Elawvate: The Trial Lawyer Podcast

Win Big on Appeal: The Plaintiff's Appellate Playbook, with Deepak Gupta

Mon, 06 Apr 2026 03:00:00 -0400

Washington, D.C.-based Gupta Wessler holds the highest win rate among the top five most active firms practicing before the 6-3 conservative U.S. Supreme Court firms. And they’re large, corporate firms “representing corporations that have done bad stuff,” says founder Deepak Gupta. “How do we do that? We do it by appealing – sometimes it's methodologically – to conservative commitments.” In this conversation with hosts Ben Gideon and Rahul Ravipudi, Deepak unpacks how his firm wins and how trial lawyers can protect damages that may go on appeal. Tune in for his description of taking on Uber when it wanted to cap contingency fees in Nevada.

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☑️ Deepak Gupta | LinkedIn

☑️ Gupta Wessler on LinkedIn | Instagram | Facebook | X

☑️ Ben Gideon | LinkedIn | Facebook | Instagram

☑️ Gideon Asen on LinkedIn | Facebook | YouTube | Instagram

☑️ Rahul Ravipudi | LinkedIn | Instagram

☑️ Panish Shea Ravipudi LLP on LinkedIn | Facebook | YouTube | Instagram

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Sponsored by SmartAdvocate, Hype Legal, Expert Institute, Filevine, and Steno.

You Need to Know This Principle to Pick a Jury, with Bo Fraser

Mon, 23 Mar 2026 03:00:00 -0400

"Bad is stronger than good" is a widely cited principle in social psychology – and one that trial consultant Bo Fraser has built his jury strategy around. “You're not going to win them with, ‘We're the good guy and here's why’ story,” Bo explains to host Ben Gideon. Bo considered a career in marketing before earning a PhD in social psychology and joining his mother at the consultancy firm she founded, Trial Psychology Institute. Tune in as he delves into “bad vs. good” and other psychological themes that plaintiffs’ lawyers can leverage to pick the best jurors. Results speak for themselves: He and Ben recently worked together on a case that won the highest injury verdict in Maine history. “Getting that news about that record-setting verdict, that was a highlight of my 2025 for sure,” Bo says.

Learn More and Connect

☑️ Bo Fraser | LinkedIn

☑️ Trial Psychology Institute

☑️ Ben Gideon | LinkedIn | Facebook | Instagram

☑️ Gideon Asen on LinkedIn | Facebook | YouTube | Instagram

☑️ Rahul Ravipudi | LinkedIn | Instagram

☑️ Panish Shea Ravipudi LLP on LinkedIn | Facebook | YouTube | Instagram

☑️ Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Spotify

Produced and Powered by LawPods

Sponsored by SmartAdvocate, Hype Legal, Expert Institute, Filevine, and Steno.

Special Preview: The Entrepreneur’s Top 10, with Ben Gideon and Jeff Wright

Wed, 11 Mar 2026 03:00:00 -0400

Live from Portland, Maine, it’s Ben Gideon and Jeff Wright, the team from Gideon Asen taping a special edition of “Elawvate: Build and Grow Your Law Firm.” Ben and Jeff walk through 10 proven strategies for building a financially successful law firm, covering everything from dominating a niche and making data-driven decisions to scaling without losing your culture and building systems designed for the law firm of the future. They also take audience questions. If you’ve had a question about being a law firm entrepreneur, tune in; someone else may have wondered the same thing – and Ben and Jeff may have answered it on the air.

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☑️ Ben Gideon | LinkedIn | Facebook | Instagram

☑️ Jeff Wright

☑️ Gideon Asen on LinkedIn | Facebook | YouTube | Instagram

☑️ Rahul Ravipudi | LinkedIn | Instagram

☑️ Panish Shea Ravipudi LLP on LinkedIn | Facebook | YouTube | Instagram

☑️ Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Spotify

Produced and Powered by LawPods

Sponsored by SmartAdvocate, Hype Legal, Expert Institute, Filevine, and Steno.

Win Your Case at Voir Dire, with Todd Schafer

Mon, 09 Mar 2026 03:00:00 -0400

A jury once told Todd Schafer that they had decided the case in his favor before he stood up for opening statement. Why? Todd pulls back the curtain on his success with picking juries in this conversation with hosts Ben Gideon and Rahul Ravipudi. A second-generation trial lawyer and partner at Schafer & Schafer in Indiana, Todd reflects on that case – at the time, he was a young lawyer who “right away recognized voir dire is important.” Since then, he’s developed a systematic approach to talking about money and a strategy for overcoming Indiana’s verdict form that doesn’t allow for damages to be broken down. As for persuading that jury before he stood up? Tune in to learn how it unfolded.

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☑️ Todd Schafer | LinkedIn

☑️ Schafer & Schafer on Instagram | Facebook

☑️ Ben Gideon | LinkedIn | Facebook | Instagram

☑️ Gideon Asen on LinkedIn | Facebook | YouTube | Instagram

☑️ Rahul Ravipudi | LinkedIn | Instagram

☑️ Panish Shea Ravipudi LLP on LinkedIn | Facebook | YouTube | Instagram

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Produced and Powered by LawPods

Sponsored by SmartAdvocate, Hype Legal, Expert Institute, Filevine, and Steno.

Trial Excellence and Effecting Change, with Shanin Specter

Mon, 23 Feb 2026 03:00:00 -0400

Shanin Specter’s $25 million verdict against Boeing last November is just one example of his approach to tort: It’s not just about compensation and deterrence. It’s also about sharing important public information. The son of former Pennsylvania senator Arlen Specter, Shanin weighs the different avenues for effecting change – whether it’s in public service, like his father, or in the private sector – in this conversation with host Ben Gideon. Tune in for Shanin’s thoughts about the role of lawyers today (find opportunities to litigate against the Trump administration) and his advice to law students (you don’t have to get swallowed up by BigLaw).

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☑️ Shanin Specter | LinkedIn

☑️ Kline & Specter on LinkedIn | Instagram | Facebook | X | YouTube

☑️ Ben Gideon | LinkedIn | Facebook | Instagram

☑️ Gideon Asen on LinkedIn | Facebook | YouTube | Instagram

☑️ Rahul Ravipudi | LinkedIn | Instagram

☑️ Panish Shea Ravipudi LLP on LinkedIn | Facebook | YouTube | Instagram

☑️ Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Spotify

Produced and Powered by LawPods

Sponsored by SmartAdvocate, Hype Legal, Expert Institute, Filevine, and Steno.

View from a Former JAG: Our “National Emergency,” with Margaret Donovan

Mon, 09 Feb 2026 03:00:00 -0400

A former JAG officer and federal prosecutor, Margaret Donovan is now an associate at Koskoff, Koskoff and Bieder and proud to promote her firm’s work suing the administration – including in this conversation with hosts Rahul Ravipudi and Taylor Asen. Leaning on her JAG experience, she dismantles the administration’s shaky legal argument for its strikes on alleged drug boats and explains why the administration will have a difficult time defending its attempt to censure Sen. Mark Kelly. Tune in as she breaks down why she believes we’re in a “national emergency” – and what lawyers can do about it. “Anybody who knows how to bring a case needs to be putting those skills to work.”

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☑️ Margaret Donovan

☑️ Koskoff, Koskoff and Bieder on LinkedIn | Instagram

☑️ Taylor Asen | LinkedIn

☑️ Gideon Asen on LinkedIn | Facebook | YouTube | Instagram

☑️ Rahul Ravipudi | LinkedIn | Instagram

☑️ Panish Shea Ravipudi LLP on LinkedIn | Facebook | YouTube | Instagram

☑️ Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Spotify

Produced and Powered by LawPods

Sponsored by SmartAdvocate, Hype Legal, Expert Institute, Filevine, and Steno.

Big Law IP Strategy and Activism, with Neel Chatterjee

Mon, 26 Jan 2026 03:00:00 -0400

From running a radio station in undergraduate school to running an “IP litigation ambulance” as a young lawyer to running a platform that fights the Trump administration’s attacks on law firms, Neel Chatterjee has had a remarkable journey. In this wide-ranging conversation with host Rahul Ravipudi, Neel shares insights about developing his nationally recognized IP practice, litigating in Big Law, and leveraging his background in social media to create “Law Firm Partners United” on LinkedIn.

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☑️ Neel Chatterjee | LinkedIn

☑️ King & Spalding on LInkedIn | Instagram | X

☑️ Rahul Ravipudi | LinkedIn | Instagram

☑️ Panish Shea Ravipudi LLP on LinkedIn | Facebook | YouTube | Instagram

☑️ Ben Gideon | LinkedIn | Facebook | Instagram

☑️ Gideon Asen on LinkedIn | Facebook | YouTube | Instagram

☑️ Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Spotify

Produced and Powered by LawPods

Sponsored by SmartAdvocate, Hype Legal, Expert Institute, Filevine, and Steno.

Try Good Cases, Be Great Teammates, with Pat Salvi II

Mon, 22 Dec 2025 03:00:00 -0400

The list of wins is long: $363 million on a toxics exposure case; $148 million on a paralysis case, $79 million on a police pursuit case; $75 on a brain injury case. But the philosophy at Salvi, Schostok & Pritchard is short: “We want to try good cases and be great team members,” says Managing Partner Pat Salvi II as he visits with hosts Ben Gideon and Rahul Ravipudi. Tune in as Pat reflects on turning down $35 million before achieving a $148 million verdict, making first impressions, and preparing for trials through what some may call a “grueling” process. “There's no silver bullet,” he says. “There's no shortcut.”

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☑️ Pat Salvi II | LinkedIn

☑️ Ben Gideon | LinkedIn | Facebook | Instagram

☑️ Gideon Asen on LinkedIn | Facebook | YouTube | Instagram

☑️ Rahul Ravipudi | LinkedIn | Instagram

☑️ Panish Shea Ravipudi LLP on LinkedIn | Facebook | YouTube | Instagram

☑️ Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Spotify

Produced and Powered by LawPods

Sponsored by SmartAdvocate, Hype Legal, Expert Institute, Filevine, and Steno.

Gideon Asen Record $25M Med-Mal Verdict, with Ben Gideon and Meryl Poulin

Mon, 08 Dec 2025 03:00:00 -0400

In med-mal cases, the defense often argues that a defendant couldn’t have anticipated a patient’s unusual problem. When a 15-year-old girl died from complications of undiagnosed lymphoma, the plaintiff’s team turned that argument on its head. “I think people think, ‘Well, if someone comes in with a really unusual set of circumstances, you ought to look into it pretty carefully, especially if it can be concerning or life threatening, right?’ It's not a ‘Get Out of Jail Free’ card,” says co-host Ben Gideon, who tried the case with trial partner Meryl Poulin. The defense didn’t get out for free in this case. The jury awarded $25 million, Maine’s largest med-mal verdict. Tune in as co-host Rahul Ravipudi moderates this case breakdown.

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☑️ Meryl Poulin | LinkedIn

☑️ Ben Gideon | LinkedIn | Facebook | Instagram

☑️ Gideon Asen on LinkedIn | Facebook | YouTube | Instagram

☑️ Rahul Ravipudi | LinkedIn | Instagram

☑️ Panish Shea Ravipudi LLP on LinkedIn | Facebook | YouTube | Instagram

☑️ Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Spotify

Produced and Powered by LawPods

Sponsored by SmartAdvocate, Hype Legal, Expert Institute, Filevine, and Steno.

“Best Of” 2025: A Visit with Inner Circle Legend Charla Aldous

Mon, 24 Nov 2025 03:00:00 -0400

Earlier this year, hosts Ben Gideon and Rahul Ravipudi welcomed a “force of nature” to “Elawvate.” She’s also known as Charla Aldous, founder of Aldous Law. The episode remains one of the podcast’s most popular conversations. Tune in as Charla reflects on her legendary career, offers advice to younger lawyers, and revisits the victories that have placed her firmly in the upper echelon of trial lawyers.

Learn More and Connect

☑️ Charla Aldous | LinkedIn

☑️ Aldous Law

☑️ Ben Gideon | LinkedIn | Facebook | Instagram

☑️ Gideon Asen on LinkedIn | Facebook | YouTube | Instagram

☑️ Rahul Ravipudi | LinkedIn | Instagram

☑️ Panish Shea Ravipudi LLP on LinkedIn | Facebook | YouTube | Instagram

☑️ Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Spotify

Produced and Powered by LawPods

Sponsored by SmartAdvocate, Hype Legal, Expert Institute, Filevine, and Steno.

Truths about Leaving a Firm, with Ben Gideon & Jeff Wright

Mon, 10 Nov 2025 03:00:00 -0400

"Anybody who tells you that leaving a law firm is an easy process is lying to you," says Ben Gideon. To lay out the unvarnished truth, Ben shares his experience leaving a 17-year partnership to launch Gideon Asen. In a conversation guided by Jeff Wright, the firm’s COO, Ben explains why departing from one firm to start your own can feel like a divorce. The duo discusses critical decisions around choosing business partners, financial realities of starting a firm at midlife, and essential first hires needed to maintain operations while building a practice. Tune in for their insights about minimizing friction during the transition, having clear exit agreements, and preserving valuable long-term relationships by taking a little less money upfront.

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☑️ Ben Gideon | LinkedIn | Facebook | Instagram

☑️ Jeff Wright

☑️ Gideon Asen on LinkedIn | Facebook | YouTube | Instagram | X

☑️ Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | YouTube

Produced and Powered by LawPods

Sponsored by Supio, VisionSpark, and 1% for the Planet.

When Your Experts Get It Wrong, with Chuck Hehmeyer and Elizabeth Kayatta

Mon, 27 Oct 2025 03:00:00 -0400

“We had to say, ‘Hey, we're going to be honest with you here. For a long time, we had this wrong, and our experts had it wrong.’” That’s the theme that Chuck Hehmeyer and Elizabeth Kayatta emphasized in their med-mal case on behalf of a 4-year-old boy who was brain-injured after a routine surgery. As the boy recovered, experts initially diagnosed him with autism. That changed to a diagnosis of cortical visual impairment (C.V.I.), a condition that mimics autism. Hosts Ben Gideon and Rahul Ravipudi explore how the duo turned this potential disaster into a $10.5 million verdict through honesty, demonstrative evidence, and a powerful courtroom moment.

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☑️ Chuck Hehmeyer | LinkedIn

☑️ Elizabeth Kayatta | LinkedIn

☑️ Berman & Simmons on LinkedIn | Facebook

☑️ Ben Gideon | LinkedIn | Facebook | Instagram

☑️ Gideon Asen on LinkedIn | Facebook | YouTube | Instagram

☑️ Rahul Ravipudi | LinkedIn | Instagram

☑️ Panish Shea Ravipudi LLP on LinkedIn | Facebook | YouTube | Instagram

☑️ Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Spotify

Produced and Powered by LawPods

Sponsored by SmartAdvocate, Hype Legal, Expert Institute, Filevine, and Steno.

Are You Speaking with an Authentic Voice at Trial? With Jeremy D'Amico

Mon, 13 Oct 2025 03:00:00 -0400

Jeremy D'Amico describes how his authentic trial voice transformed difficult facts into compelling narratives that yielded major verdicts: $45 million for a speeding Marine who wasn't wearing his motorcycle helmet and $23 million for an autistic boy injured in a school bus accident. In this conversation with hosts Ben Gideon and Rahul Ravipudi, he also reveals how he developed his voice while working alongside his father, firm founder Michael D'Amico. And he reflects on techniques learned at the Gerry Spence Trial Lawyer College, explaining that an authentic lawyer adapts his “tools” to match the case.

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☑️ Jeremy D’Amico | LinkedIn

☑️ D'Amico Pettinicchi Injury Lawyers on LinkedIn | Instagram | Facebook | X | YouTube

☑️ Ben Gideon | LinkedIn | Facebook | Instagram

☑️ Gideon Asen on LinkedIn | Facebook | YouTube | Instagram

☑️ Rahul Ravipudi | LinkedIn | Instagram

☑️ Panish Shea Ravipudi LLP on LinkedIn | Facebook | YouTube | Instagram

☑️ Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Spotify

Produced and Powered by LawPods

Sponsored by SmartAdvocate, Hype Legal, Expert Institute, Filevine, and Steno.

AI that Helps You Work Smarter for Clients, with Will Davis and Ed Kirk

Mon, 29 Sep 2025 03:00:00 -0400

“Occasionally, we will introduce our listeners to a new product that's designed to help trial lawyers do a better job for their clients and their practices,” host Ben Gideon explains as he kicks off this episode about Supio, legal AI for personal injury firms. To make the introduction, he and co-host Rahul Ravipudi turn to Ed Kirk, who is Supio’s head of partnerships, and Will Davis, who has been using Supio for about two years at Daniel | Stark. Ed highlights how Supio's document intelligence understands complex medical records with human-level accuracy while maintaining HIPAA compliance. Will describes how his firm uses Supio to identify overlooked injuries, prepare depositions, and streamline case management. With more and more developers entering the legal AI landscape, the guests urge lawyers to be cautious and strategic as they weigh signing on to a platform. “Grill your vendor about their roadmap,” Ed advises, “because we're in a shifting space, and you want to know that the firm that you are attaching your cart to is going to be the right partner for now but also in the future.”

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☑️ Ed Kirk | LinkedIn

☑️ Supio on LinkedIn | Instagram | Facebook

☑️ Will Davis | LinkedIn

☑️ Daniel | Stark on LinkedIn | Instagram | Facebook

☑️ Ben Gideon | LinkedIn | Facebook | Instagram

☑️ Gideon Asen on LinkedIn | Facebook | YouTube | Instagram

☑️ Rahul Ravipudi | LinkedIn | Instagram

☑️ Panish Shea Ravipudi LLP on LinkedIn | Facebook | YouTube | Instagram

☑️ Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Spotify

Produced and Powered by LawPods

Sponsored by SmartAdvocate, Hype Legal, Expert Institute, Filevine, and Steno.

Winning $27.7 Million from Conservative Jurors, with John Heenan

Mon, 15 Sep 2025 03:00:00 -0400

“It is not easy to get substantial damage awards from Montana jurors,” says John Heenan of Billings-based Heenan & Cook. Yet conservative Montana jurors awarded $27.7 million in his negligence case against a private prison company. As he tells host Ben Gideon: “I love being in front of Montana juries, but I have developed a way…” Tune in for John’s “magic formula” that turns good verdicts into great ones. In this case, he had every ingredient, including a client who presented well and a mean-spirited defense whose bullying didn’t sit well with jurors.

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☑️ John Heenan | LinkedIn

☑️ Heenan & Cook on LinkedIn | Instagram | Facebook | YouTube

☑️ Ben Gideon | LinkedIn | Facebook | Instagram

☑️ Gideon Asen on LinkedIn | Facebook | YouTube | Instagram

☑️ Rahul Ravipudi | LinkedIn | Instagram

☑️ Panish Shea Ravipudi LLP on LinkedIn | Facebook | YouTube | Instagram

☑️ Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Spotify

Produced and Powered by LawPods

Sponsored by SmartAdvocate, Hype Legal, Expert Institute, Filevine, and Steno.

Defense Timelines vs. Medical Truth w/ Chris Nace & Samantha Peters

Mon, 01 Sep 2025 03:00:00 -0400

Medical records meticulously documented the routine endoscopy that went wrong, ending tragically in the patient’s death. But when Chris Nace and Samantha Peters took the case to trial, they were confronted with the defense’s slick, well-produced timeline of events – vastly different from what the record showed. With hosts Ben Gideon and Rahul Ravipudi, the team from Nace Law Group unpacks what happened at trial, including their cross-examination of the defendant and their message to the jury: medical records mean something. Tune in to hear how they secured an $8 million verdict.

Outside the courtroom, Chris also co-hosts SMQB (The Sunday Morning Quarterback Podcast), a sports podcast where a group of trial lawyers break down the week in sports with humor, insight, and a bit of legal flavor. You can check it out at www.smqbs.net.

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☑️ Chris Nace | LinkedIn

☑️ Samantha Peters | LinkedIn

☑️ Nace Law Group on LinkedIn | Instagram | Facebook | X | YouTube

☑️ Ben Gideon | LinkedIn | Facebook | Instagram

☑️ Gideon Asen on LinkedIn | Facebook | YouTube | Instagram

☑️ Rahul Ravipudi | LinkedIn | Instagram

☑️ Panish Shea Ravipudi LLP on LinkedIn | Facebook | YouTube | Instagram

☑️ Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Spotify

Produced and Powered by LawPods

Sponsored by SmartAdvocate, Hype Legal, Expert Institute, Filevine, and Steno.

How Bad Faith Turned $1M into $56M, with Rahul Ravipudi

Mon, 18 Aug 2025 03:00:00 -0400

The jiu-jitsu club had a $1 million insurance policy, but when an instructor accidentally rendered a new student an incomplete quadriplegic, the carrier put its interest above their own insured’s – and paid the price. Rahul Ravipudi, who represented the victim, updates co-host Ben Gideon on the groundbreaking case. After the defendants refused to pay the policy limit, the case went to trial, and a jury awarded Rahul’s client $46 million. The defendants appealed, the judgment was affirmed, and most recently, the California Supreme Court denied the defendant’s request to review the verdict – which has increased to $56 million with interest. Rahul imagines the defense counsel and insurance adjusters discussing how many times they’ve had to actually pay the policy limit on such a case: “So, look like the hero, and save your insurance company $250,500,000. It’s that ‘penny-wise/pound foolish.’”

