating number 1 in the school. He attended Trial Lawyers College in 2017. Matt joined the law firm as an associate after graduating from law school in 2014. Matt handles the majority of the pre-trial litigation, depositions, and discovery for Steve's trials as well as co-counsels the trial and handles the economic-damage witnesses.     Show Sponsors:     Legal Technology Services - LTSatlanta.com     Digital Law Marketing - DigitalLawMarketing.com     Harris, Lowry, and Manton - hlmlawfirm.com     Free Resources:   Stages Of A Jury Trial - Part 1 Stages Of A Jury Trial - Part 2