Learn More and Connect

☑️ Ben Gideon | LinkedIn | Facebook | Instagram

☑️ Gideon Asen on LinkedIn | Facebook | YouTube | Instagram

☑️ Rahul Ravipudi | LinkedIn | Instagram

☑️ Panish Shea Ravipudi LLP on LinkedIn | Facebook | YouTube | Instagram

☑️ Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Spotify

Produced and Powered by LawPods

Special Preview: Decoding EOS to Scale Your Law Firm

Wed, 06 Aug 2025 03:00:00 -0400

Elawvate’s “Build & Grow Your Law Firm” podcast devotes its third episode to EOS, or “entrepreneurial operating system.” Your guide is Megan Piper, a certified EOS implementer who coaches clients along their journey from “chaos to cohesion.” In this conversation with hosts Ben Gideon and Jeff Wright, she describes how law firms can leverage EOS to clarify their vision, drive accountability, and scale effectively.

Subscribe to Elawvate: Build & Grow Your Law Firm now!

Learn More and Connect

☑️ Ben Gideon | LinkedIn | Facebook | Instagram

☑️ Jeff Wright | LinkedIn

☑️ Gideon Asen on LinkedIn | Facebook | YouTube | Instagram

☑️ Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | YouTube

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What Trial Risks Are You Willing to Take?, with Tara Eberly and Ken Suggs

Mon, 04 Aug 2025 03:00:00 -0400

Ken Suggs recalls the time when he “chickened out” rather than go ahead with his experiment that involved dropping a box of typewriting paper on a steel box to show the crash worthiness of a car. He lost that case. “I've got a phrase that I like to repeat to myself when I'm trying to make one of those decisions,” he says, “which is, ‘Drop the box. Go ahead and do it.’” Ken and trial partner Tara Eberly at Janet, Janet & Suggs share how risk-taking has helped build the firm’s successful personal injury practice. Hosts Ben Gideon and Rahul Ravipudi explore the team’s insights about neuroscience applications in jury persuasion, cutting-edge technology, and innovative AI tools.

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☑️ Tara Eberly | LinkedIn

☑️ Ken Suggs | LinkedIn

☑️ Janet, Janet & Suggs | LinkedIn

☑️ Ben Gideon | LinkedIn | Facebook | Instagram

☑️ Gideon Asen on LinkedIn | Facebook | YouTube | Instagram

☑️ Rahul Ravipudi | LinkedIn | Instagram

☑️ Panish Shea Ravipudi LLP on LinkedIn | Facebook | YouTube | Instagram

☑️ Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Spotify

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Special Preview: “Build & Grow Your Law Firm” Unpacks Starting vs. Growing a Firm

Thu, 24 Jul 2025 03:00:00 -0400

Building a law firm and building a law firm designed for growth: Often mistaken. Very different. Tune in to the second episode of Elawvate’s “Build & Grow Your Law Firm” podcast to understand the difference. Your guides are Ben Gideon, founder of Gideon Asen, and the firm’s COO, Jeff Wright. They share their insights about leveraging existing problem-solving skills, understanding established business models, and defining the kind of firm you want to build.

Subscribe to Elawvate: Build & Grow Your Law Firm now!

Learn More and Connect

☑️ Ben Gideon | LinkedIn | Facebook | Instagram

☑️ Jeff Wright | LinkedIn

☑️ Gideon Asen on LinkedIn | Facebook | YouTube | Instagram

☑️ Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | YouTube

Produced and Powered by LawPods

Jujitsu Tactics in the Courtroom, with Dennis Donnelly

Mon, 21 Jul 2025 03:00:00 -0400

Described by host Ben Gideon as “the Brazilian jujitsu of trial lawyers,” Dennis Donnelly shares his insights from 44 years in practice. “I don't know about all of you, but I try a lot of cases, and usually somewhere in the trial, I tell myself, ‘This is why this happened,’” Dennis says, adding, “But it takes a while to get there.” In this conversation with Ben and Rahul Ravipudi, Dennis describes how he “gets there”: by understanding why things happen—not just what happened— to transform case presentation and jury persuasion.

Learn More and Connect

☑️ Dennis Donnelly | LinkedIn

☑️ The Donnelly Law Firm | LinkedIn

☑️ Ben Gideon | LinkedIn | Facebook | Instagram

☑️ Gideon Asen on LinkedIn | Facebook | YouTube | Instagram

☑️ Rahul Ravipudi | LinkedIn | Instagram

☑️ Panish Shea Ravipudi on LinkedIn | Facebook | YouTube | Instagram

☑️ Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Spotify

Produced and Powered by LawPods

Sponsored by SmartAdvocate, Hype Legal, Expert Institute, Filevine, and Steno.

Special Preview: Welcome to Elawvate: Build & Grow Your Law Firm

Fri, 11 Jul 2025 03:00:00 -0400

For four years, you’ve tuned in to Elawvate, the podcast where “personal growth meets the practice of trial law.” Now, host Ben Gideon invites you to a special preview of Elawvate’s new “Build & Grow Your Law Firm” podcast, where you’ll learn the business of practicing law. Ben and co-host Jeff Wright, the COO of Gideon Asen, reflect on building the firm from startup to profitable powerhouse in just four years. But, as Ben explains in the premiere episode, "I really wish when we started our practice, someone had taken me under their wing and said, 'This is how you do this.’” If you’ve wished the same, you’re at the right place.

Subscribe to Elawvate: Build & Grow Your Law Firm now!

Learn More and Connect

☑️ Ben Gideon | LinkedIn | Facebook | Instagram

☑️ Jeff Wright | LinkedIn

☑️ Gideon Asen on LinkedIn | Facebook | YouTube | Instagram

☑️ Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | YouTube

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Winning $7.6M for Wrongfully Imprisoned Client, with David Lebowitz, Doug Lieb, and Alyssa Isidoridy

Mon, 07 Jul 2025 03:00:00 -0400

When police officers intentionally falsify evidence to arrest someone they believe is guilty, it’s usually "an ends-justify-the-means approach," says Doug Lieb. He and trial partners David Lebowitz and Alyssa Isidoridy challenge that approach in their civil rights practice, recently winning $7.6 million for a client who spent 30 years wrongfully imprisoned. With hosts Ben Gideon and Rahul Ravipudi, the guests reveal their collaborative case vetting process, the power of federal fee-shifting statutes, and why they choose federal court for civil rights litigation despite its challenges.

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☑️ David Lebowitz | LinkedIn

☑️ Doug Lieb | LinkedIn

☑️ Alyssa Isidoridy | LinkedIn

☑️ Kaufman Lieb Lebowitz & Frick on LinkedIn | Facebook | X

☑️ Ben Gideon | LinkedIn | Facebook | Instagram

☑️ Rahul Ravipudi | LinkedIn | Instagram

☑️ Panish Shea Ravipudi LLP on LinkedIn | Facebook | YouTube | Instagram

☑️ Gideon Asen on LinkedIn | Facebook | YouTube | Instagram

☑️ Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Spotify

Produced and Powered by LawPods

Sponsored by SmartAdvocate, Hype Legal, Expert Institute, Filevine, and Steno.

Inside A Med-Mal Master’s Nine-Figure Playbook, with Brian McKeen

Mon, 23 Jun 2025 03:00:00 -0400

"It's not rocket science," says Brian McKeen about trial advocacy. His record-breaking verdicts may suggest otherwise. The Detroit med-mal virtuoso shares with hosts Ben Gideon and Rahul Ravipudi how he transformed from a sports-obsessed student into one of Michigan's powerhouse plaintiff attorneys. From a $130 million med mal judgment to a $96 million trucking verdict, Brian reveals how deep medical knowledge and relentless case development unlock extraordinary outcomes. Most compelling are his civil rights cases against detention facilities, where he has leveraged video evidence to show neglect of vulnerable detainees. His message to young lawyers: Good trial advocacy is learnable with courage and commitment.

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☑️ Brian McKeen | LinkedIn

☑️ McKeen & Associates on LinkedIn | Instagram | Facebook | X

☑️ Ben Gideon | LinkedIn | Facebook | Instagram

☑️ Rahul Ravipudi | LinkedIn | Instagram

☑️ Panish Shea Ravipudi LLP on LinkedIn | Facebook | YouTube | Instagram

☑️ Gideon Asen on LinkedIn | Facebook | YouTube | Instagram

☑️ Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Spotify

Produced and Powered by LawPods

Sponsored by SmartAdvocate, Hype Legal, Expert Institute, Filevine, and Steno.

From Milking Cows to Making Insurance Companies Pay, with Ricardo Echeverria

Mon, 09 Jun 2025 03:00:00 -0400

In a personal injury case, the plaintiff’s lawyer must rely on witnesses to perform. In a bad-faith case, their job is educating the jury about the rules that insurance companies must follow. That’s how Ricardo Echeverria describes the two areas of his practice at Shernoff Bidart Echeverria. With hosts Ben Gideon and Rahul Ravipudi, he explains that he started his career focusing on PI but that evolved over the years to litigating bad faith cases. “They are definitely different kinds of cases and a different approach to cases altogether,” he says. Tune in for Ricardo’s insights about how he advocates for fire victims who are under-insured and why he'd "go back to milking cows" before representing insurance companies.

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☑️ Ricardo Echeverria

☑️ Shernoff Bidart Echeverria on LinkedIn | Facebook | X

☑️ Ben Gideon | LinkedIn | Facebook | Instagram

☑️ Rahul Ravipudi | LinkedIn | Instagram

☑️ Panish Shea Ravipudi LLP on LinkedIn | Facebook | YouTube | Instagram

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Turning Clinical Judgment Against the Defense: $11.9M Win, with Karen Zahka and Austin Dana

Mon, 26 May 2025 03:00:00 -0400

When FDA guidelines failed their client, trial partners Austin Dana and Karen Zahka flipped the script by arguing for clinical judgment, typically a defense position. Hospitalized with an epileptic seizure at age 13, their client was old enough to receive an adult dosage of an anti-seizure medication, according to the FDA – but she weighed only 61 pounds, the weight of a child. That adult dosage led to their client getting Stevens-Johnson syndrome. “Our position was that the defendant should have deviated from the guidelines,” Karen explains to hosts Ben Gideon and Rahul Ravipudi. Tune in as Austin and Karen break down how they secured an $11.9 million verdict.

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☑️ Karen Zahka | LinkedIn

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Chasing Justice, Not Ambulances: The Garmey Family Story, with Terry Garmey and Alexis Garmey Chardon

Mon, 12 May 2025 03:00:00 -0400

Spare Terry Garmey the old joke about ambulance chasers. “I'm defensive about being a plaintiff's lawyer. I like what I do,” says one of Maine's most respected plaintiff's lawyers. His daughter Alexis Garmey Chardon, who left a high-paying corporate law career to practice with her father, also describes the profession’s nobility: “It’s almost like a civic duty for us lawyers that we keep trying cases, including small cases.” Tune in to this conversation with host Ben Gideon for an inside look at a powerhouse family’s success in court and at home.

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☑️ Terry Garmey | LinkedIn | X

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Could AI Find What Your Opposition Is Desperately Hiding? with Darryl Williams

Mon, 28 Apr 2025 03:00:00 -0400

"AI knows what absolute truth is," says Darryl Williams, whose military career solving "strategic surprise" led him to create algorithms that dive deeper than conventional AI. Speaking with host Ben Gideon, Darryl explains how his cognitive AI system, grounded in foundational sciences, achieves near-perfect accuracy where generative AI can falter. From identifying juror biases to uncovering hidden fraud, Darryl details how his platform reconstructs reality from sparse data points, helping lawyers win high-stakes cases through superior intelligence gathering. The message: In litigation, you don't know what you don't know until deeper AI reveals it.

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☑️ Darryl Williams

☑️ Partsol (Partnership Solutions International | LinkedIn

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"Find Your Isiah Thomas People" to Accomplish Greatness, with Kimball Jones

Mon, 14 Apr 2025 03:00:00 -0400

"Attach yourself to the right people. Anything great that you ever accomplish is almost certainly accomplished by a team," says Kimball Jones, who's on an incredible winning streak with verdicts of $550 million, $105 million, and others in quick succession. Fresh off these victories, Kimball joins host Rahul Ravipudi to break down his teambuilding philosophy, inspired by the 1980s Detroit Pistons. He shares how his losses taught him to "don't agree to anything the defense wants" and why calming jurors — rather than inflaming them — has led to massive punitive damages.

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☑️ Kimball Jones | LinkedIn

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Never Get Blindsided Again: Affordable Focus Group Tactics, with Elizabeth Larrick

Mon, 31 Mar 2025 03:00:00 -0400

Trial lawyer and consultant Elizabeth Larrick brings her expertise on focus groups to hosts Ben Gideon and Rahul Ravipudi. With experience conducting over 1,000 focus groups, the founder of the Trial Lawyer Prep Podcast explains how she helps attorneys make critical decisions at various stages in a case. Sharing success stories, Elizabeth details how her streamlined Zoom focus groups identify blind spots, test liability theories, and gauge damages. The dominant theme: preparing your case for outside scrutiny inevitably strengthens your trial strategy, regardless of the outcome.

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☑️ Elizabeth Larrick | LinkedIn

☑️ Trial Lawyer Prep Podcast

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Spot Bad Jurors Before They Kill Your Case, with Brad Cosgrove

Mon, 17 Mar 2025 03:00:00 -0400

When Brad Cosgrove got the case of a woman who died during elective cosmetic surgery, his first thought was, “Is this rare?” During his investigation, he discovered that the plastic surgeon had been linked to other deaths but never disciplined. Tune in as Brad recaps his $54 million verdict against the doctor with hosts Ben Gideon and Rahul Ravipudi. Brad also discusses how to eliminate the “worst” jurors for a med-mal plaintiffs’ attorney: those who won't award damages because they feel that “shit happens.”

Interested in brainstorming a case with Ben and Rahul? Join a confidential case workshop. Email Ben or go online and submit a case workshop request.

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☑️ Brad Cosgrove | LinkedIn

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Debating the Pros and Cons of Big Data, with Josh Koskoff and John Campbell

Mon, 03 Mar 2025 03:00:00 -0400

Big data doesn’t stymie a lawyer’s creativity in the courtroom; it actually informs smart decisions. So argues John Campbell, who co-authored “Jury Ball: The Big Data Revolution Is Here” with his wife, Alicia, and Sean Claggett.

Big data is no substitute for creativity; it can't capture the lawyer’s biggest weapon: authenticity and heart. So argues Josh Koskoff, a leading personal injury trial attorney.

Tune in to this friendly debate moderated by hosts Ben Gideon and Rahul Ravipudi to hear where John and Josh diverge on the issue, and where they align.

Interested in brainstorming a case with Ben and Rahul? Join a confidential case workshop. Email Ben or go online and submit a case workshop request.

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☑️ Josh Koskoff | LinkedIn

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☑️ John Campbell

☑️ Ben Gideon | LinkedIn | Facebook | Instagram

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☑️ Gideon Asen on LinkedIn | Facebook | YouTube | Instagram

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Training Lawyers for the Most Challenging Stage: The Courtroom, with Jesse Wilson

Mon, 17 Feb 2025 03:00:00 -0400

“I say the theater is a safe place to be dangerous. I firmly believe that the courtroom is a dangerous place to be safe.”

That’s why Jesse Wilson teaches lawyers and witnesses how to be dangerous in the courtroom. A Juilliard-trained actor, he prepares witnesses and helps lawyers with trial strategy through his Tell the Winning Story consultant business. Following a workshop for host Ben Gideon’s team, Jesse joins “Elawvate” to share tips with listeners. Tune in for his lessons about masks, imagination, and authentic communication.

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☑️ Jesse Wilson | LinkedIn

☑️ Tell the Winning Story on X | Facebook | Instagram | YouTube | TikTok

☑️ Order Jesse’s book, “Witness Preparation: How To Tell The Winning Story”

☑️ Ben Gideon | LinkedIn | Facebook | Instagram

☑️ Rahul Ravipudi | LinkedIn | Instagram

☑️ Panish Shea Ravipudi LLP on LinkedIn | Facebook | YouTube | Instagram

☑️ Gideon Asen on LinkedIn | Facebook | YouTube | Instagram

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Getting Bad Jurors to Strike Themselves, with the Farah & Farah Problem-Solvers

Mon, 03 Feb 2025 03:00:00 -0400

Frank Fratello used to consider money an “evil secret” in jury selection. Then he got a $2.5 million verdict.

Fresh off the red-eye to Florida, Frank told his trial partner David Thompson about a strategy he’d learned days before from consultant Sari de la Motte at Trial Lawyers University in Las Vegas. “He was extremely excited. He’s like, ‘I'm doing it.’ … And he went and did it, and it was actually quite effective,” David recalls.

Tune in as Frank and David – “problem-solvers” for Farah & Farah – break down the case, where they represented a young woman who required a life care plan to manage injuries sustained in a truck accident. Visiting hosts Ben Gideon and Rahul Ravipudi, they explain the selection method, which involves approaching damages gradually through questions asked at intervals. As Frank saw, jurors who would have balked at awarding the plaintiff’s figure “struck themselves.”

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☑️ Frank Fratello

☑️ David Thompson | LinkedIn

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☑️ Ben Gideon | LinkedIn | Facebook | Instagram

☑️ Rahul Ravipudi | LinkedIn | Instagram

☑️ Panish Shea Ravipudi LLP on LinkedIn | Facebook | YouTube | Instagram

☑️ Gideon Asen on LinkedIn | Facebook | YouTube | Instagram

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Mastering the Art of Unpredictable Moves: Charla Aldous' Unconventional Courtroom Tactics

Mon, 20 Jan 2025 03:00:00 -0400

Hosts Ben Gideon and Rahul Ravipudi invite trial lawyer Charla Aldous for a conversation about her distinguished career. Sharing stories that range from amusing to poignant, she recalls making corporate defendants wither and juries giggle. She discusses reinventing herself from a defense lawyer to a plaintiff’s lawyer specializing in medical malpractice. She criticizes med-mal caps in Texas and cherishes taking unpopular cases. The dominant theme is her fearless devotion to clients. If she were to give advice to young lawyers, she’d say this: “You are the voice for those that, but for you, would not have a voice. And if you ever lose sight of that fact, you need to go do something else for a living.”

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☑️ Charla Aldous | LinkedIn

☑️ Ben Gideon | LinkedIn | Facebook | Instagram

☑️ Rahul Ravipudi | LinkedIn | Instagram

☑️ Panish Shea Ravipudi LLP on LinkedIn | Facebook | YouTube | Instagram

☑️ Gideon Asen on LinkedIn | Facebook | YouTube | Instagram

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A Legacy of Taking on Big Tobacco and Other Villains and Making a Difference with Scott Schlesinger

Mon, 02 Dec 2024 05:00:00 -0400

Scott Schlesinger has known what it means to be a trial lawyer from his earliest days, growing up in the shadow of his father, legendary Florida trial lawyer Shelly Schlesinger. Scott talks about how the lessons and values he learned for his father shaped his approach. Scott has continued to legacy by becoming a one of the country’s best plaintiff’s trial lawyers in his own right, continuing to fight for clients impacted by the scourge of Big Tobacco, childhood exposure to Juul and many other cases of major significance from a public health standpoint. Join Ben and Rahul for their wide-ranging interview of Scott that takes us from the origins of the original cases against Big Tobacco to the cutting-edge cases going on today.

About Scott Schlesinger

https://schlesingerlawoffices.com/scott-p-schlesinger/

Since 1984, Attorney Scott P. Schlesinger has represented the rights of clients who have been injured by negligence. Over the years, he has established himself as a passionate advocate, securing multi-million dollar verdicts on numerous cases. Scott is proud to have the opportunity to help those who have been injured move forward from their incident and pursue a secure future.

The firm, Schlesinger Law Offices, P.A., focuses on the representation of claims involving defective medical devices, tobacco litigation, defective drugs, birth injuries, car accidents, and more. As the founder, Scott leads the way in providing legal services that are committed to excellence and to the individual needs of each client.

Professional Associations & Memberships

Inner Circle of Advocates
Florida Bar
American Association for Justice
Florida Justice Association
Broward County Justice Association

Awards & Recognition

Florida Trend Legal Elite, 2008-2012
Super Lawyers®, 2014-2015, 2017-2019
Martindale Hubbel AV Preeminent – Peer Rated for Highest Level of Professional Excellence
Martindale Hubbel Distinguished – Peer Rated for High Professional Achievement

Education

University of Florida, 1984
J.D.
Brown University
B.S.
Major: Biopsychology

Publications

Featured in Daily Business Review, “Scott Schlesinger’s Key to Avoiding Burnout: Fight for Something Worthy”, October 2017

Record-Breaking Results for Victims of Sexual Assault, with Spencer Lucas

Mon, 18 Nov 2024 05:00:00 -0400

Join Ben and Rahul for a conversation with Spencer Lucas, Partner at Panish Shea Ravipudi, in which Spencer talks about his recent $135 million verdict on behalf of two victims of sexual assault by a teacher at a public school, and his work on the leadership trial teams representing sexual assault victims in claims against the Los Angeles Catholic Diocese and Boy Scouts of America. Spencer talks about how he found a passion for championing the rights of victims of sexual assault and how he has navigated the complexities of proving that the school district and Catholic Diocese had prior notice that the teacher and priest were harming children and failed to act upon that information to protect his clients.

About Spencer Lucas

https://www.panish.law/

Spencer Lucas is a trial lawyer and partner at Panish | Shea | Ravipudi LLP specializing in litigating complex catastrophic personal injury, products liability, wrongful death, and sexual abuse cases. A member of the firm since 2007, he has extensive experience in cases involving traumatic brain injuries, spinal cord injuries, amputations and has successfully recovered over $600 million for his clients. Mr. Lucas prides himself on not only helping survivors of trauma and their families recover from tragic situations but by implementing institutional safeguards for the community.

Ranked among the Top 100 Southern California Super Lawyers in 2022, Mr. Lucas is recognized as a leading trial lawyer in California trying cases in venues across the state resulting in eight-figure verdicts. He has been the recipient of numerous awards for his work in the courtroom including nominations as Consumer Attorney of the Year by Consumer Attorneys of California (CAOC) and Trial Lawyer of the Year by the Consumer Attorneys Association of Los Angeles (CAALA). Mr. Lucas is a member of the American Board of Trial Advocates (ABOTA) with an elevated rank of Associate due to the number of lengthy trials to verdict he has completed and is annually recognized as a Best Lawyer in America® .

Mr. Lucas has obtained numerous eight-figure verdicts and settlements in cases throughout California, including the following:

$135 million verdict for two men who were sexually abused as students by a teacher in the Moreno Valley Unified School District.
$48,500,000 settlement at the beginning of trial involving a 26-year-old man who was struck by a corporate vehicle and suffered a severe traumatic brain injury.
$30,000,000 settlementat the beginning of trial involving a 33-year-old man who was struck by a tractor-trailer and suffered a severe traumatic brain injury.
$19,466,000 verdict In Zastawnik v. Asplundh Construction, for his client who suffered severe ankle fractures and resulting pain disorder after being struck by a construction truck while riding a motorcycle.
$17,120,672 verdict In Huayanca v. Southland Transit District, for his 83 year old client who sustained a below the knee amputation after being struck by a bus in a crosswalk.
$13,000,000 verdict in Doe v. EōS Fitness, in Riverside County Superior Court for a young girl who was sexually molested while in the care of EōS Fitness’ Kid’s Club in Palm Springs, California. This verdict is believed to be one of the largest of its kind in America.
$15,313,703 verdict in Francisco v. AC Transit, for a client who suffered a back injury while riding on a city bus.
$15,000,000 verdict in Tilton v. Southern California Gas Company, for a teenager who sustained a closed head injury after his vehicle was struck by a Southern California Gas Company utility truck.
$14,500,000 verdict in Barber v. Mossy Ford , in a complex tire failure case arising from a accident in which the parents of three young boys were killed. Along with settlements reached with other defendants, the total award was in excess of $22 million.
$14,000,000 verdict in Curiel v. SSA Marine, for a man who suffered serious spinal cord injuries after a crane operator dropped a 25,000 lb. container onto the cab of his truck.
$21,000,000 verdict in Nelsen v. Hillyard Inc., for an Iraq war veteran who suffered a brain injury after being rear-ended by a commercial vehicle at high speed.
$20,000,000 verdict in Rivas v. J.B. Hunt , for a woman who suffered a traumatic brain injury after being involved in a collision with a tractor-trailer.
$10,500,000 in Nichols v. Alameda-Contra Costa County Transit, on behalf of a woman who suffered serious orthopedic injuries when she was struck by an AC Transit bus while crossing the street. The case settled for $10.5 million.
$8,652,580 award in the matter of of Haskell v. Farmers Insurance, on behalf of his client who suffered pelvic injuries. The settlement offer in this case prior to the award was $300,000.

Outside the courtroom, Mr. Lucas is a frequent speaker on various issues, including traumatic brain, spinal cord injuries, and sexual abuse, and actively publishes articles in trade publications on a wide range of legal topics. He also spends much of his time dedicated to assisting his clients recovering from trauma obtain the best medical treatment available.

In addition to his work as a trial lawyer, Mr. Lucas is a member of the Pepperdine School of Law Dean’s Council and serves on the Board of Directors of the Los Angeles Trial Lawyers’ Charities (LATLC) which funds many local charity groups focusing on education, survivors of abuse, children, and the homeless.

Originally from Seattle, Washington Mr. Lucas graduated from the University of Washington with a degree in Business Administration. During his undergraduate work, he completed an International Business program with honors from the University of Sevilla in 1999. He graduated from Pepperdine University School of Law in 2004, where he was the co-founder of the Pepperdine International Human Rights Program.

Fluent in Spanish, Mr. Lucas works with many of the firm’s Spanish-speaking clients and is frequently asked to give legal commentary on national Spanish television and radio programs. He has lived in Havana, Cuba, and throughout Mexico, where he spent his summers in college building homes for the homeless in Ciudad Juarez.

Mr. Lucas is a member of the State Bar of California, the District of Columbia Bar and the Washington State Bar Association. He is an active member of the Consumer Attorneys Association of Los Angeles, Consumer Attorneys of California, and Los Angeles County Bar Association, and regularly volunteers his time providing pro-bono legal services to foster children and children facing immigration deportation proceedings.

The Critical Role of Experts in Plaintiff’s Cases and Beyond with Expert Institute Founder and CEO Michael Talve

Mon, 04 Nov 2024 05:00:00 -0400

Join Ben and Rahul for their conversation with Michael Talve, Founder and CEO of Expert Institute, a nation-wide expert search and research firm. Michael talks about how he stared the business in his apartment with a few friends and grew it to hundreds of employees that service more than 5000 plaintiff law firms across the United States. Michael discusses trends he has witnessed in the practice of plaintiff law and what he sees for the future of expert search and the role of AI in the plaintiff practice. He talks about the role of entrepreneurship in growing and scaling a business. Michael’s background as a successful entrepreneur serving the trial bar is fascinating and provides valuable insight. You don’t want to miss this episode.

About Michael Talve

https://www.expertinstitute.com/resources/insights/author/michael/

Michael Talve stands at the forefront of legal innovation as the CEO and Managing Director of Expert Institute. Under his leadership, the Expert Institute has established itself as a vital player in the legal technology arena, revolutionizing how lawyers connect with world-class experts and access advanced legal technology. Michael's role involves not only steering the company's strategic direction but also ensuring the delivery of unparalleled intelligence and cutting-edge solutions to legal professionals. His work at Expert Institute has been instrumental in enhancing the capabilities of attorneys in case preparation and execution, making a significant impact on the legal industry's approach to expert consultation and technological integration. Michael's vision and execution have positioned the Expert Institute as a key facilitator in the intersection of law and technology. Under his stewardship, Expert Institute has played a pivotal role in some of the most important cases of the past decade - totaling more than $300B in verdicts and settlements.

Expert Institute has grown to become one of the foremost businesses dedicated to partnering with leading plaintiff firms. The company has been involved in high profile matters ranging from Camp Lejeune, to opioid litigation, to numerous mass shooting incidents, and more recently, Boeing airplane investigations, and thousands of single claimant cases each month.

From Public Speaking to Winning Trial Lawyer with Robert Glassman

Mon, 21 Oct 2024 04:00:00 -0400

From a young age, Robert Glassman worked hard to perfect his abilities as a public speaker. When he was in high school, his parents enrolled him in a Dale Carnegie program to develop confidence speaking in front of strangers. From high school to law school, Robert was a perennial class president and accustomed to giving planned speeches before large audiences. Join Rahul and Ben as they discuss with Robert the advantages and challenges of transitioning his public speaking skills to success in the courtroom. Robert talks about how he developed expertise in handling high-profile cases involving injuries to children while in the care of the public schools, and lessons learned from his first experience examining witnesses at trial to recently obtaining an eight-figure jury verdict the day after his forty-first birthday.

About Robert Glassman

https://www.panish.law/glassman.html

Robert Glassman is a partner at Panish | Shea | Ravipudi LLP where he represents plaintiffs in large and complex personal injury cases and is a recognized leader in the Los Angeles legal community.

Recognized by the Daily Journal as among the 2023 Top 40 Lawyers Under 40 in California, Mr. Glassman has also been named a “Rising Star” in Personal Injury litigation by Law360 and recognized as a “Rising Star” by the Super Lawyers publication since 2013 where he has been consistently selected as one of the “Up-and-Coming 100 Southern California Rising Stars”, the list of lawyers who rank at the top of the Super Lawyers’ Rising Stars list.

His work on three high-profile school injury cases – Lee v. Pupil Transportation Cooperative, Pierce v. Murrieta Valley Unified School District, and Sepulveda v. Yucaipa-Calimesa Joint Unified School District – led to significant reforms at the school districts where the tragedies occurred and helped to establish new child safety laws in California.

Mr. Glassman also represents victims and survivors of sexual abuse, including ‘Jane’ who filed suit against her abusers in the high-profile case against Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell.

A three-time Consumer Attorneys of California Consumer Attorney of the Year finalist for his work on Lee v. Pupil Transportation Cooperative, Pierce v. Murrieta Valley Unified School District, and Sepulveda v. Yucaipa-Calimesa Joint Unified School District, Mr. Glassman has also been recognized as a 2023 California Lawyer Attorney of the Year for his work on Sepulveda v. Yucaipa-Calimesa Unified School District.

Mr. Glassman currently serves as the Co-Chair of the Association of Business Trial Lawyers Los Angeles Young Lawyers division and is a member of the American Board of Trial Advocates (ABOTA) Los Angeles Chapter.

SOME OF MR. GLASSMAN’S MOST NOTABLE TRIAL VERDICTS INCLUDE:

Diao v. Southern California Gas Company (Los Angeles jury awarded a $19,786,818 to injured plaintiff following a gas explosion at home in San Gabriel, CA). The judgment was recently upheld on appeal.
Dillon v. City of Los Angeles (Los Angeles jury awarded $11,045,000 for a motorcyclist who suffered serious injuries following a collision with a Los Angeles Department of Water and Power (DWP) vehicle.)
Crenshaw v. Land O’Lakes, Inc.(Kings County jury awarded $6.45 million to Corcoran State Prison correctional officer after motorcycle crash in Hanford, CA). For the work Mr. Glassman and firm partner Brian Panish did on the Crenshaw case, it was recognized by The Daily Journal as a Top Ten Verdict of 2010.
Gil v. Anderson (Los Angeles County jury awarded $2,000,969 to a man who was injured when his vehicle was struck from behind by a large commercial plumbing van)
Ortega v. Lim (San Diego County jury awarded $1,957,500 for a man who suffered a back injury after his pick-up truck was struck by another vehicle whose driver was distracted and ran a red light at an intersection.)
Kluthe v. Charles Doherty Concrete(Vista, California jury awarded a $1,552,917.56 verdict for a young man who suffered a back injury after his vehicle was struck by a cement dump truck that ran a red light at an intersection)

SOME OF MR. GLASSMAN’S NOTABLE SETTLEMENTS INCLUDE:

Lee v. Pupil Transportation Cooperative($23,500,000 for the parents of Hun Joon “Paul” Lee, a 19-year-old non-verbal autistic student who tragically died aboard a Whittier school bus after the driver left him behind to engage in a sexual tryst with a co-worker)
Sepulveda v. Yucaipa-Calimesa Unified School District ($15,750,000 for the mother of 13-year-old Adilene Carrasco who suffered an asthma attack at school and died as a result of the district’s failure to follow its own safety protocols)
Pierce v. Murietta Valley Unified School District($11,000,000 for the family of a middle school student who drowned during a school-sponsored swim party)
Palmstrom v. City of Pasadena ($7,150,000 for a toddler who suffered severe injuries after she was trapped beneath a 20-foot eucalyptus tree branch that had fallen onto her while playing on a preschool playground)
Agu v. UC Regents ($4,750,000 for the parents of a Cal Berkeley football player with sickle cell trait who died during an off-season conditioning drill)

Mr. Glassman has also secured eight-figure settlements in a wide range of cases including $32.6 million in a products liability design defect case, $16 million in a premises liability case, $12.45 million in a motor vehicle collision case, and $10 million in a dangerous condition of public property case involving a fallen tree.

He is a member of the executive committee of the Los Angeles County Bar Association Judicial Appointments Committee (JAC) which responds to the governor’s requests to evaluate individuals under consideration for appointment to the Superior Court bench.

Prior to working at Panish | Shea | Ravipudi LLP, Mr. Glassman clerked at the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office in the Major Crimes Division where he worked on high profile murder prosecutions and in the Preliminary Hearing Unit where he conducted dozens of preliminary felony hearings. Mr. Glassman also previously worked on Los Angeles City Attorney Mike Feuer’s Gun Violence Prevention Task Force.

In 2020, Mr. Glassman also led the collaboration between Panish | Shea | Ravipudi LLP and The Children’s Rights Clinic at Southwestern Law School (CRC) to provide legal representation to low-income children in the areas of school discipline, special education, and personal injury. Under his direction, clients will be represented by the firm in the area of personal injury while Southwestern law students participating in the Children’s Rights Clinic will represent clients in the areas of special education and school discipline under the supervision of Southwestern Law School Professors.

An alumnus of the Whitfield School in St. Louis, Missouri, Mr. Glassman also provided an invaluable opportunity in 2021 for the current and future students at his alma mater with the creation of the Glassman Leaders Program. During the program, two selected students — one junior and one senior — develop their public speaking and leadership skills through on-and off-campus coursework and mentorship. Participants also attend an eight-week Dale Carnegie course, which focuses on building communication skills for business people and students alike.

Mr. Glassman attended Bucknell University in Lewisburg, PA where he obtained his B.A. degree in English. Following college, Mr. Glassman obtained his law degree from Southwestern Law School in Los Angeles where he served as president of the student body, and was a member of the Trial Advocacy Honors Program.

GLASSMAN’S PREVIOUS LEADERSHIP POSITIONS INCLUDE:

President, Los Angeles County Bar Association Barristers
Nickel Club President (Southwestern Law School’s Young Alumni Association)
Political Chair, New Lawyers Division, Consumer Attorneys of California
Student Body President, Southwestern Law School, Los Angeles, CA
Class President, Bucknell University, Lewisburg, PA.
Senior Class President, Whitfield School, St. Louis, MO.

Mr. Glassman is admitted to practice law in the District of Columbia, California, and United States District Courts throughout California.

Processing and Learning from Trial Loss with Ben Gideon

Mon, 07 Oct 2024 04:00:00 -0400

Join Ben and Rahul for their in-depth discussion of Ben’s recent three-week jury trial in which Ben represented a little girl who developed cerebral palsy following the development of necrotizing enterocolitis in the NICU. Ben discusses how decision-making guided by big data led to him and his client to turning down an $11 million offer after closing arguments to take a verdict. He discusses what he learned following extensive discussions with jurors following the trial. Ben describes how this verdict influences his thinking about data, risk and approach to trial moving forward.

About Ben Gideon

https://gideonasen.com/our-team/benjamin-gideon/

Ben grew up in Portland, Maine, attended public schools and graduated from Deering High School in 1989. Ben’s father, Martin Rogoff, was a prominent member of the Maine Law School faculty, so Ben grew up immersed in discussions of the law. Ben began to develop his legal skills early in life through nightly arguments with his father at the dinner table.

In high school, Ben played varsity soccer and was the captain of the hockey team. Following high school, Ben attended Cornell University in Ithaca, NY. Ben attempted to walk on to the Cornell hockey team, but was eventually cut from the team, ending his hockey career. Depressed and disappointed at this failure, Ben became a poor student, failed several classes, and was told he was being suspended from college on academic probation.

After rehabilitating himself through some community college courses, Ben was able to gain re-admission to Cornell and to complete his degree. Ben applied to law school and was admitted to Boston University School of Law. There, Ben was a standout student. His grades were so exceptional after his first year that he was accepted as a transfer student to Yale Law School where he earned his law degree.

Ben began his career in private practice at a large, multi-national law firm, Latham & Watkins, in New York City. He practiced there for several years before deciding to return to Maine to join Berman & Simmons, PA, Maine’s largest plaintiff’s law firm.

EDUCATION

Cornell University, 1993
Yale Law School, 1999

RECOGNITIONS

The Inner Circle of Advocates, 100 of the Best Plaintiff Lawyers in the U.S., 2019-present
American College of Trial Lawyers, Fellow, 2020-present, Top 1% of all lawyers
America’s Top 100 Attorneys ― Listed in Maine for Personal Injury, Medical Malpractice, and Products Liability, 2017
The Best Lawyers in America ― 2013–present; “Lawyer of the Year,” 2016–present
Super Lawyers ― “Super Lawyer,” 2013–present
Martindale-Hubbell ― Top Rated “AV Preeminent”
Chambers & Partners USA ― Listed for Litigation: Medical Malpractice & Insurance and Mainly Plaintiff
Benchmark Litigation ― “Litigation Star”
AVVO — Rated 10.0 out of 10

MEMBERSHIPS

Maine Board of Overseers of the Bar, Professional Ethics Commission
Maine State Bar Association
American Association for Justice (AAJ)
American Bar Association
Governor, Maine Trial Lawyers Association

ADMISSIONS

Maine (2003)
U.S. District Court, District of Maine (2010)
Vermont (2016)
New Hampshire (2010)
U.S. District Court, Southern District of New York (2002)
New York (2000)

A Leader at Berman & Simmons

During his years at Berman & Simmons, Ben rose from an associate to become an owner and practice leader at the firm. Ben was instrumental in helping the firm re-invent its approach to litigating and trying cases; expanded its areas of practice expertise; and recruited and trained many talented lawyers.

During his 17 years at Berman & Simmons, Ben enjoyed many great successes and some disappointing failures, but overall managed to build the most successful plaintiff’s personal injury and medical malpractice practice in the State of Maine. Ben achieved success in a broad range of different types of plaintiff’s cases—police civil rights, product liability, medical malpractice, nursing home, maritime and industrial accidents.

Early in his career, Ben achieved a landmark civil rights verdict against a police officer for violating his client’s civil rights with a Taser shooting. The verdict was affirmed on appeal to the United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit.

In 2014, after 4 ½ year of litigation, Ben achieved a record-setting $22.5 million jury verdict in Burlington, Vermont, on behalf of a utility lineman who lost both of his legs during a high-voltage powerline switching operation.

Ben followed his Vermont verdict with a verdict of $1.75 million jury verdict in a medical malpractice trial in Bangor, Maine.

More recently, Ben recovered $2.5 million in a medical malpractice case tried to a jury in New Hampshire.

Over the past decade, no other plaintiff’s lawyer in Maine can match Ben’s level of success on behalf of his clients, which include:

Recovering more than $130 million in verdicts and settlements
Achieving 31 verdicts or settlements in excess of $ 1 million
Recovering more than $50 million for the victims of medical malpractice
Recovering tens of millions of dollars for victims of car and trucking accidents.
Recovering more than $11 million in actions against major automobile manufacturers, including Toyota, Hyundai, and Fiat Chrysler
Recovering more than $15 million from power and electrical utility companies
Recovering millions of dollars for families of the victims of the El Faro maritime disaster
Recovering more than $5 million from 3 trials and several settlements of medical malpractice and personal injury against the U.S. Government
Recovering millions of dollars for victims of nursing home negligence and abuse
Recovering millions of dollars for victims of dangerous and defective products

Peer Recognition

Ben’s accomplishments, professionalism and character have won him the recognition of his peers. Ben has been named in Best Lawyers in America every year since 2013 and was named “Lawyer of the Year” for the State of Maine twice. Ben has been listed in Super Lawyers every year since 2013. He has received the top rating of “AV Preeminent” from Martindale-Hubbell and has a 10.0 out 10 rating on AVVO.

In 2019, Ben became only the second lawyer in Maine to be inducted into the Inner Circle of Advocates, an invitation-only group of the best 100 plaintiff lawyers in the United States.

Here is how the Inner Circle describes its criteria for membership:

Membership Criteria

Membership in The Inner Circle of Advocates is by invitation and based on criteria that include an applicant’s performance and success in the courtroom. The Inner Circle carefully evaluates experience, reputation, judicial references, and peer evaluations to identify the best 100 trial lawyers in the country. Typically, applicants are expected to have at least three verdicts of one million dollars or a recent verdict in excess of ten million dollars to be considered for membership. The Inner Circle looks for cutting edge lawyers in their jurisdiction who are active courtroom lawyers with a willingness to learn and teach about our craft and to be part of a close-knit, sharing group of professional colleagues. Membership in The Inner Circle of Advocates is not just an accolade, it is a commitment to participate in a unique laboratory of professional advancement.

In 2020, Ben was inducted as a Fellow in the American College of Trial Lawyers (ACTL), an invitation-only group limited to the top 1% of lawyers. Here is how ACTL describes the qualifications required for membership:

Membership in the College cannot exceed one percent of the total lawyer population of any state or province.

Founding Gideon Asen LLC

After 17 years at Berman & Simmons, in November 2020, Ben decided to leave one firm he loved and had helped to build, to form a new law firm, Gideon Asen LLC.

“I was very proud of everything we accomplished at Berman & Simmons,” Ben said, “but I was excited by the challenge of building a new firm that could be even better.”

Ben’s first step was to recruit Taylor Asen to join him.

“Taylor and I have a common mission,” Ben said. “Although we’re separated by 12 years, Taylor also attended Yale Law School and completed prestigious Federal clerkships. He’s insanely smart.”

“But perhaps more important, Taylor and I share a common vision of a plaintiff’s law firm where clients have access to exceptional lawyers and service. We are both supremely competitive and don’t tolerate mediocrity. We believe we owe it to our clients to give them the very best, and that is what Gideon Asen will provide.”

Podcast, Writing and Teaching

Ben enjoys thinking about the practice of trial law and strategies for success and is a frequent writer and speaker on trial topics.

Ben co-hosts a podcast called Elawvate! which focuses on the human factors and guiding principles that drive successful lawyers and law firms.

Personal Life and Interests

Ben lives in Freeport, Maine, with his wife, Sara Gideon, and three children, Julian, Aleksandr, and Anna Josephine. Sara is a former two-term Speaker of the Maine House of Representatives and was the 2020 Democratic Nominee for U.S. Senate in Maine. When Ben is not practicing law, he enjoys skiing at Sugarloaf, fishing in Casco Bay, hiking, canoeing, traveling and just spending time with his family.

What It Means to Have “It” with Steve Yerrid

Mon, 23 Sep 2024 04:00:00 -0400

Tampa Florida trial lawyer Steve Yerrid has done it all. He was a boxer in his youth and a fighter for justice in his career as a trial lawyer. Steve was the youngest member of the Tobacco “Dream Team,” which secured a $17 billion settlement from Big Tobacco and numerous changes in their business practices which have saved thousands of lives. Steve has many record setting jury verdicts. He has served as personal counsel to NY Yankees’ owner George Steinbrenner. And he has given back to his community through his Yerrid Foundation. Steve has authored several books and has frequently spoken on the topic of what separates those would achieve greatness (i.e., those who have “it”) from everyone else. Join Rahul and Ben for their fascinating conversation with Steve as he shares aspects of his incredible career and things that have shaped his approach to trying cases and success in life.

About Steve Yerrid

https://www.yerridlaw.com/attorneys/c-steven-yerrid/

In a city like Tampa, Florida, a coastal metropolis steeped in history, the list of well-known names and larger-than-life personalities is rich and lengthy, but few names resonate with the same renown as Steve Yerrid.

Yerrid, a trail-blazing trial lawyer for more than 45 years, has built a legacy that continues to evolve, fueled by a relentless desire to help as many people as possible, whether seeking and securing justice on their behalf in the courtroom or selflessly devoting his time and donating a substantial portion of his accumulated wealth to bettering the world around him.

In an age where importance and social impact are measured by likes and subscribers, instead of hard work and good deeds, Steve remains a practitioner of the old ways, always leading by example and putting the needs of others first.

Whether meeting each client of his firm personally or taking time to deliver much needed food to the area’s most vulnerable and less fortunate, he is and has always been one-of-a-kind, a determined legal and social warrior the likes of which are a rarity in today’s world.

Yerrid has experienced a career of noteworthy achievements, including over 300 verdicts and settlements of $1 million or more for individuals and the families of those injured or killed by the wrongdoing of others.

Among those was a jury verdict of $217 million, the largest medical malpractice award in Florida’s history, and the nation’s largest verdict in 2006. In 2009, he again obtained the country’s largest verdict rendered in a wrongful death case that year, with a jury award of $330 million.

When he was just 30 years old, Yerrid received international recognition in one of the world’s largest maritime tragedies. In utilizing a rare “Act of God” defense, he was able to secure the complete exoneration of Captain John Lerro, the accused pilot in command of a large 608-foot bulk freighter which, during an unpredicted storm packing hurricane force winds, was blown off course and struck the mammoth Sunshine Skyway Bridge, collapsing its center span and tragically claiming 35 innocent lives.

Not a decade has passed that Steve has not left an indelible mark.

In 2010, confronted by one of the largest environmental catastrophes in history, then-Governor Charlie Crist appointed him as Special Counsel regarding the Deepwater Horizon oil spill disaster and its aftermath. Yerrid gave his time, costs, and efforts for nearly a year to the people of Florida as a public service. As a result, The Florida Justice Association presented him with the Outstanding Pro Bono Award, a special recognition given only every several years.

Yerrid also was retained by the City of Tampa to hold BP responsible for the economic damages it sustained as a result of that disaster. He successfully obtained a $27.5 million settlement in July 2015. It was the largest recovery paid to any municipality by British Petroleum.

In the 1990’s, as the youngest lawyer appointed by the late Governor Lawton Chiles to an 11-member “Dream Team” of private lawyers, Steve undertook a leading role in Florida’s landmark lawsuit against the previously unbeaten cigarette industry. The case resulted in the biggest monetary settlement that had occurred in U.S. history, ultimately topping $17 billion. In addition, he and the Dream Team members succeeded in obtaining unprecedented advertising concessions that permanently prevented marketing aimed at children, eliminated cigarette billboards, vending machines, Joe Camel, the Marlboro Man, and established youth tobacco prevention programs across the United States.

As a result of his success, tenacity and integrity, Steve has long been sought out to take on important and precedent-setting cases.

He was honored to be appointed as Special Counsel to the Office of the Chief Judge (13th Judicial Circuit) and the Florida Conference of Circuit Judges. In representing Florida’s entire judiciary, he successfully argued before the Florida Supreme Court and protected state judges and staff from public disclosure of confidential records and internal communications within the court system.

Yerrid is a lifetime member of the prestigious Inner Circle of Advocates, an “invitation only” organization whose membership consists of the top 100 trial lawyers in the United States. He is a past recipient of the Perry Nichols Award, bestowed by the Florida Justice Association (FJA) as its highest honor in recognition of a lifelong pursuit of justice, and in 2013, he received the Excalibur Award for exemplifying leadership and commitment at the highest level of Florida’s civil justice system, an honor bestowed on only four Florida trial lawyers.

In 2016, he was voted into the National Trial Lawyers Hall of Fame. Steve also is the recipient of several FJA Eagle Awards (Gold, Silver and Crystal), including recognition as the first donor to achieve the $1 million-dollar-level of giving to the FJA’s educational efforts designed to protect and improve the American system of justice; currently serves as a Distinguished Fellow in the FJA; has been named Top Lawyer in the Nation by Lawyers USA; was selected by the National Law Journal as a top ten litigator; honored by the American Board of Trial Advocates a Diplomate as well as Trial Lawyer of the Year (Tampa Bay); and the recipient of numerous other honors and recognitions through his career too numerous to specifically reference. He has been continuously listed in Best Lawyer in America over the last five decades.

Steve Yerrid, a Georgetown University Law Center graduate has long been one of the country’s top catastrophic injury and wrongful death trial attorneys, having secured over 300 verdicts and settlements of $1 million or more.

This year the jury awarded $15 million in damages to each parent for mental anguish, plus burial expenses of $7,502.00. The verdict total was $30,007,502.00.

In 2006 - A $217 million verdict was obtained for the client and his family. It is the largest medical malpractice verdict in Florida’s history, and the top national jury verdict of its kind in 2006.

1990s, Mr. Yerrid was selected by the late Gov. Lawton Chiles as the youngest member of the 11-member “Dream Team” of private trial lawyers. He took a leading role in Florida’s landmark lawsuit against the previously unbeaten cigarette industry. The case resulted in the biggest monetary settlement in the nation’s history at the time, ultimately topping $17 billion.

The mantra that everyone should have a shot at happiness, success and living the American dream led to the formation of The Yerrid Foundation almost four decades ago. The self-funded family foundation has made significant donations to more than 700 causes and charitable organizations locally, nationally, and even internationally, with an emphasis on children’s issues, pediatric cancer research, the welfare of veterans, and domestic abuse victims.

$495 million verdict against Abbott laboratories with Jake Plattenberger and Tor Hoerman

Mon, 09 Sep 2024 04:00:00 -0400

Join Ben and Rahul for their discussion with Jake and Tor, breaking down the recent 495 million Dollar verdict in a product liability case against Abbott Laboratories for pre-term infant formula that increases the risks for developing necrotizing enterocolitis. Hear how Jake and Tor navigated this difficult case and won this epic battle.

About Jacob Plattenberger

https://www.torhoermanlaw.com/team/jake-plattenberger/

Jacob Plattenberger has taken hundreds of depositions, argued in countless hearings, and tried over 35 cases to a jury.

His experience in and out of the courtroom has made him a passionate advocate for those injured due to the negligence of others.

Jake started his career trying cases at one of the busiest civil courthouses in the country – the Richard J. Daley Center in downtown Chicago.

He started out doing insurance defense because he knew that afforded him the best opportunity to get courtroom experience.

“When I was working on the defense side, I always knew that I was going to be a plaintiff’s lawyer. I knew that being able and willing to try a case to a jury was a skill that I needed to have if I was going to be able to offer my clients the best legal representation. Insurance companies and corporate defendants need to believe you when you say you will take them to trial – they need to fear that.”

This type of real trial experience is exceedingly rare in complex civil litigation and having seen it from the defense side gives Jake an added advantage.

At TorHoerman Law, Jake manages our Chicago office where he leads trial teams in nationwide, complex litigations such as:

Representing dozens of workers across the United States who were exposed to Diacetyl at work and now suffer lung disease

eg. The Juul/E-cigarette Litigation

The Incretin Mimetics Products Liability Litigation, currently pending in the Southern District of California, where he was named to the Plaintiff’s Steering Committee

Various Transvaginal Mesh multidistrict litigations that are currently pending

Jake also maintains a personal injury practice in Chicago, representing people and their families who have been victims of catastrophic auto and truck accidents, products liability, maritime accidents, premises liability, and medical negligence.

Jake believes that to successfully represent his clients, it is absolutely necessary to get personally involved.

Jake’s quote below perfectly reflects that belief!

Notable Cases & Results

Incretin Mimetics – Products Liability Litigation, MDL Case No. 13MD2452 AJB (MDD). Appointed to the Plaintiff’s Steering Committee by Judge Battaglia in the MDL. The case is pending.

JUUL E-Cigarettes – Products Liability Litigation, JCCP No. 5052. Appointed to the Plaintiff’s Steering Committee by Judge Anne Jones in the JCCP. The case is pending.

Diacetyl – Leads the Diacetyl litigation for TorHoerman Law. Previous settlements and verdicts have exceeded $5,000,000.00 to date. Litigation is currently ongoing.

Actos Related Cases, MDL Case No. 11 L 10011, Et. Al. – Actively participated in managing the case for TorHoerman Law which resulted in a $2.4 billion settlement.

Gadolinium-based Contrast Agents Litigation Case No. 279 and Products Liability Litigation MDL No. 1909 – Managed the cases for TorHoerman Law which resulted in a large, confidential settlement.

Bus Accident – Handled a bus accident injury case in which an individual was thrown from a seat. Resulted in a $850,000.00 settlement.

Auto Accident – Handled an auto accident injury case that resulted in a $650,000.00 settlement.

Slip and Fall – Handled a slip and fall accident that occurred on a sightseeing boat in Chicago. Resulted in a $490,000.00 settlement.

Personal Life

Jake was born and raised in Chicago.

He now lives in the Chicago suburbs, where his two young sons keep him busy.

When he isn’t working, Jake is a lifelong Bears and Cubs fan and loves participating in the (mostly) healthy rivalry between the Cubs and Cardinals fans at TorHoerman Law.

About Tor Hoerman

https://www.torhoermanlaw.com/team/tor-hoerman/

Tor Hoerman is a nationally recognized attorney who has served in the field for more than 25 years.

He is most well-known as the founder of the personal injury law firm TorHoerman Law, LLC (THL).

Early Life & Education

Tor was born the youngest of four boys on July 16, 1969, in Bethesda, Maryland to Kirk and Greta Hoerman.

With his father serving as a Captain in the Navy, Tor often moved towns during his childhood, eventually landing in the Chicago metropolitan area.

In Chicago, Tor lived in the Great Lakes Naval Base and Lake Bluff before his family settled in Lake Forest, which is where he attended high school.

Despite repeatedly switching homes, Tor made the most of his situation.

In high school, he played football, basketball, and baseball, and he earned varsity letters in each of these sports.

In addition to varsity recognition, he was recognized as an All-county athlete and awarded the Booster Club Athlete of the Year his senior year.

Outside of sports, Tor coached little league baseball, served as a summer camp counselor, and worked as a summertime janitor at his former high school after graduating.

Tor attended Depauw University and majored in Political Science.

He played NCAA baseball and football at Depauw, and he was the captain of the baseball team.

After graduating from Depauw in 1991, Tor enrolled in the Chicago-Kent College of Law.

During law school, Tor bartended at a local bar and clerked for Kravolec, Jambois & Schwartz, LLC.

Legal Career

After graduating from law school in 1995, Tor took on a job doing insurance defense at Bolero, Cart & Stone, LLC, where he worked reluctantly for a year and a half.

One day at work, Tor received a phone call from Steve Jambois, his former employer throughout law school, asking if he wanted a job on the plaintiff’s side of insurance law.

Tor immediately accepted the job, kickstarting decades to come of fighting corporations on behalf of harmed individuals.

Tor’s Transition to Medical Malpractice Litigation

Tor returned to Kravolec, Jambois & Schwartz to fight on behalf of medical malpractice victims, which mostly consisted of high-intensity trial work in the Chicago courthouse.

After seven years at the Jambois firm, Hoeman was recruited by the Simmons law firm, based in an Illinois suburb of St. Louis, to start and lead a branch of the practice that focused on pharmaceutical litigation.

Leading the Pharmaceutical Practice at Simmons Law Firm

Tor became a partner of what is now Simmons, Hanly, and Conroy and led the pharmaceutical practice for seven years.

One of Tor most notable achievements while leading the practice was his work against Purdue Pharma and its reckless distribution of OxyContin.

Tor was the first to file a case alleging Purdue Pharma’s wrongdoing in distributing OxyContin and failing to adequately warn healthcare providers and the public of the risks of addiction.

Achieving Justice Against Purdue Pharma

He led the litigation process and got Purdue Pharma to agree to a large settlement, which was distributed to thousands of accidental addicts.

Tor took a step further to achieve justice in this case, assisting the Department of Justice in obtaining guilty pleas by Purdue Pharma representatives who had a direct role in contributing to the opioid epidemic.

Founding TorHoerman Law

Having garnered success leading the pharmaceutical branch at the Simmons firm, Tor amicably decided to split from Simmons in 2009 and start his own pharmaceutical and personal injury practice called TorHoerman Law, LLC (THL).

After negotiating the terms of the split, Tor struck a deal that allowed him to bring his entire staff from Simmons to his new practice, which summed up to more than 25 lawyers and staff members.

Expansion and Success of THL

Tor opened offices in Edwardsville, IL; Clayton, MO; and Chicago, IL to kickstart operations; all three offices remain open today.

In the time since opening THL, Tor and his team have litigated many pharmaceutical malpractice and personal injury cases.

Notable Successes at THL

Tor’s most notable successes while operating THL are perhaps co-leading the litigations against Boehringer Ingelheim’s Pradaxa and Takeda’s Actos.

Through intense research and vetting, Tor was able to find substantial evidence indicating Actos causes bladder cancer and Pradaxa causes internal bleeding.

He then presented the evidence to the companies, which decided to settle the cases.

Tor played a significant role in negotiating these settlements, which ended up being $650 million for Pradaxa and $2.4 billion for Actos.

Tor has also had major success in several other product liability lawsuits, such as Zelnorm, Gadolinium-based Contrast Agents, and Incretin Mimetics.

We’ve outlined these cases, a few other notable cases, and their correlating results in the section below.

Recognition & Awards

His successes with these cases and beyond earned him the distinction as a Top 25 Notable Alumni from the Chicago-Kent School of Law, which was awarded to him and 24 other lawyers out of the tens of thousands who have graduated from the school since its founding in 1888.

Tor is also recognized as a Top 100 National Trial Lawyer by the National Trial Lawyers Organization.

Notable Cases & Results

Pradaxa (Dabigatran Etexilate) – Products Liability Litigation, MDL 2385 – Appointed by Judge Herndon as national lead counsel in the MDL. After protracted litigation successfully negotiated a $650 million settlement.

Actos Related Cases, MDL Case No. 11 L 10011, Et. Al. – Appointed by Judge Dooling as lead counsel in Cook County consolidated docket (over 4400 cases). After protracted litigation, he was one of four lead negotiators (along with Pete Flowers, Mark Lanier, and Andy Birchfield) on a $2.4 billion settlement.

Incretin Mimetics Products Liability Litigation, MDL Case No. 13MD2452 AJB (MDD) – Appointed as lead counsel by Judge Battaglia in the MDL. The case is pending.

OxyContin – Represented thousands of “accidental addicts”. After protracted litigation, he negotiated a large settlement and assisted the DOJ in obtaining guilty pleas by corporate representatives.

Zelnorm Litigation., Case No. 280 – Appointed lead counsel in NJ state court consolidation, took the major depositions and negotiated a confidential settlement.

Gadolinium-based Contrast Agents Litigation Case No. 279 and Products Liability Litigation MDL No. 1909 – Appointed by Judge Polster as both the state and federal liaison and lead counsel in the Cook County consolidated docket. He negotiated large, confidential, individual settlements.

Involvement in the Legal Community

In addition to his litigation work, Tor is on the Board of Managers of the Illinois Trial Lawyer Association and an Executive Board Member of the Mass Torts Trial Lawyer Association.

He also attends national legal conferences on a yearly basis.

Personal Life

Personally, Tor is the proud father of Casey, Kirsten and Quinn, and husband of Jessica.

He tries to stay active, including still playing baseball.

Leveraging Superior Court Reporting and AI with Steno President Dylan Ruga

Mon, 26 Aug 2024 04:00:00 -0400

Join Ben for his conversation with Dylan Ruga, trial lawyer and co-founder and President of Steno, a long-time sponsor of the pod. Dylan updates us on the new functionality and services offered by his innovative court reporting service, Steno. Steno allows plaintiff attorneys to defer costs of court reporting and videographer services until the end of the case. In states that allow it, these deferred costs can be non-recourse. Steno now operates through the Zoom platform but offers an app that integrates with Zoom and makes collating, marking, annotating, and saving exhibits at depositions seamless. Steno also offers videographer services that enable recording of the witness and exhibits and post-production editing so that witnesses and exhibits can be presented in optimal fashion without requiring substantial attorney time or other vendor for editing. Dylan also discusses the roll out of a new product, Transcript Genius, which uses AI that has been specifically training to understand and interpret deposition transcripts to enable lawyers to query one or multiple transcripts to quickly identify key admissions, information, or contradictions in witness testimony. If you are a trial lawyer who handles a volume of depositions, you will gain a lot of insight and value from this episode.

Dylan is the Co-Founder, President and Chief Legal Officer at Steno, where he stewards business development initiatives and forges new partnerships. Dylan is also a founding member of Stalwart Law Group, recognized as one of California's top 20 litigation boutiques. He is a practicing trial lawyer with more than 15 years of experience in intellectual property, professional liability, and commercial litigation.

Born to be a Trial Lawyer with Arash Homampour

Mon, 12 Aug 2024 04:00:00 -0400

Join Ben and Rahul for their interview of famed Los Angeles trial lawyer, Arash Homampour. Arash has perfected the ability to trial difficult liability and damages cases to outlier high verdicts. Arash explains how he channels his innate connection with his clients and abilities as a trial lawyer to achieve these results. Arash discusses his upbringing as the child of first-generation Iranian immigrants and how he went from failing the bar examination to being one of the most accomplished and successful trial lawyers in California and the United States. You don’t want to miss this episode!

About Arash Homampour

https://www.homampour.com/

Arash Homampour Has Obtained Over $1 Billion Dollars in Settlements, Verdicts and Judgments for His Clients.

He is a trial attorney who in the last five years alone has obtained many successful trial results (ranging from $2.5 million to $60 million) against Sunbeam Products, the State of California, Costco Stores, Farmers Insurance Exchange, Allstate Insurance, and Louisville Ladder in a wide array of cases involving dangerous roads, dangerous ladders, dangerous premises, and unlawful employment practices.

In 2023, he has been named one of Daily Journal’s Top Plaintiff Lawyers In California.

In 2023, he has been named one of Daily Journal’s Top 100 Lawyers In California.

In 2023, he has been named one of the Top 10 Southern California Super Lawyers, 3 consecutive years.

In 2023, he has been named the Best Lawyers® 2023 Personal Injury Litigation – Plaintiffs “Lawyer of the Year” in Los Angeles.

In 2023, he has been recognized by the Los Angeles Times as a legal visionary.

In 2022, Homampour Law Firm was honored to be one of Top Verdict’s Top 10 Verdicts in California.

In 2002, Homampour Law Firm was honored to be one of Top Verdict’s Top 20 Verdicts in California.

In 2022, Homampour Law Firm was honored to be one of CVN’s Top 10 Most Impressive Plaintiff Verdicts of the year.

In 2022, he recovered a verdict of $60 million.

In 2022, he recovered a verdict of $34 million.

In 2022, he recovered a verdict of $36 million (wrongful death)

In 2022, he recovered a settlement of $23 million (dangerous condition of public property)

In 2022, he recovered a settlement of $15.92 million (dangerous condition of public property)

In 2022, he recovered a settlement of $10 million (dangerous condition of public property)

In 2022, he recovered a settlement of $8 million (dangerous condition of public property)

In 2022, he has been named one of the Top 10 Southern California Super Lawyers.

In 2022, he has been named one of Law360°’s Titans Of The Plaintiffs Bar.

In 2021, he recovered settlements of $24 million (dangerous condition of public property) and $8 million (dangerous condition of public property)

In 2021, he has been named one of the Top 10 Southern California Super Lawyers.

In 2021, he has become an Entrepreneur Leadership Network Contributor.

In 2020, he recovered verdicts of $32 million (single plaintiff settlement premise and product liability case), $5.3 million (confidential settlement) and $5 million (disputed policy limits settlement).

In 2019, he recovered a verdict of $30 million (wrongful death of driver that hit improperly parked truck), $12 million (wrongful death) and $5 million (liability and damages settlement)

In 2018, he received the Consumer Attorneys Association of Los Angeles (CAALA’s) Ted Horn Memorial Award presented to the lawyer who has provided outstanding service to the Association and the legal community.

In 2018, he received the Orange County Trial Lawyers Association Top Gun/Trial Lawyer of the Year award in Products Liability.

In 2018, he recovered verdicts of $12.25 million (wrongful death of man at swap meet) and $10 million (fatal vehicle versus motorcycle) and was named in the Top 100 Southern California Super Lawyers for the 7th year in a row.

In 2017, he recovered settlements & verdicts of $14.5 million (insurance bad faith), $14.25 million (wrongful death of a motorcyclist) $4.5 million (auto vs. truck).

In 2016, 2018 and 2019, he has been named one of the Top 30 Plaintiff’s attorneys in the State by the Daily Journal.

In 2016, he was awarded the Ventura County Trial Lawyers Association Trial Attorney of the Year award.

In 2015, he recovered verdicts of $16.2 million (motorcycle rider suffered a head injury), $5.6 million (wrongful death of 83 year old), $60 million (wrongful death of mother in fire started by a defective space heater), $14.2 million (dangerous condition wrongful death case for lack of warning signs against Caltrans) and $14 million (bad faith claim against Allstate Insurance Co.).

In 2010, he was named by the Consumer Attorneys Association of Los Angeles (CAALA) as its Trial Attorney of the Year. CAALA is the largest plaintiff attorney group in the country.

In 2007, he was named one of the Top 20 Attorneys Under the Age of 40 in the State of California by the Los Angeles Daily Journal. Every year since 2004, he has received nominations for Trial Attorney of the Year by the Consumer Attorneys of California and/or CAALA.

Since 2005, he has been designated a Super Lawyer by Los Angeles Magazine and Law & Politics.

Since 2010, he has been recognized as one of the Top 100 Southern California Super Lawyers which is based on the lawyers who received the highest point totals in the Southern California nomination, research and blue ribbon review process.

He has also successfully briefed and argued many appeals, including a recent California Supreme Court victory in Cortez v. Abich (2011) 51 Cal. 4th 285.

Arash frequently lectures throughout the state on all matters related to trial practice and has published many articles. You can find copies of those articles or videos of his presentations at www.caala.org or www.caoc.org

Areas of Practice

Litigation
Insurance Bad Faith
Personal Injury
Employment
Business

Litigation Percentage

100% of Practice Devoted to Litigation

Bar Admissions

California, 1993
U.S. District Court Central District of California, 1993

Education

Southwestern University School of Law, Los Angeles, California
University of Southern California, Los Angeles, California
B.S., Bachelor of Science – June, 1989
Major: Economics/Finance

Over $1 Billion in Verdicts from Nitrous Oxide and Psychiatric Hospital Neglect with John and Johnny Simon and Tim Cronin

Mon, 29 Jul 2024 04:00:00 -0400

Join Ben for this conversation with John and Johnny Simon and Tim Cronin of the Simon Law Firm. This episode covers discussion of two fascinating recent cases in which the Simon firm obtained more than $ 1 billion in combined verdicts on behalf of a client killed by a driver high on nitrous oxide and a rape victim in a psychiatric hospital. Learn about John, Johnny and Tim expertly built these cases around themes of corporate malfeasance, greed, neglect, and punitive damages. Both verdicts are huge landmark accomplishments that will create positive change for society.

The Simon Law Firm, P.C. | Over $1 Billion Won (simonlawpc.com)

About John Simon

John G. Simon’s work as Managing Partner at the firm has resulted in hundreds of millions of dollars for past clients. Well-respected in his field, John’s career includes several published works, frequent community involvement, and the role of adjunct professor at Saint Louis University School of Law

For 30 years, John Simon has devoted himself to fighting for the victims of negligence in St. Louis and across the nation. Because of his unparalleled skill and belief in the power of the law, John has secured over 150 verdicts and settlements in excess of $1 million or more for his clients.

John’s practice is among the most accomplished in the nation:

He has secured over 150 verdicts and settlements in excess of $1 million each.
He has obtained more than 15 verdicts/settlements over $10 million.
He has secured more than 25 verdicts/settlements over $5 million.

Fighting for Plaintiffs Across the United States John’s conviction and passion for the law form the cornerstone of our practice. His belief in the power of hard work, persistence, and dedication allows him and his fellow attorneys to achieve incredible results. Above all, he knows that a group of committed individuals working together can accomplish great things—that’s the heart of his firm.

About Johnny Simon

By joining The Simon Law Firm, P.C. in 2015, Johnny continues a proud tradition of excellence in the art of advocacy on behalf of people and businesses in need. A tradition that was established by his father—a tradition he intends to uphold.

Ask Johnny Simon, a native of St. Louis, Missouri, what he does for a living, and he will tell you very simply: a trial lawyer. Trying cases to juries, to verdict, is what he does. Practicing law, he will tell you, is not job, but a vocation—a privilege that he takes very seriously. Johnny focuses his practice on a diverse array of personal injury cases, including litigating cases involving defective products and product liability issues, medical malpractice claims, 1983 excessive force cases, and trucking/auto accidents, business litigation, and consumer fraud. Johnny graduated from Marquette University obtaining a degree in business, finance, and economics. He obtained a law degree from Boston College law school.

Johnny has litigated against some of the largest companies and hospital systems in the country. He is proud to represent clients from in need of top-notch legal representation and knows that he has the resources and experience to even the odds. He has tried cases in state, federal, and appellate courts across the country. With every case, Johnny brings the same tenacity and drive in order to achieve the best results for his clients. He is always eager to tell the story of his clients to a jury, members of the community, and expose improper and unlawful conduct which caused devastating and life altering injuries.

Outside of the Courtroom, Johnny is a husband, father, son, brother, and nephew. His hobby: thinking of ways to make a client’s case better.

About Timothy Cronin

Tim Cronin is a skilled and experienced personal injury trial attorney, including product liability, medical malpractice, premises liability, and trucking litigation, serving clients nationwide from our St. Louis office. He has recovered over 750 million dollars for injury victims, received numerous legal accolades, and offers compassionate counsel to his clients.

Timothy M. Cronin is a skilled trial attorney that focuses his practice on personal injury, product liability, medical malpractice, premises liability and trucking litigation involving catastrophic injuries or death.

Tim devotes himself to uncovering wrongdoing and seeking justice for his clients. His goal in every case is to help repair the lives of his clients that have been devastated by the reckless conduct of others, to do everything possible to ensure it never happens again to anyone else, and to make the litigation process as easy and stress-free for his clients as possible. He has tried many cases, and prepared countless others that settled on the courthouse steps. Tim has obtained verdicts exceeding ten million dollars on four separate occasions, along with a recent $535 million verdict that is the largest in Illinois state history for a single plaintiff. He has also obtained settlements or verdicts exceeding a million dollars for his clients on nearly fifty separate occasions, recovering in excess of four million dollars or more on over half of those cases.

Betting on Yourself to Win with Conal Doyle

Mon, 15 Jul 2024 04:00:00 -0400

When Conal Doyle started his plaintiff’s practice, he faced long odds and daunting obstacles. But as one born without one of his legs who went on to become a ski racer, long odds and obstacles were nothing new to Conal. Join Ben and Rahul for their discussion with Conal about how he bet on himself and his clients time and again, achieved monumental verdicts and changes to the legal system on his way to becoming one of California’s most successful trial lawyers.

About Conal Doyle

https://conaldoylelaw.com/

Conal Doyle is an award-winning trial lawyer who has received national recognition for his courtroom victories that have had broad reaching impact on society. He is one of the few attorneys in history to argue before the United States Supreme Court and obtain multiple seven and eight figure jury verdicts.

His international human rights victory in Castaneda v. United States was a catalyst for the reform of the United States immigration healthcare system, and garnered widespread acclaim from his peers, legal publications and the international media.

For example, he received the 2012 California Lawyer of the Year (CLAY) Award in Human Rights, and the 2011 Trial Lawyer of the Year Award from the Consumer Attorneys Association of Los Angeles (CAALA). He has been listed in both Best Lawyers in America and Super Lawyers for the past ten consecutive years, and his courtroom victories have been chronicled in newspapers around the world, including a piece on the CBS news magazine “60 Minutes.”

Conal’s reputation as one of the finest trial attorneys in America was further cemented with two stunning back-to-back verdicts in Kern County, California, one of California’s most “conservative” jurisdictions.

In December 2013, Conal obtained as lead trial counsel a $26.8 million medical malpractice jury verdict in McKnight v. Spain. This result was the largest medical malpractice verdict in County history and was recognized by The Daily Journal as a Top 10 Verdict in California for 2013. The National Law Journal recognized the verdict as a Top 100 Verdict nationally and the Consumer Attorneys Association of California (CAOC) named him a Finalist for the 2014 Consumer Attorney of the Year Award. The highest pre-trial offer by the defense was $300,000.

In March 2014, Conal obtained as lead trial counsel a $3.8 million jury verdict in Doe v. Jack In The Box. In this premises liability case, the highest pre-trial offer was $200,000.

The foundation of this success is a passion for justice and a commitment to client service. Conal was born without his right leg, and like many of his clients, has overcome great obstacles and endured daily struggles. These experiences provide him a unique insight into his clients’ challenges and help him guide his clients through difficult times.

Conal’s personal experience has led him to focus on the representation of amputees in both first party bad faith and personal injury claims. The Consumer Attorneys of California (CAOC) honored Conal as the 2020 Street Fighter of the Year for his work on behalf of amputees in Trujillo v. United Healthcare, a national ERISA health insurance class action. The case required the nation’s largest health insurer to change its claims practices and reprocess claims related to the denial of prosthetic devices to amputees. Conal is also prosecuting two other class actions for wrongful denial of prosthetics-against Anthem and Blue Shield of California, among numerous individual bad faith claims for wrongful denial of prosthetics.

Conal is well known as an advocate for amputees in injury and bad faith insurance claims. His article, “Glimpsing the Future for an Amputee,” is used as a guide for litigating limb loss cases by attorneys across the country.

Conal has never backed down from a challenge or started a fight that he couldn’t finish. When he isn’t challenging corporate giants in the courtroom, Conal enjoys skiing the Rockies, a remnant from his past as an alpine ski racer.

Honors & Awards

2020 Consumer Attorneys Association of California (CAOC) Street Fighter of the Year Award

2014 Finalist-Consumer Attorney of the Year-Consumer Attorneys Association of California (CAOC)

The National Law Journal Top 100 Verdicts, 2013

The Daily Journal Top 10 Verdicts, 2013

2012 California Lawyer Attorney of the Year (CLAY) Award

2011 Trial Lawyer of the Year-Consumer Attorneys Association of Los Angeles (CAALA)

2011 Attorney of the Year-The Recorder

The Best Lawyers in America, 2012 – Present

Finalist-2011 CAOC Consumer Attorney of the Year

2011 Lawdragon 500 Leading Lawyers in America

The National Trial Lawyers Association Top 100, 2008 – Present

The Daily Journal – Top 20 Under 40 in California, 2010

Super Lawyers-Southern California Superlawyer, 2012 – Present

The Daily Journal – Top 10 Verdicts, 2010

Martindale Hubbell – AV Rating, 2007 – Present

San Francisco Trial Lawyers Association – 2011 Civil Justice Award

The National Law Journal-Appellate Lawyer of the Week, 2010

2011 Public Justice Achievement Award-Public Justice Foundation

Public Service

Conal devotes a significant portion of his practice to public interest work and is a member of the Board of Directors of the Public Justice Foundation, a non-profit public interest law firm. Mr. Doyle frequently acts as “lead cooperating counsel” on cases with Public Justice, where he donates a portion of his fees as a pro bono contribution to the organization.

Prior Work History

Conal comes from a “big firm” background, where he served as a trial attorney for six years at one of Florida’s largest and most respected law firms. Conal won his first federal jury trial in a civil rights excessive force case at age twenty-seven. By age thirty-one, he was lead trial counsel of an eleven-hundred-member law enforcement agency, where he litigated civil rights, torts, class actions, and employment cases.

Conal participated in a dozen jury trials as a defense attorney, winning eleven of them. His jury trial experience includes cases involving medical malpractice, breach of contract, insurance coverage, premises liability, negligent security, 42 U.S.C. 1983 civil rights violations, excessive force, false arrest, automobile negligence, traumatic brain injury, wrongful death, and employment law.

Personal

Mr. Doyle is a right leg amputee. He is an avid alpine skier and has competed in Giant Slalom and Slalom alpine races against the best disabled athletes in the world, including the U.S. Ski Team, Canadian Ski Team, and Australian Ski Team. He is a former member of the Board of Directors (1998-2002) of Self-Reliance, Inc. and is active in community efforts to improve the lifestyles of Americans with disabilities. He regularly draws on his unique life experiences in representing clients who have sustained significant injuries or have suffered discrimination due to their disabilities.

Public Speaking

Mr. Doyle is a frequent lecturer and author on the topics of civil trial practice, civil rights, and personal injury litigation at law schools, Continuing Legal Education seminars, and the FBI NAA National Convention, where he has been recognized as an expert in civil rights litigation. He has also been quoted and featured frequently in national newspapers, radio, and television regarding constitutional law issues and civil rights.

Bar Admissions

California, 2003

Florida, 1997

New York, 2006

District of Columbia, 2006

U.S. Supreme Court

U.S. Court of Appeals 11th Circuit

U.S. Court of Appeals 9th Circuit

U.S. District Court Central District of California

U.S. District Court Middle District of Florida

U.S. District Court Eastern District of California

U.S. District Court Southern District of California

U.S. District Court Northern District of California

Education

Florida State University College of Law, Tallahassee, Florida

Juris Doctor cum laude – May 1997

Book Awards: Trial Practice, Litigation Seminar

Florida House of Representatives-Legislative Internship/Scholarship

Florida Bar Scholarship-Top 10 Law Students in State 1996

Stetson University College of Law, St. Petersburg, Florida

First Year of Law School – 1994

Class Rank: 1/159

West’s Outstanding Scholar Award-#1 ranked first year law student

Book Award-Torts

Book Award-Civil Procedure

Book Award-Criminal Law

Eckerd College, St. Petersburg, Florida

B.A. – 1993

The Courtroom as a Stage with Kurt Zaner

Mon, 01 Jul 2024 04:00:00 -0400

Before he became a trial lawyer, Colorado lawyer Kurt Zaner wanted to be an actor. But rather than just play a role, Kurt decided that he wanted to be a real-world champion and decided to become a trial lawyer. Now, Kurt applies lessons about presence, storytelling and drama from the stage to help achieve landmark verdicts for his clients. Join Ben for his wide-ranging discussion with Kurt that covers how a trial lawyer can use acting skills to enhance courtroom impact; strategies that have enabled Kurt to achieve several eight-figure verdicts against considerable odds; and even what modern day lawyers can learn from reading Cicero.

About Kurt Zaner

https://zanerhardenlaw.com/

Kurt Zaner has dedicated his legal career to representing folks against the modern-day Goliaths. In battling corporations that refuse to take responsibility, Kurt enjoys the challenge of standing up for people that seemingly have the odds overwhelmingly stacked against them.

A sought-after national speaker, Kurt frequently lectures on his winning trial techniques, effective legal writing strategies, and iconic discovery tactics that force top-value settlements. Kurt has secured the largest premises liability verdict in the history of Colorado ($16,000,000.00).

He has appeared on Good Morning America, World News Tonight, and every local media outlet including the Denver Post and local CBS, ABC, and Fox affiliates. He is a published author of Federal and State case law, including Colorado law establishing the right to punitive damages for victims of drunk drivers; he also authored legal articles on distracted driving as well as articles on ancient Roman trial methods.

As a trained stage actor, Kurt credits much of his trial success to his theatrical training in college and in Los Angeles prior to law school.

After graduating law school near the top of his class and receiving the American Bar Association’s and American Law Institute’s Best Graduate Award – awarded to the one student of the graduating class who best represents a combination of scholarship and leadership – Kurt went on to clerk for United States District Judge Ken Marra.

Working side by side with a Federal Judge on one of the largest caseloads in the country, Kurt learned the art of persuasive advocacy both through legal writing and courtroom theatrics.

Most importantly, he learned how cases are won from behind the bench.

Prior to co-founding Zaner Harden Law, LLP, Kurt practiced with some of the best-known trial lawyers in the country. Kurt has successfully represented hundreds of clients across the State of Colorado, trying and winning cases at every level of Colorado State Court, including several million and multi-million-dollar verdicts and settlements.

In 2017 he and his partner were recognized as having two of the largest verdicts of the year across all practice areas, including a 1,700,000.00 verdict against an oil company’s distracted driver as well as a $2,500,000 verdict against a drunk driver that killed his client’s son and then fled the scene.

This drunk driving verdict landed on the front page of the Denver Post as the community was fed up with these kinds of reckless drivers avoiding accountability by running away.

Kurt defended this verdict all the way to the Colorado Supreme Court. In 2018, Kurt secured the largest premises liability verdict in the history of Colorado – $16,000,000.00 in Boulder for a father of three who was diagnosed with the crippling neurological condition CRPS after a temporary electrical box exploded.

A few years later, Kurt secured a verdict on another electrocution case where his client also developed CRPS, with a Denver jury delivering a $10,600,000.00 verdict (with interest). A year after that, Kurt secured a $4,300,000.00 verdict for a client hurt in a trucking crash.

No matter how big or small the case, Kurt takes great pride in helping those that entrust their most significant legal problems to his law firm.

Kurt is very active in the Trial Lawyer community, both locally and nationally. Locally, he was recently elected to the Board of the Colorado Trial Lawyers Association (CTLA) for his fifth consecutive year and serves on several committees.

Nationally, after serving as President of the New Lawyers Division for the American Association of Justice (the 5,000 member NLD division of the most pre-eminent national trial lawyer organization in the Country), Kurt now serves on the Budget Committee of the entire 20,000-member organization as well as the Board of Governors.

He also acts as a certified End Distracted Driving (EndDD Program) presenter, donating his time in high school classrooms in Colorado educating the next generation of drivers on the dangers of distracted driving.

Kurt is invited to speak across the country on novel legal strategies and methods that he has developed – techniques that have resulted in unprecedented successful results for his clients.

He has been a regular speaker for the American Association of Justice, having spoken in Boston, Palm Springs, Denver, Los Angeles, and Montreal on a variety of topics including trial techniques, writing strategies, and insurance bad faith. He also speaks regularly for Trial Lawyers University (formerly Trojan Horse) as well as The National Trial Lawyers’ national trial seminars.

On the State level, Mr. Zaner regularly teaches for the Colorado Trial Lawyers at their state convention, statewide CLEs, and for CTLA’s new lawyer bootcamps,

He has also spoken at several State Seminars around the Country, including the prestigious Arkansas Trial Lawyers College on one of his favorite topics: transplanting 2,000-year-old trial techniques from the Roman trial lawyer Cicero and demonstrating how they can be effective in today’s trials.

When not practicing law, Mr. Zaner spends much of his time with his wife and two young boys, outdoors in the mountains or on the stage in a local theater production.

Licensed in Florida and Colorado.

Publications

Warembourg v. Excel, 471 P.3d 1213 (Co. Ct. App. 2020) – 63-page, 3-0 published opinion that affirmed the firm’s record-breaking 16-million-dollar electrocution verdict. This opinion creates significant new law in the area of spoliation of evidence, setting new standards for when parties must hold onto evidence and how they may be punished if they do not preserve such evidence (blessing an irrebuttable presumption of liability and causation punitive sanction). Case settled for 15.7 million shortly after this opinion.

“Lessons From Cicero” – Good Counsel, April 2017

Alhilo v. Kleim, 413 P.3d 902 (Co. Ct. App. 2016), cert denied (Colo. June 26, 2017) – published opinion that affirmed the firm’s multi-million dollar motorcycle verdict and created helpful case law for victims of drunk drivers (allowing for prior DUIs to come in as evidence) and for those who have lost loved ones in a wrongful death case (clarifying the damage cap to afford survivors the maximum benefit).

Spotlight, “Overcoming Liability Roadblocks in Bicycle Accident Case” American Association for Justice, Trial Edition (July 2015)

“Sad But Preventable – a Trial Lawyer’s Quest to End Distracted Driving and Save Lives” The Colorado Trial Lawyers’ Association publication Trial Talk, Volume 62, Issue 3, April/May 2013 publication at p. 26 (sole author).

“Driving While on the Cell Phone; Punitive Damage Awards Should Come Through Loud and Clear” ABA’s The Brief, Tort Trial & Ins. Prac. Sec., Summer 2007, Vol. 35, No.4 (co-author), republished in The Colorado Trial Lawyers’ Association publication Trial Talk, Volume 62, Issue 3, April/May 2013 publication at p. 41.

“National Security Policy and Ratification of the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty” 32 Houston Journal of International Law 1 (2009) (contributing author).

Vidinliev v. Carey, 581 F.Supp. 2d 1281 (N.D. Ga. 2008) – created federal case law in the area of worker’s FLSA rights.

Bar Leadership

NATIONAL

American Association of Justice – Board of Governor, 2018-2020; 2022-2025.

American Association of Justice – Executive Committee Member 2019-2020.

American Association of Justice – Budget Committee Member 2020-2023

American Association of Justice – Elected National President of NLD Division 2016.

American Association of Justice – Elected National Vice President of NLD Division 2016.

American Association of Justice – Elected National Treasurer of NLD Division 2015.

American Association of Justice – Elected National Secretary of NLD Division 2014.

American Association of Justice – Appointed Board of Governor on New Lawyers Division, June 2013.

American Association of Justice – Appointed Chair of the Publications Committee for the NLD quarterly national publication, the Sidebar, July 2013.

STATE

Colorado Trial Lawyers Association – Elected to serve as Board Member 2016-present

Colorado Trial Lawyers Association – Appointed to serve on Executive Committee and Legislative Committee 2016-17, 2021-2022

Colorado Trial Lawyers Association – Appointed to serve on Board as Board Member 2015-16.

Colorado Trial Lawyers Association – Appointed Membership Chair November 2012 -2015.

Colorado Trial Lawyers Association – Appointed New Lawyer Chair November 2013.

Community Involvement

Actor (Len), A One Night Stand at the Vintage Theater, Don’t Throw the Cheese by Mark Ogle.

Actor (Reverend Parris), The Crucible at Red Rocks Community Theater.

Presenter, End Distracted Driving Campaign; presents programs to high school students to warn them of the dangers of distracted driving.

Board of Director, Denver Athletic Club.

Turning Bad Facts into Good Facts with Meg Simonian

Mon, 17 Jun 2024 04:00:00 -0400

Join Ben and Rahul for their discussion with top Alaska trial lawyer, Meg Simonian. Meg shares her journey from growing up as one of seven children with parents who did not graduate from high school to attending law school and becoming one of the nation’s best trial lawyers. After graduating from law school, Meg worked as a Federal public defender and then joined the practice of legendary trial lawyer, Rick Friedman. Meg shares lessons learned during her time working with Rick before leaving to join an Alaska-based medical malpractice firm. Meg talks about how she has worked to turn bad case facts into good facts that have helped her win and achieve significant verdicts for her deserving clients.

About Meg Simonian

Dillon Findley & Simonian, P.C. | Anchorage Attorneys Serving Alaska

Meg Simonian is one of Alaska's top trial lawyers devoting her practice to representing people who have been injured or wronged. She has obtained several of the largest jury verdicts and settlements in Alaska history in both state and federal court.

Meg was born and raised in Anchorage and went to law school because she believed law could be a force of good. After clerking for the Alaska Superior Court, she has been practicing law for over 20 years sharpening her courtroom skills and winning trials as a felony trial lawyer at the Alaska Public Defender Agency and Office of Public Advocacy. Meg started her civil career at Friedman Rubin, representing people harmed by insurance bad faith.

Meg's work is focused on medical malpractice, catastrophic injury, complex litigation and representing people who have been injured or need help in their most vulnerable times. She is a relentless advocate who uses her skills in the courtroom, dedication, and creativity to ensure her client's story is told with truth and power. She is one of the few woman lawyers inducted into the prestigious Inner Circle of Advocates (an invitation only group of the 100 best trial lawyers in the U.S.). Meg is also recognized by both Best Lawyers and Super Lawyers. She was appointed by the Chief Justice of the Alaska Supreme Court to serve on the Alaska Civil Pattern Jury Instruction Committee.

Meg has successfully handled many appeals before the Alaska Supreme Court, including setting important precedent in Knolmayer v. McCollum, and Harrold-Jones v. Drury.

When she is not battling in the courtroom, Meg loves to be with her family cooking, traveling, or dragging one of her five kids to hike, ski, or play outside.

Education

Northeastern University School of Law, Boston, Massachusetts
J.D. - 1997
University of Alaska Anchorage
B.A. - 1992
Honors: magna cum laude
Major: English Literature
Mercer Law School, Trial Practice Institute of the National Criminal Defense College
2000

Past Positions

Anchorage Superior Court, Law Clerk
Alaska Public Defender Agency and Office of Public Advocacy, Felony Trial Lawyer

Professional Associations

American Association for Justice (formerly Association of Trial Attorneys of America®), 2003 to Present
Anchorage Zoning and Planning Commission, 2005 to 2006
Alaska Supreme Court Criminal Rules Advisory Committee, 2002 to 2003
Alaska Bar Association, 1999

Practice Areas

Plaintiff's Medical Malpractice
Serious Injury or Death
White-Collar Criminal Law

Bar Admissions

Alaska, 1999
U.S. District Court District of Alaska, 1999

The Courage to Break the Mold with Judith Livingston

Mon, 03 Jun 2024 04:00:00 -0400

With 37 verdicts of more than a million dollars, few lawyers in America can match the track record of success of New York trial lawyer Judy Livingston. What’s more, many of Judy’s verdicts came at a time when few women were trial lawyers. Join Ben and Rahul for their in-depth interview with Judy in which they explore the sources of the courage and fortitude that fueled her success. Judy shares accounts of her early trial practice, where she literally had to create a new mold as a woman in the courtroom. Judy discusses her approach to trying complex medical malpractice cases and connecting with a jury. She talks about juggling life and the demands of raising a family with a husband who, like her, is a renowned trial lawyer. If you are a trial lawyer or aspire to be, there is no way you can listen to this episode without feeling inspired.

About Judy Livingston

Top Personal Injury Attorneys | Kramer Dillof Livingston & Moore (kdlm.com)

Judith A. Livingston has long been one of the most successful plaintiff’s attorneys in the United States. Reserved, methodical and precise, Ms. Livingston has been called “A Legal Legend” by Law Dragon and named one of “The 50 most influential women lawyers in America” by New York magazine. She has been a partner at the law firm of Kramer, Dillof, Livingston & Moore since 1989.

Ms. Livingston has won 37 trials with verdicts in excess of $1 million and has negotiated hundreds of settlements that have resulted in payments to her clients of almost a half-billion dollars. She specializes in medical malpractice and personal injury cases. Ms. Livingston is the current President of the Inner Circle of Advocates, an invitation-only group limited to 100 of the best plaintiff lawyers in the United States who possess exceptional qualifications, are experienced and skillful in the handling of courtroom litigation, and who are respected among their peers. She was the first female, and youngest member invited to be a part of this prestigious organization.

Judith A. Livingston has the distinction of being named in Best Lawyers magazine for 2011 and 2013 as the New York Medical Malpractice “Lawyer of the Year.” She was cited by the National Law Journal as one of “40 lawyers who have made their mark in the area of health care law,” and she has been listed yearly by New York magazine and Super Lawyers magazine as one of the best lawyers in New York. New York magazine also cited her as one of “the 50 most influential women lawyers in America.” And in every listing, since Lawdragon began recognizing the top 500 lawyers in the United States, Ms. Livingston has been selected as one of the country’s top lawyers.

In 2022, Judith was inducted into the Maurice A. Deane School of Law Hall of Fame at Hofstra University. Hofstra Law established the Hall of Fame “to honor alumni whose exemplary careers and extraordinary service to the betterment of society have significantly impacted the Hofstra Law community and beyond.” She received the Presidential Medal from Hofstra University and the Fordham Founder’s Award in 2014. The former is awarded to “distinguished persons in recognition of outstanding career achievement and professional leadership.” The latter “recognizes individuals whose personal and professional lives reflect the highest aspirations of the University’s defining traditions, as an institution dedicated to wisdom and learning in the service of others."

A fellow of the International Academy of Trial Lawyers, Judith Livingston has participated nationally in lectures and seminars on subjects ranging from trial strategy to women in the courtroom.

Ms. Livingston sits on the Board of Directors of the New York State Trial Lawyers Association. She is a member of the American College of Trial Lawyers; the International Society of Barristers; the Bar Association of the City of New York; the American Association of Justice, and the International Academy of Trial Lawyers.

From 2006 through 2009, Ms. Livingston was co-president of the Judges and Lawyers Breast Cancer Alert (JALBCA.) She continues on the JALBCA Board of Directors, helping to educate women in the fight against breast cancer.

Judith A. Livingston graduated from The State University of New York, Stony Brook, with high honors; and from Hofstra University School of Law in 1979, where she received a J.D. degree and an Honorary Doctor of Laws in 1998. In 2014, Ms. Livingston gave the Commencement address at Hofstra University School of Law, the second time she was given that honor.

Bar Admissions

New York, 1979

Education

Juris Doctor (J.D.), Hofstra University School of Law, Hempstead, New York, 1979
Honorary Doctor of Laws, Hofstra University School of Law, Hempstead, New York, 1998
Honorary Degree, Fordham University School of Law, New York, New York, 2015
Bachelor of Arts magna cum laude, Honors: With High Honors(B.A.), State University of New York, Stony Brook, New York, 1976

Honors, Awards and Special Recognitions

Maurice A. Deane School of Law at Hofstra University: Inducted into the Hall of Fame, 2022
Brooklyn Daily Eagle, Women in Law, Champions of Justice, 2019
Citizen’s Union: “Gotham Great” Honoree, October, 2017, Gotham Great: “Honoring outstanding leaders who enhance the vitality of New York City.”
Feerick Center For Social Justice: “Spirit Of Hope Award”, October, 2016, “Honoring individuals who have dedicated themselves to service and justice.”
Hofstra Law School: “Outstanding Women In The Law” Award, April, 2016
Hofstra University: Alumnus of The Year, September, 2015
Fordham University: “Fordham Founder’s Award”, May, 2014, “The highest honor conferred by the University, in recognition of individuals whose personal and professional lives reflect the highest aspirations of the University’s defining traditions, as an institution dedicated to wisdom and learning in the service of others.”
Hofstra University: “Presidential Medal”, May, 2014, “The highest honor conferred by the University, awarded to distinguished persons in recognition of outstanding career achievement and professional leadership.”
Brooklyn A Legal Services Corporation: “Champion Of Justice Award”, November, 2010
United Cerebral Palsy – “Women Who Care” Award, May, 2009
Best Lawyers®: “Lawyer of The Year”, 2011 and 2013
Listed in Best Lawyers in America©, 1993 – present
Hofstra University, “Allan Tod Gittleson Society – Inaugural Member”, June, 2013
National Law Journal: “Profiles In Power: The 50 Most Influential Women Lawyers”
LawDragon Magazine, Named one of the “Top 500 Lawyers In The United States” annually since the inception of the listing (from 2007 through 2017)
LawDragon 500, “The Hall of Fame”, November 2015, “To commemorate the 50 lawyers who have made the Lawdragon 500 Leading Lawyers in America each year it has been published.”
Super Lawyers®, Named to the Top 10 New York – Metro Lawyers 2020-present
Super Lawyers®, Named one of the Top 50 Women Lawyers in New York annually
Super Lawyers®, Named one of the Top 100 Lawyers in New York on an annual basis
Judges And Lawyers Breast Cancer Alert – “JALBCA” Leadership Achievement Award, May, 2008
NYSTLA, “Civil Justice Honor 2006 Award”, June, 2006
United Jewish Appeal – Trial Lawyer’s Division “Outstanding Leadership And Contributions On Behalf of The Legal Community And All Humanity” Award, April, 1996
Hofstra Law School – Dean’s Award For Distinguished Alumnus, November, 1995

Professional Associations and Memberships

Inner Circle of Advocates, President, 2022
Inner Circle of Advocates, Vice President, 2020 – 2022
International Academy of Trial Lawyers, Fellow
New York State Trial Lawyers Association, Board of Directors
American College of Trial Lawyers, Member
International Society of Barristers, Member
Bar Association of the City of New York, Member
American Association of Justice, Member

Pro Bono Activities

Judges and Lawyers Breast Cancer (JALBCA), Board Member and Past President
New York State Continuing Legal Education Board
Governor’s Second Judicial Department Screening Commission
American College of Trial Lawyers, New York Downstate Committee

Location: New York, New York

Serving all five Boroughs of New York City, Long Island and Westchester County

Having an Impact Beyond the Individual Case with Peter Perlman

Mon, 20 May 2024 04:00:00 -0400

Join Ben for his conversation with legendary Kentucky trial lawyer, Peter Perlman. Peter talks about how his upbringing, as the son of a 5 and 10 cent store owner, shaped his values and taught him the importance of finding ways to help others. During his long and successful career as a trial lawyer, Peter applied these lessons in cases that helped his individual clients and led to larger industry-wide changes that have helped countless others. These cases span a wide range of practice areas, from auto defect litigation, aviation, personal injury, and even a Title IX case brought to keep the door open for female college athletes. Through his own practice, and terms as President of AAJ and the Civil Justice Foundation, few trial lawyers have done more to promote and enhance the cause of individual victims and social justice than Peter Perlman.

About Peter Perlman

https://peteperlman.com/

Experience

In his lengthy career as a trial lawyer, Peter has earned more than 60 multi-million dollar verdicts and settlements in personal injury, product defect and wrongful death cases. He was inducted into the Inner Circle of Advocates in 1985. This is an elite organization limited to the top 100 trial lawyers in this country. The Kentucky Justice Association’s highest honor, “The Peter Perlman Outstanding Trial Lawyer,” has been presented each year since 1994.

Throughout his career, Peter has maintained a close relationship with his alma mater, the University of Kentucky. He was an Adjunct Professor in the law school for 25 years, and has been inducted into the Hall of Fame and U.K’s Hall of Distinguished Alumni. In 1999, Peter created an Endowment Fund. This has provided annual scholarships to students who have shown, “a concern for providing equal justice under the law.”

Complications from an eye injury, have led to some changes in Peter’s practice. He now serves as a consultant on a limited case-by-case basis.

Over the years, Peter has given numerous talks to civic and legal groups and continues to do so. In his trials, Peter stressed the power of America’s juries, and the difference jurors make through their collective verdicts. His current presentations emphasize these themes.

Awards & Honors

Trial Lawyers “Hall of Fame” (Inducted 2017)
University of Kentucky “Hall of Distinguished Alumni” (2015)
American Association for Justice – “Leonard M. Ring Champion of Justice” (2012)
Kentucky Justice Association – “Charles M. Leibson Lifetime Achievement Award” (2013)
Civil Justice Foundation – “Champion of Justice” (2011)
Fayette County (KY) Bar Association – “Henry T. Duncan Lifetime Achievement Award” (2010)
American Association for Justice – Former President
Trial Lawyers for Public Justice – Former President
National Litigation Counsel – Former President
Civil Justice Foundation – Former President
Southern Trial Lawyers Association – “Tommy Malone Great American Eagle Award”; “War Horse Award”; “Mickey Smiley Lighthouse Award”

Verdict Alert: Gideon Asen $2.4 Million Verdict in Med Mal CRPS Case with Taylor Asen and Trevor Savage

Mon, 06 May 2024 04:00:00 -0400

Join Ben for his discussion with attorneys Taylor Asen and Trevor Savage about their recent $2.4 million verdict in Bangor, Maine in a case involving a surgical mal positioning that caused an arm injury and CRPS. Taylor and Trevor explain how they worked closely with the client to get her to the right specialist who could diagnose her medical condition. They talk about the challenges of presenting a CRPS injury at trial. They discuss how they resisted the defense effort to stipulate to liability and were able to present compelling evidence of corporate indifference and system failure in the lack of safeguards or systems to make sure that the surgery was done safely, and the lack of follow through, investigation, or changes that came out of this incident. They discuss how they responded to the defense’s 11th hour surprise surveillance video, which the judge allowed into evidence over objection. They used the surveillance to further polarize the case and show the lie in the hospital’s claim to be taking responsibility for its actions. They discuss the use of data analysis to recognize the true value of the case and to formulate the amount asked for in closing.

About Taylor Asen

www.gideonasen.com

Taylor specializes in medical malpractice cases, trucking accident cases, and other complex personal injury cases. He has recovered tens of millions of dollars for his clients.

Taylor possesses a unique combination of intellect, competitive drive, and human empathy that makes him a powerful advocate for his clients. Taylor has dedicated his career to championing the interests of individuals who have suffered harm or injury from corporate misconduct, individual negligence, and bad medical care. Taylor’s efforts on behalf of injured Mainers have resulted in several of the largest case settlements in Maine history. Recently, Taylor and his colleague Meryl obtained one of the largest jury verdicts in a child sex abuse case in Maine’s history.

Taylor has been recognized as one of Maine’s leading plaintiff’s attorneys. He is only one of two lawyer from Northern New England listed in Lawdragon’s list of the top 500 plaintiff’s attorneys in the nation—the other lawyer from Northern New England is his partner, Ben Gideon. Taylor is also included in Best Lawyers – Ones to Watch and Super Lawyers Rising Stars; these designations are given to attorneys that distinguish themselves during their first decade of practice.

“Nobody is more committed to his clients than Taylor,” said Ben Gideon. “His mind is always working. It’s not unusual for me to receive a call after midnight from Taylor, wanting to brainstorm about a thorny problem or about case strategy. Taylor is also a gifted legal writer, enabling our clients to gain the upper hand in motions and briefs submitted to the courts. When it comes to the full range of personal qualities and skills needed to achieve extraordinary client results, there are few lawyers I’ve met who can match Taylor.”

Taylor is on the Board of Governors of the Maine Trial Lawyers Association and has served as Co-Chair of the MTLA’s Legislative Committee for the past three years. Taylor has testified in the Maine Legislature on numerous occasions, and played a critical role in the fight to raise Maine’s cap on wrongful death damages in 2019.

Taylor also has experience litigating class action cases on behalf of employees, consumers, and victims of civil rights abuses. From 2019 to 2020, he co-counseled a class action on behalf of Maine prisoners who were denied treatment for Hepatitis C. That lawsuit resulted in a historic settlement with the Maine Department of Corrections, under which the DOC agreed to treat all incarcerated individuals who have chronic Hepatitis C.

Taylor is an Adjunct Professor at Maine Law School, where he co-teaches Trial Advocacy.

A native of Maine, Taylor is a graduate of Yale Law School. At Yale, Taylor worked in the Veterans Legal Services Clinic, representing veterans who were improperly denied disability benefits. After graduating from law school, Taylor clerked for federal judges in New York City and Newark, New Jersey. Taylor began his career at a law firm in New York, before returning to Maine to represent individual plaintiffs in personal injury lawsuits.

Taylor’s wife, Becca, is the Director of Recruiting and Professional Development at Bernstein Shur. Taylor and Becca live in Cumberland County with their three children, Davida, Vivienne, and Leon.

What Clients Say About Taylor

“The most fantastic Lawyer I have ever met. Caring considerate and great results.” – Hilarie B.

“Taylor went above and beyond during the entire case. I felt valued, respected and as if I was the #1 and only client he had.” – Adam D.

“Taylor was there, step by step, fighting for what is right and just, making sure we understood each process. He helped my family get the best outcome to move forward with our lives without regret.” – Cheri H.

“Taylor Asen was everything we needed in a lawyer: professional, communicative, straight forward and determined. He also was everything we didn’t expect: personable, always available, kind and thoughtful. We highly recommend his services.” – Arianna S.

“Taylor Asen is the ultimate professional. He navigated us through the toughest time in our lives and handled our medical malpractice case with mastery. . . Most of all, he was human. His confidence and his friendly demeanor put us at ease and his empathy towards our situation made us feel like we wanted to win this case not just for us, but for him.” – Lisa H.

EDUCATION

J.D., Yale Law School, 2012
M.A., Columbia University, 2007
B.A., George Washington University (summa cum laude), 2006

RECOGNITIONS

Lawdragon’s 500 Leading Plaintiff Consumer Lawyers, 2022
The Best Lawyers in America ― “Ones to Watch,” 2021 – present
Super Lawyers ― “Rising Star,” 2017 – present
AVVO – Rated 10/10

MEMBERSHIPS

Board Member, Maine Trial Lawyers Association
Co-chair, Legislative Committee, Maine Trial Lawyers Association
Member, Academy of Truck Accident Attorneys
Member, American Association for Justice
Member, Right to Know Advisory Committee, Maine State Legislature, 2019-2022
Member, U.S. Attorney for the District of Maine Selection Advisory Committee (2021)
Chair, Maine Supreme Judicial Court IOLTA Working Group (2020)

ADMISSIONS

Maine (2016)
U.S. Court of Appeals, Third Circuit (2014)
U.S. District Court, Southern District of New York (2014)
U.S. District Court, Eastern District of New York (2014)
New York (2013)

CLERKSHIPS

Law Clerk, Hon. Julio Fuentes, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit, 2014
Law Clerk, Hon. J. Paul Oetken, U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, 2013

About Trevor Savage

www.gideonasen.com

Trevor is a skilled trial attorney who represents clients in claims involving medical malpractice, wrongful deaths and other complex personal injury cases.

After completing a clerkship with the Maine Supreme Judicial Court, Trevor began his career at a large firm in Portland, representing medical providers, businesses, and insurance companies.

Trevor’s experience as a defense attorney gives him a unique perspective that he uses to give Gideon Asen’s clients an advantage during litigation with insurance companies.

A native of Maine, Trevor is a graduate of Emerson College in Boston, Massachusetts, and then the University of Maine School of Law. At Maine Law, he served as Managing Editor of the Maine Law Review and as a legal writing teaching assistant for first-year students.

During law school—alongside his then-classmate and current colleague, Meryl Poulin—he distinguished himself as one of two “Prize Arguers” of their class and argued before the Maine Supreme Judicial Court. He and Meryl Poulin—another Gideon Asen attorney—later competed nationally as teammates on the Maine Law Moot Court Team, finishing in the top three of a competition of more than forty teams.

While at law school, Trevor interned with the Appellate Division of the United States Attorney’s Office and then with Judge Kermit V. Lipez of the United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit. He also worked as a Student Attorney at the Cumberland County District Attorney’s Office (winning his first two jury trials as a second-year law student).

Trevor lives in North Berwick, Maine, with his wife, Amy, and two children, Jacob and Will.

EDUCATION

J.D., Maine Law School (cum laude), 2017
B.S., Emerson College (summa cum laude), 2013

RECOGNITIONS

Super Lawyer’s: Rising Star 2022- present

MEMBERSHIPS

American Bar Association, Member
Maine State Bar Association, Member
Maine Trial Lawyers Association, Member
Edward Thaxter Gignoux Inn of Court, Member
Managing Editor, Maine Law Review (2016-2017)
Maine Law Class of 2017 Prize Arguer
Faculty Significant Achievement Award, 2017

ADMISSIONS

Maine (2017)
United States District Court for the District of Maine (2018)
United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit (2018)

CLERKSHIPS

Law Clerk, Hon. Joseph M. Jabar, Maine Supreme Judicial Court, 2017-2018

Justice for Victims of Havana Syndrome with Paul Miller

Mon, 22 Apr 2024 04:00:00 -0400

Join Rahul and Ben for their conversation with Canadian trial lawyer, Paul Miller, who shares the fascinating account of his effort to find justice for Canadian diplomats impacted by Havana Syndrome. Paul explains the mounting evidence showing that Canadian and American diplomats posted in Cuba, England, Russia, Vietnam, and China have been targeted by weapons that use microwave or similar technology that is invisible but can cause brain damage, leading to a variety of life-long injuries and symptoms. The story is somewhere between science fiction and spy novel, but much more troubling because the human victims are real people, including diplomats and their families.

About Paul Miller

https://hshlawyers.com/

“I became a personal injury lawyer because I wanted to ensure that people, when devastated by injuries had access to not only benefits and compensation, but access to the courts in order to seek out justice for injuries they have suffered.”

A dedicated advocate for people who have suffered personal injuries, Paul has 20 years of experience involving cases of defective products and medical devices and fighting for those denied justice.

Paul has proven experience with high profile cases including serving as co-counsel for Canadian Diplomats in Cuba affected by Havana Syndrome, co-counsel representing Canadian Veterans affected by Mefloquine, co-counsel representing B.C. in its class action lawsuit against opioid drug companies, co-lead counsel for the victims of the 2005 Air France crash at Toronto’s Pearson airport, and as representative for 23 Canadians involved in litigation surrounding the events of September 11, 2001.

His passion for helping those wronged by negligence led to his dedicated work on the MK Airlines Halifax Plane Crash, TVM Litigation, and presently, the Ethiopian Airline Crash, Hernia Mesh Litigation and Essure.

A Certified Specialist in Civil Litigation, Paul has been nominated twice for Canadian Lawyer’s Top 25 Most Influential Lawyers and recognized in Best Lawyers for his work in Product Liability Litigation. He’s a past board member of the Ontario Trial Lawyers Association (2004–2006) and a current board director with the US-based organization Public Justice.

Paul is an avid golfer. When not tirelessly working on cases or spending quality time with his wife and four children, you’ll likely see him out on the green.

Professional Success

Settlements and Verdicts

Past results are not predictive of future results and each situation is unique and requires individual and independent legal advice.

$5.55 Million*

Fly Jamaica Flight OJ 256 Class Action settlement for passengers who suffered injuries from emergency landing
Successful settlements in over 70 transvaginal cases (confidential settlements).
Co-lead counsel for the victims of the August 2, 2005 Air France crash at Pearson Airport in Toronto which resulted in a settlement in excess of $20 million.
Representative for 23 Canadians involved in litigation surrounding the events of September 11, 2001.
Successful settlement for 6 plaintiffs who received defective cochlear ear implants.

Thought Leadership

Articles

5 Canadians that left an Ontario airport killed in small-plane crash in Nashville
Hope Starts Here for an Endorsement From Our Client And Community Network: Voting Open for Canadian Lawyer’s Top 10 Personal Injury Boutique Firm
Plane Crashes Aren’t the Only Cause of Airline Injuries
December 6, 2020 – New Answers in the Havana Syndrome Investigation
Veterans’ Advocate in the Fight of His Life
How Your Occupation May Lead to Asbestos Exposure and A Mesothelioma Cancer Diagnosis
The Power of Many Customized For One: Mass Torts vs. Class Actions
Have You Been Diagnosed With Cancer After a Surgery Using Power Morcellators?
From Air France Flight 358 Crash Victim to Personal Injury Advocate
Fatal Shooting and Stampede at BPM Festival in Playa del Carmen, Mexico
Prolonged Use of Baby (Talcum) Powder Linked To Ovarian Cancer
Hernia Mesh Lawsuit: Beware of Hernia Mesh Recalls
Do You Rely on the Synchromed II Pain Pump For Drug Delivery? Beware of Pump Failure
Do You Rely on a St. Jude Defibrillator / Pacemaker? Beware of Battery Failure
Secondary Asbestos Exposure: Are You At Risk of Developing An Asbestos-Related Illness?

Media Mentions

Paul Miller Discusses his client’s $5M lawsuit against Ont. Government, Children’s Aid Society Alleging Years of Childhood Abuse in an Interview on CTV News
Paul Miller Discusses a Recently Released Study On The Havana Syndrome On Global News.
Paul Miller Discusses Taking on Out of The Box Lawsuits on The Not on Record Podcast
Paul Miller appeared on the Not on Record Podcast to Discuss The Impact of Havana Syndrome on Canadian Diplomats
Defective Hernia Mesh and Sepsis/Blood Poisoning, the Hernia Mesh Blog
Defective Hernia Mesh and The ‘Epidemic’ of Complications, the Hernia Mesh Blog
Hernia Mesh Surgeries, Defective Mesh and Disability Benefits, the Hernia Mesh Blog
Defective Hernia Mesh and Mesh Migration, the Hernia Mesh Blog
Defective Hernia Mesh and Hernia Recurrence After Hernia Mesh, the Hernia Mesh Blog
Awareness Campaign Launched for Victims of Hernia Mesh in Canada, the Hernia Mesh Blog
Defective Hernia Mesh and Fistula Formation, the Hernia Mesh Blog
Common Types of Hernias, and Defective Hernia Mesh Side-Effects, the Hernia Mesh Blog
Defective Inguinal Hernia Mesh and Sexual Side Effects, the Hernia Mesh Blog
Defective Hernia Mesh and Infections, the Hernia Mesh Blog
Defective Hernia Mesh and Chronic Pain, the Hernia Mesh Blog

Speaking and Teaching Engagements

October 2, 2019 – Paul Miller to Speak at TACTIX 2019 – The Motley Rice Co-Counsel Seminar
September 19, 2019 – Paul Miller to Speak at Veterans Mefloquine Rally
April 29-30, 2019 – Paul Miller to Speak at The Quinism Foundation’s 2019 Annual Meeting
June 9, 2020 – Paul Miller to speak at The Advocates’ Society’s Class Actions Advocacy
February 22, 2017 – Paul Miller Presents at CDL Product Liability Conference
Medical Devices in Product Liability Litigation, Products Liability Litigation Seminar
Consent and Capacity, Lunch and Learn, Toronto Rehab Institute
Personal, Industry and Community Activity

Education

Admitted to the Ontario Bar, 1997
JD, Touro College Jacob D. Fuchsberg Law Center, 1993
BA, York University, 1989

Professional Associations and Memberships

Canadian Bar Association
Ontario Bar Association
Ontario Trial Lawyers Association, Member, Board of Directors (2004-2006)
Public Justice – United States (Board of Directors)
The Advocates Society

Honours and Awards

Certified as a Specialist in Civil Litigation, Law Society of Ontario
Best Lawyers in Canada, Personal Injury Law Category

Community Involvement

Organizer of Annual Golf Tournament Supporting Toronto Rehab

Take That Elon! $60M Verdict Against Tesla with Lee Christie and Karen Zahka

Mon, 08 Apr 2024 04:00:00 -0400

Join Rahul and Ben for their discussion with Indiana trial lawyer Lee Christie and Trial Lawyers for Justice Attorney, Karen Zahka, as they break down their recent trial against Tesla. Although the case started out as a simple pickup truck vs. motorcycle accident involving a left turn, the personal involvement of Elon Musk led to an unusual investment of resources on the defense side and high drama in the courtroom. To get to verdict, the plaintiff had to navigate a series of landmines and obstacles, including numerous law firms entering and exiting the case, a sea of motions, dozens of requests for mistrial and a hold-out juror that almost led to a mistrial during jury deliberations.

Link to animation video mentioned in episode:

https://hypelegal.wistia.com/medias/z8rn4p0v6u

About Lee Christie

Indiana Personal Injury Lawyers | Christie Farrell Lee & Bell (cflblaw.com)

Lee Christie is a partner with Christie Farrell Lee & Bell and is a lifelong Indiana resident. He is passionate in representation, and takes pride in the relationships he develops with his clients. He has extensive trial experience in both federal and state court and is a frequent lecturer on trial, mediation, personal injury, medical malpractice, trucking accidents, and settlement issues. Lee has represented thousands of clients who have been personally injured and has obtained settlements and verdicts as high as $30.5M. Lee is highly civically engaged with several Indiana organizations, including the Walker Foundation (founding board member and officer) and Indianapolis Bar Foundation (board member and officer), and is a patron of the YMCA. He is past president of the Lawrence Township Girls Basketball League and continues to work with youth in the inner city of Indianapolis.

Achievements

Lee has been selected by Super Lawyers as a Top 10 Super Lawyer in Indiana and was named the Best Lawyer, Indianapolis Lawyer of the Year for Mediation (2014) and Arbitration (2012). He is a member of the Indiana Trial Lawyers Association, the American Association for Justice, the Interstate Trucking Litigation Group, and Academy of Truck Accident Attorneys. Lee has verdicts and settlements ranging from tens of thousands of dollars to over $30 million.

Honors

2025 President of the Indianapolis Bar Association
Indiana Judicial Nominating and Qualifications Commission (to serve a three-year term beginning 1/1/23)
Indiana State Bar Association GP Hall of Fame Award 2021
National Trial Lawyers: Trucking Trial Lawyers Association Top 10 in Indiana
Indiana Lawyer Distinguished Barrister Award, 2017
Indiana Trial Lawyer’s Association Trial Lawyer of the Year, 2015
National Association of Distinguished Counsel – The Nation’s Top One Percent, 2015, Founding Member
Selected to Top 10 Indiana Super Lawyers, 2014
Selected to Top 50 Indiana Super Lawyers, 2005–present
The Best Lawyers in America,® Personal Injury Litigation—Plaintiffs, 2005-present
Best Lawyers® Indianapolis Mediation “Lawyer of the Year”
Martindale Hubbel highest AVrating, 1983-2017
2010 Civility Award Recipient – Indiana State Bar Association

Named “Lawyer of the Year” by Best Lawyers® for:

Arbitration, Indianapolis (2024)
Mediation, Indianapolis (2024)
Arbitration, Indianapolis (2019)
Mediation, Indianapolis (2018)
Mediation, Indianapolis (2014)
Arbitration, Indianapolis (2012)

Memberships

Indianapolis Bar Association
2025 President
National Association of Distinguished Counsel, Founding Member
Academy of Truck Accident Attorneys (ATAA)
American Association of Justice (AAJ)
Leaders Forum
Sustaining Member
Interstate Trucking Litigation Group
Indiana Trial Lawyers Association (ITLA)
Sustaining Member
College of Fellows
Indiana State Bar Association
Litigation Section
Sustaining Member
Advanced Studies in Trial Advocacy
Fellow-National College of Advocacy

Court Admissions

U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Indiana
U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Indiana

Bar Admissions

Indiana, 1982

Recognitions

Avvo Top Attorney Personal Injury – Lawyer Lee Christie

About Karen Zahka

Home - Trial Lawyers For Justice (tl4j.com)

Karen is a Partner at Trial Lawyers for Justice. She is an experienced and passionate trial lawyer. While she was born and raised in Massachusetts, Karen litigates and tries cases nationwide. She is currently admitted to practice in Iowa, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and Oklahoma. She practices in other jurisdictions via pro hac vice.

Throughout Karen’s career, she has contributed to many multi-million verdicts and settlements, including but not limited to:

Andrea Larkin, et al. v. Dedham Medical Associates, et al.: Karen was integral in successfully recovering over $40 million (with interest) for a 28-year-old woman who suffered a catastrophic stroke hours after labor and delivery of her daughter. Following this victory, Karen fought to defend and succeeded in defending the verdict from the insurance company’s attempt to overturn it on appeal.

Edward Xu v. Tufts Medical Center, et al.: Karen contributed to a $24.4 million verdict on behalf of a family whose newborn suffered from severe short bowel syndrome, which requires that he be tube fed for the rest of his life.

Estate of Joshua Messier v. Bridgewater State Hospital: Karen helped to obtain a $3 million settlement for a family whose 23-year-old disabled son was improperly restrained and killed by correction officers at a Massachusetts prison. This success resulted in sweeping systemic changes to improve the care and treatment of disabled individuals in state prison systems.

Estate of Zoe Rosenthal v. Charles J. Davignon, et al.: In April 2021, during the COVID-19 Pandemic, Karen contributed to the $9.5 million verdict obtained on behalf of two daughters whose mother was negligently killed while walking her dog in a crosswalk near her home. According to the court clerk, this result set a record for a non-economic damages verdict for wrongful death with adult heirs in Western Massachusetts.

While Karen is a zealous advocate for her clients, what she takes most pride in is that she cares about each of her clients on a personal level. She is a kind human first and a dedicated lawyer second. Karen recognizes that by the time you ask for her help, you have likely already experienced a catastrophic loss or injury. Compassion is a must, and she understands how overwhelming the legal system can be. It is for that reason that she always takes the time to explain each and every step of the legal process and she will be candid with you every step of the way.

Karen received her undergraduate degree from Boston University, where she double majored in Political Science and Psychology. She then graduated from Suffolk University Law School, where she served as the Continuity Editing Assistant for The Journal of Health and Biomedical Law. She graduated from law school with Pro Bono Honors and was recognized for her time and commitment to volunteer legal services programs. Throughout law school, she not only worked full time, but also volunteered her nights and weekends with several non-profit programs dedicated to empowering survivors of domestic violence and assisting them in navigating the legal system to protect themselves and their loved ones.

Since 2016, Karen has been recognized as a Super Lawyers Rising Star. This designation is awarded only to a select number of accomplished attorneys under the age of 40 in each state. The Rising Stars selection process takes into account peer recognition, professional achievement in legal practice, and a review by an independent blue-ribbon panel.

In 2022, Karen received the “Excellence in the Law: Up & Coming Lawyer” award from Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly. This award is given to those select lawyers who have already distinguished themselves in the field in less than ten (10) years of practice.

In 2019, Karen was selected to the National Trial Lawyers: Top 40 Under 40, a professional organization that recognizes the top trial lawyers in each state.

In her spare time, you can find Karen soaking up as much live music as possible or exploring the outdoors.

BAR ADMISSIONS

Iowa
Massachusetts
New Hampshire
Oklahoma
California
Nebraska

PREVIOUSLY ADMITTED PRO-HAC VICE

California
Indiana
Missouri
Montana
Nebraska
Ohio
South Dakota

EDUCATION

Suffolk University Law School
– J.D. Juris Doctor
Boston University
– Bachelor of Science in Political Science / Psychology

Big Picture Take Aways with Rahul and Ben

Mon, 25 Mar 2024 04:00:00 -0400

In this episode, Rahul and Ben discuss major trends in trial practice and big picture take aways from the last 3 ½ years of the podcast. The conversation begins with a discussion of nuclear verdicts in the golden age of trial, moves on to case analysis and key issues, then to strategies or courtroom success, and ends with discussion of the impact of the MAGA juror.

About Rahul

https://www.panish.law/ravipudi.html

Rahul Ravipudi is a partner at Panish | Shea | Ravipudi LLP and has spent his legal career handling catastrophic injury and wrongful death cases involving commercial vehicles, pedestrians, industrial or construction accidents, utility negligence, dangerous conditions of public and private property as well as cases of sexual abuse and sexual assault. Mr. Ravipudi also represents consumers in class actions against businesses who engage in unfair/illegal business practices and public entities in cases where corporations have endangered the safety, health, property or comfort of the public.

Mr. Ravipudi currently serves as Plaintiffs’ Co-Lead Counsel in the Social Media Cases litigation which involves cases of children and young adults harmed or driven to suicide by social media algorithms as well as Public Entity Plaintiffs’ Co-Lead Counsel in the JUUL Labs Product Cases, representing school districts and other public entities in California involved in litigation against the electronic cigarette manufacturer. He also serves as Plaintiffs Co-Lead Counsel in the Southern California Fire Cases litigation arising out of the 2017 Thomas Fire and subsequent debris flows in Montecito, California as well as on the Plaintiffs Executive Committee in the California North Bay Fires litigation. Mr. Ravipudi previously served on the Steering Committee in the Blythe bus crash litigation.

Named 2017 Trial Lawyer of the Year by Consumer Attorneys Association of Los Angeles, Mr. Ravipudi has obtained numerous landmark verdicts and settlements including a $160.5 million jury verdict for a man who suffered a traumatic brain injury as a result of a vicious beating by security personnel for a nightclub, a $46,475,112.33 jury verdict for a beginning Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu student who suffered a catastrophic spinal cord injury while sparring with a Del Mar Jiu-Jitsu Club instructor who performed a technique which rendered the student an incomplete quadriplegic, a $28,500,000+ settlement for a special needs student who was catastrophically injured after being struck by a vehicle while under the care and supervision of Victor Elementary School District (VESD) personnel, as well as a $23,500,000 settlement on behalf of the family of Paul Lee, a 19-year-old non-verbal autistic student who tragically died aboard a Whittier school bus after the driver left him behind to engage in a sexual tryst with a coworker. The Lee case was a catalyst for significant change in school transportation with Governor Jerry Brown signing the “Paul Lee School Bus Safety Law” in September 2016, requiring all school buses in the state of California to be equipped with a child safety alarm system that must be deactivated by the bus driver before departing the bus. The new law will go into effect at the start of the 2018-19 school year and requires bus drivers to receive training in child-safety check procedures.

Committed to serving as an advocate for his clients, Mr. Ravipudi has obtained numerous eight-figure awards including a $20,500,000 jury verdict for the mother of a high school student who was killed while walking to a bus stop, a $19,786,818 jury verdict for a man who suffered severe burn and traumatic brain injuries when his rental home exploded as a result of Southern California Gas Company negligence, a $13,935,550 jury verdict for 19-year-old pedestrian who suffered extensive injuries as a result of being struck on the sidewalk by a vehicle driven by a Los Angeles County employee, a $13,000,000 settlement for the children and parents of a woman who was killed when her car was hit by a Hawthorne, California police officer, a $11,000,000 settlement for the family of a middle school student who drowned during a school-sponsored swim party, a$10 million for the family of an independent truck driver killed by an intoxicated heavy lift operator at a stevedoring terminal in Long Beach, and an$8,000,000 jury verdict in Clark County District Court for a Nevada man who suffered significant internal injuries after he was served and ingested what he believed was a Honey Blonde Ale but was actually a chemical cleaning compound left in the tap lines.

Mr. Ravipudi shared his insight into successfully litigating cases against the stevedoring companies in an article entitled, “Danger on the Docks – Where there is an injury or death on the waterfront, drugs or alcohol are too often involved” published in the February 2011 edition of Advocate, journal of the Consumer Attorneys Association of Los Angeles.

Additional recoveries obtained by Mr. Ravipudi include a $15,950,000 settlement for a teen who suffered a brain injury on an HOA playground, $8,000,000 settlement for an 81-year-old woman who suffered severe spinal cord injuries after falling at a hotel, a $7,000,000+ settlement during trial for the family of a man killed at SpeedVegas when the vehicle he was driving slammed into a track wall and burst into flames, $6,500,000 settlement for the two minor children and friend of a Southern California man who was killed after being struck on the highway by a freight truck whose driver had fallen asleep behind the wheel, a $6,000,000 settlement for a woman who suffered severe burn injuries when a faucet in the bathtub of her apartment detached and sprayed scalding hot water onto her body, a $5 million for an HVAC worker who suffered serious injuries when he fell through a skylight while working on a customer’s roof, a $3.3 million gross jury verdict arising out of the death of a pest control person crushed and killed when a semi-truck reversed into him at a warehousing facility, and $9 million from the State of California (Caltrans) when a 16-year-old girl on a restricted license lost control of her vehicle and collided into a guardrail damaged two days earlier resulting in a bilateral traumatic below knee amputations. This case involved significant appellate issues which led to Mr. Ravipudi’s article, “Dealing with the state of California’s first line of defense – stonewalling any meaningful discovery” published in Advocate, Journal of Consumer Attorneys Association of Los Angeles in February 2009.

About Ben

https://gideonasen.com/our-team/benjamin-gideon/

When clients come to us, they are looking for financial compensation. They are often struggling just to stay above water, and they need money to provide safety and security to meet basic life needs and to build a new and better life for themselves and their family in the future.

But for many of our clients, their case is also about something more—something larger—than money. It’s about accountability. It’s about wanting to create a society where individuals, corporations, medical providers and insurance companies don’t get away with selfish, neglectful or greedy choices that put people at risk. It’s about obtaining the catharsis and closure the only comes when justice is done to make up for the precious things that another’s harmful conduct took away from them.

In short, I have come to realize that my clients don’t just want a lawyer. They want a Champion—that is, someone who will fight for them individually, but also be willing to fight for the larger cause for which they stand.

Let Us Be Your Champion.

– Ben Gideon, 2021

Early Years

A Leader at Berman & Simmons

Ben followed his Vermont verdict with a verdict of $1.75 million jury verdict in a medical malpractice trial in Bangor, Maine.

More recently, Ben recovered $2.5 million in a medical malpractice case tried to a jury in New Hampshire.

Founding Gideon Asen LLC

After 17 years at Berman & Simmons, in November 2020, Ben decided to leave one firm he loved and had helped to build, to form a new law firm, Gideon Asen LLC.

“I was very proud of everything we accomplished at Berman & Simmons,” Ben said, “but I was excited by the challenge of building a new firm that could be even better.”

Ben’s first step was to recruit Taylor Asen to join him.

Discovering Dr. Death with Catherine “Katie” Bertram

Mon, 11 Mar 2024 04:00:00 -0400

We’ve all heard the stories of doctors who cause harm to patients by systematically performing medically unnecessary procedures, just to line their own pockets. These circumstances rise to a level beyond ordinary medical negligence to fraud or criminal acts. However, when we litigate individual medical malpractice cases, the rules of discovery and evidence can pose barriers that make it difficult to determine whether a client’s experience reflects a larger pattern and practice by the doctor and the medical business. Join us for our discussion with Washington, DC trial lawyer, Katie Bertram, as she tells the story of a case in which she was able to show this larger pattern of a doctor performing medically unnecessary medical procedures in an out-patient surgery center setting that provides very few checks and balances on this type of rogue behavior.

About Catherine "Katie" Bertram

Website: https://www.blg-dc.com/

Catherine D. “Katie” Bertram started the Bertram & Murphy, building on decades of experience as both a medical malpractice attorney and director of risk management at Georgetown University Hospital.

In those environments, she learned how doctors and hospitals work, as well as how their attorneys assess claims against them. She draws on this knowledge to advocate for patients and their families.

“People want someone who’s competent, caring, and careful. They’ve just gone through the worst thing in their lives and been betrayed by doctors or a hospital — people that we’re supposed to trust,” she said. “I can set forth what happened and why it was negligent.”

Bertram graduated from the University of Wisconsin-Madison with a bachelor’s degree in psychology and a Bachelor of Social Work. While accompanying a social worker to court one day, she found her true passion—the law. “The minute I walked into court, I knew that’s what I should be doing,” she said.

She obtained her law degree from the Catholic University of America’s Columbus School of Law in Washington, D.C., in 1989, becoming the first lawyer in her family. The faculty nominated her as Woman Law Student of the Year.

Bertram focuses on personal injury and medical malpractice in part because her mother is a nurse. “It allows me to combine the law and medicine,” she said. “I enjoy talking to juries and teaching them about complicated medical cases in an easier way.”

Bertram has achieved several distinctions throughout her career. She is one of 20 people serving on the D.C. Bar’s Board of Governors and also is a board member of the D.C. Bar Pro Bono Center, which finds lawyers to meet the legal needs of D.C.’s low-income residents, nonprofits, and small businesses.

She’s been an adjunct law professor at American University’s Washington College of Law since 2013, teaching a course about medical malpractice. Among her charitable work, she is an active supporter of Public Citizen, the nonprofit consumer advocacy organization, and a founding member of the Washington, D.C., charity Power 100. She also sews quilts for military veterans through the Quilts of Valor Foundation.

Licensed to practice in Washington, D.C., and in Maryland, Bertram has a notable record of favorable verdicts. In 2017, she won $8 million on behalf of her clients against Edward Dunne, M.D., and Foxhall Urology, and in 2018, she won a $1.25 million verdict against Capital Women’s Care and others for negligence and negligent infliction of emotional distress.

But even though she and her firm have a strong track record, she and Heather J. Kelly also work hard to settle cases in their clients’ best interests. If they’re able to reach a settlement before formally filing the case, they’ll lower their fees.

A third-generation Washingtonian, Bertram enjoys spending time with her family and on the Chesapeake Bay when not in court.

She’s proud of the individualized attention that the Bertram & Murphy provides.

“I can limit the number of cases I take so I can work very hard on each case,” Bertram said. “We have the time and the creativity and the resources and the technology and the verdicts behind us like we’re a big firm, but you don’t deal with layers and layers of people. You’re getting the A team.”

From College Basketball to $36 Million Judgment in School Shooting Case with Sheila Hiestand

Mon, 26 Feb 2024 05:00:00 -0400

Louisville, Kentucky trial lawyer Sheila Hiestand has harnessed the same competitive zeal she had as a starting center on a division one college basketball team to become one of Kentucky’s leading trial lawyers. Sheila has successfully litigated and tried many high-profile cases, including a recent case in which she obtained a $36 Million judgment on behalf of the family of victims of a January 2018 shooting at Marshall County High School in which two students were killed and several others injured. Sheila discusses this case, including some of the many legal obstacles she confronted and the impact on the families she represented after this tragedy.

About Sheila Hiestand

Website: https://mhkylaw.com/

“The Lady Litigator”

As a college basketball player who started in two final four appearances, Sheila knows the importance of hard work, drive and heart. Sheila—aka “The Lady Litigator” for her tenacity in court—is dedicated to helping women and their families through the very difficult process of personal injury claims. She has served as the president of the Kentucky trial lawyers with the Kentucky Justice Association and has worked tirelessly to fight for injured people for more than 30 years. This includes several trials with extraordinary results for her clients, such as an auto accident case where she earned a $743,000 verdict and a medical practice failure to diagnose cancer case where she earned a $1.3 million verdict. She also has achieved many 7-figure settlements for her clients in trucking, medical malpractice, auto and motorcycle cases.

After graduating from Centre College, Sheila received her Juris Doctorate from the University of Kentucky School of Law. Soon after she was recognized as the Fayette County Bar Association Outstanding Young Lawyer and was rated an “AV Lawyer” by Martindale-Hubbell®. She has also been recognized among the American Trial Lawyers Association’s Top 100 Trial Lawyers in Kentucky; Super Lawyers Top 50 Lawyers in Kentucky; Super Lawyers Top 25 Women Lawyers in Kentucky; as Top Lawyer by Louisville Magazine, and has received a long list of awards.

When not practicing law, Sheila enjoys spending time with her three children and husband and loves to compete in triathlons. She plays viola, violin, cello and piano and is a past member of the Lexington Singers. Sheila is also fluent in Spanish and has volunteered at the Federal Correctional Institute to assist Spanish-speaking inmates with legal matters pro bono.

Education

Graduated from Centre College with a double major in English and Spanish
Juris Doctorate from the University of Kentucky, College of Law

Memberships

Kentucky Justice Association, Past President
Kentucky Bar Association, Past Board of Governors
Kentucky Bar Association Young Lawyers Section, Past President
Million Dollar Advocates Forum
Multi-Million Dollar Advocates Forum
American Board of Trial Advocates
Injury Board
The American Society of Legal Advocates
American Association for Justice President of Fayette County Young Lawyers, Past President
Louisville Sports Commission Board Member
Memory Walk for the Alzheimer’s Association, Committee Chair
Volunteer Center of Central Kentucky Annual Fundraiser, Committee Chair
Lexington Chapter of the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation’s Sixty Five Roses Ball, Co-Chair
Top Attorney Personal Injury

Licenses

Commonwealth of Kentucky
State of Indiana
State of Tennessee
US District Courts for Eastern, Middle and Western Districts of Kentucky
US District Court for Southern District of Indiana
US District Court for Northern District of Illinois
United States 6th Circuit Court of Appeals
Supreme Court of the United States of America

Awards

Fayette County Bar Association Outstanding Young Lawyer , 1998
Kentucky Justice Association Peter Perlman Award recipient for Outstanding Trial Attorney 2018
AV® Preeminent™ Peer Review Rated by Martindale-Hubbell
The American Trial Lawyers Association , Top 100 Trial Lawyers in Kentucky
Selected for inclusion in Kentucky Super Lawyers ® for more than a decade
Selected as a Top 50 Kentucky Super Lawyers in Kentucky for multiple years
Selected as a Top 25 Kentucky Women Super Lawyers in Kentucky for multiple years
Selected for inclusion in the Who’s Who in American Law
AVVO Perfect 10 Rating – Top Personal Injury Attorney
Outstanding Attorney by the Greater Lexington Paralegal Association
National Academy of Personal Injury Attorneys
NAOPIA Top 10 Attorney for KY
Global Who’s Who Best Lawyers in America

Poker, Landmines and Trials with Reza Davani

Mon, 12 Feb 2024 05:00:00 -0400

Before Maryland-based trial lawyer Reza Davani began rolling the dice with juries, he was a competitive poker player. Join Ben and Rahul for their discussion with Reza, in which he recounts how principles and lessons learned from playing poker translate to trial practice. Reza provides many valuable strategies for trial success, including identifying and planting “landmines” for the defense as part of his case. In addition to his phenomenal success as a trial lawyer, Reza is a sought-after speaker and teacher of trial tactics, and there is much for any practitioner to learn from listening to this episode. You may want to listen more than once.

About Reza Davani

Website: Maryland Personal Injury Lawyer | Compensation After an Accident (kbaattorneys.com)

KBA is fortunate to work with Mr. Reza Davani because he is a true trial lawyer. He has tried many cases and is a student of the art, studying trial strategies, attending seminars, and always polishing his skills. His passion for client advocacy and willingness to fight made his partnership at KBA a great fit.

Mr. Davani has worked on both sides of the aisle, representing local, national, and international companies, governmental entities, and injured victims as both a plaintiff and defense lawyer. He has represented clients and worked on matters in state, federal and bankruptcy courts around the country, including in Maryland, Mississippi, Washington D.C., New Jersey, California, New Mexico, Massachusetts, Georgia, Virginia, Illinois, Iowa, North Carolina, and New York. (He is licensed in Maryland and has worked in other states on a pro hac vice basis.) Within Maryland, he has represented clients in matters in Prince George’s County, Frederick County, Anne Arundel County, Baltimore City, Baltimore County, Allegany County, Cecil County, Washington County, Montgomery County, Charles County, Howard County, Talbot County, Carroll County, Wicomico County, and Harford County.

He has the experience and helped clients with cases concerning complex litigation, product liability, commercial litigation, franchise disputes, catastrophic injuries, wrongful death and survival actions, direct lawsuits against insurance companies, qui-tam whistleblower cases, amputation injuries, and a variety of personal injury matters, including medical malpractice, nursing home abuse, vehicle collisions, commercial truck and tractor-trailer crashes, boating-collisions and allisions, and premises liability, including tripping hazards and dangerous trees.

Mr. Davani is committed to advocating aggressively for his injured clients, which he has done for the past ten years. In recent years, he personally helped injured victims and their families recover close to $15,000,000 in settlements and verdicts. Each case is different and prior results does not mean future success, we are confident he is going to help KBA clients hold defendants accountable and prevent future harms through the civil justice system.

He is also committed to community outreach and giving back to those in need. He has done non-profit legal work for a public defender’s office, the Prisoner Rights Information System of Maryland, Inc., the Mississippi Center for Justice, and a clinic representing ex-offenders. Attorneys often turn to him for advice which he offers for free to help improve justice in our communities. Mr. Davani is also a Super Lawyers Rising Star from 2019-2021.

EDUCATION

University of Maryland Robert H. Smith School of Business
University Of Maryland School Of Law, J.D.

Trial Lawyers to the Stars with Neville Johnson and Douglas Johnson

Mon, 29 Jan 2024 05:00:00 -0400

From representing Yoko Ono to winning class action lawsuits on behalf of actors and musicians, Neville Johnson and his partner Douglas Johnson (no relationship) have built one of the most interesting and successful entertainment law practices in the nation, specializing in representing “talent” as opposed to the business side of the industry. Join Rahul and Ben for a fascinating discussion with Neville and Doug, as they describe how they got their start in this practice, recount some of their most interesting cases, and talk about trends in entertainment law resulting from new technologies.

About Neville Johnson - Senior Partner

Website: Johnson and Johnson, LLP Law Firm | Johnson and Johnson, LLP (jjllplaw.com)

Professional Experience:

Neville L. Johnson graduated Phi Beta Kappa from the University of California, Berkeley (1971). He received his law degree from Southwestern Law School (1975), graduating near the top of his class. He has tried over 28 civil jury trials and over 70 civil trials and arbitrations without a jury. He is a member of the invitation-only American Board of Trial Advocates (ABOTA), and is on the Board of Governors of the Consumer Attorneys of Los Angeles (CAALA since 2005), the Board of Directors of the national organization Public Justice, and on the Board of Governors of the Beverly Hills Bar Association 2013-2015 and 2020-2022 (BHBA). Johnson is a long-time member of the invitation-only Los Angeles Copyright Society, and on the Board of The California Society of Entertainment Lawyers.

He was nominated for Trial Lawyer of the Year in 2005 by CAALA. He was Co-Chair of the Entertainment Law Section of the Beverly Hills Bar Association from 2009 to 2011. He has been on the Planning Committee of the USC Entertainment Law Institute since 2011. He has appeared in courts in Arizona, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Louisiana, Nevada, New York, New Jersey, New York, Oregon, Tennessee, New Mexico, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Texas.

In 2020, Mr. Johnson and his team secured a verdict in a Right of Publicity case of over 9 Million Dollars in damages, and over 7 Million Dollars in attorneys fees.

Mr. Johnson has litigated and settled countless cases against a wide array of defendants concerning royalty accounting, profit participation, publicity rights, idea theft, copyright infringement, and many other entertainment law matters. He has also served as an adjunct professor at Southwestern Law School since 2012, where he teaches Entertainment and Media Litigation. However, his greatest pride has been in defending the privacy rights of all citizens against the worst malefactors in the media. His work in this field was perhaps best summarized by Professor David A. Elder, a leading expert on the law of privacy, who published the following special dedication in his treatise, Privacy Torts:

To Neville L. Johnson… who has led the charge, often successfully (and always creatively and with great passion) in exposing some of the worst outrages of media newsgathering. Neville ranks with Brandeis and Warren as the great defenders of privacy. All America is in his debt.

Mr. Johnson has practiced entertainment law and IP law since 1975 [except for 10 months in 1977-78 when he was a Public Defender (juvenile) in Los Angeles County and handled over 100 matters, including two murder trials and one attempted murder trial].

Mr. Johnson has represented many well-known celebrities and entertainment concerns. The firm currently represents Sylvester Stallone in net profit litigation, and many other writers, directors, actors, producers, musicians, models, and JoJo Siwa, the biggest teen star in the world. He and his firm have been lead counsel in many class actions, including pioneering class actions in the entertainment industry against the entertainment unions, major record companies and motion picture companies. The firm has also handled a number of consumer class actions. The firm handles 15 to 20 right of publicity cases a year.

Mr. Johnson is a frequent lecturer and written extensively on entertainment, copyright and media and other legal topics, including in London, England (Entertainment attorneys based in the UK, London Branch of Entertainment Section of BHBA), Cannes, France (MIDEM, the international music convention), New York (ABA Forum on Communications Section, and Entertainment Law Section and New York Bar Assn.: Entertainment Law Section), Nashville (ABA Entertainment Law Section), Las Vegas (ABA Entertainment Law Section), Miami, Arizona State University, Stanford University, U.C. Berkeley, Loyola Law School, Southwestern Law School, USC Entertainment Law Institute annual forum (3 times) as well as the undergraduate school, California Western School of Law, California State University, Northridge, and many times to the Entertainment Section of the BHBA as a panelist or moderator), the Intellectual Property Section of Los Angeles County Bar Assn., and Berklee College of Music (Boston).

Johnson & Johnson LLP, based in Beverly Hills, California, is a litigation firm that specializes in complex litigation with a particular emphasis on entertainment, intellectual property, right of publicity, privacy, defamation, consumer issues, and class actions. Mr. Johnson and the firm also negotiate business and entertainment agreements.

Representative Matters:

Obtained a 9.6 Million Dollar jury verdict after a seven week jury trial for claim of violation of the right of publicity, Hansen v. The Coca Cola Company, the largest verdict for a right of publicity case in the history of the United States. The trial court also awarded 7.4 million dollars in attorneys' fees.
Obtained a unanimous landmark privacy ruling from the California Supreme Court in Sanders v. American Broadcasting Companies, Inc. (1999) 20 Cal.4th 907, a decision that is included in multiple casebooks and taught in law schools across the country.
Obtained a published California Court of Appeal opinion representing fitness celebrity Richard Simmons in right of privacy claims against a magazine and private eye for placing a GPS tracker on a car. Simmons v. Bauer Media (2020)
Represented numerous victims (both individually and in a class action) of notorious wiretapper Anthony Pellicano and other liable parties, including obtaining a favorable partial affirmance of a significant sanctions award by the California Court of Appeal in Gerbosi v. Gaims, Weil, West & Epstein LLP (2011) 193 Cal.App.4th 435, which concerned a law firm's use of Pellicano's services.
Pioneered the use of class actions against studios and record labels for improperly accounting to artists regarding royalties and profit participation, obtaining multiple eight-figure settlements therefrom. Represented many individuals in profit participation claims, including Sylvester Stallone, Jack Klugman, Richard Dreyfuss and Mike Connors.
Represented the heir of songwriter Gram Parsons in Parsons v. Tickner (1995) 31 Cal.App.4th 1513, defeating a statute of limitations defense and establishing a fiduciary duty claim against a music publisher.
Represented numerous legendary musicians and/or their estates on a variety of contractual, accounting, and intellectual property matters, including John Lennon, Buddy Holly, Michelle Phillips, Rick Nelson, P.F. Sloan, members of Earth, Wind and Fire, Mitch Ryder, Lloyd Price and many others.
Obtained a $15 million award in a jury trial business fraud case.

Honors:

He has been repeatedly selected by Super Lawyers as one of the top entertainment attorneys in Southern California (top 5% of attorneys as voted by peers). In 2020, 2021 and 2022 Super Lawyer and his peers named him one of the top 100 attorneys in Southern California, the only entertainment attorney on the list, he was named one of the top 100 Power Lawyers in Entertainment Law by The Hollywood Reporter every year since, 2008, and in 2020 moved to a new permanent category and designated a “Legal Legend.” He has also been designated numerous times one of the top lawyers in entertainment by Variety and Los Angeles legal newspapaer The Daily Journal. He was nominated as Trial Lawyer of the Year by the California Consumer Attorneys Association of Los Angeles. He is a fellow at the American Law Institute (only 2% of all attorneys are members). In 2020 he was honored as Alumnus of the Year by the Biederman Entertainment Law Institute at Southwestern Law School. A law review article about his career is Richard and Calvert, “Suing the Media, Supporting the First Amendment: the Paradox of Neville Johnson and the Battle for Privacy,” 67 Albany Law Review 1097 (2004). On June 23, 2015, the Los Angeles Times did a major profile (front page, Business Section) on his career, “Contract Sport, ‘Go-to' L.A. Lawyer Says Hollywood Studios Are Shortchanging His Clients,” noting that Johnson & Johnson is one of the few firms successfully taking on the entertainment establishment on a regular basis. The cover story of the July 2016, issue of Attorney at Law magazine is about Neville Johnson. The Los Angeles Business Journal profiled him on its first page, “Lawyer Up,” (September 9, 2019).

Speaking Engagements:

He is a frequent speaker, including in London, England [Entertainment attorneys based in the UK, London Branch of Entertainment Section of Beverly Hills Bar Association (BHBA)], Cannes, France (MIDEM, the international music convention), the Intellectual Property Section of Los Angeles County Bar Assn., and Berklee College of Music (Boston); and the Los Angeles Copyright Society. New York (ABA Forum on Communications Section, and Entertainment Law Section and New York Bar Assn.: Entertainment Law Section), Nashville (ABA Entertainment Law Section), Las Vegas (ABA Entertainment Law Section), Miami, Arizona State University, Stanford University, U.C. Berkeley, Loyola Law School, Southwestern Law School, USC Entertainment Law Institute annual forum (3 times) as well as the undergraduate school, California Western School of Law, California State University, Northridge, and many times to the Entertainment Section of the BHBA as a panelist or moderator), SInce 2011 he has moderated the panel on ethical issues for the annual Year in Review for the Entertainment Section of the Beverly Hills Bar Association.

Publications:

Johnson & Johnson, “Interesting New Developments About Which All Practitioners Should be Aware,” 31 New York State Bar Assn, Entertainment, Arts and Sports Law Journal 56 (2020); Johnson, Johnson, Smolla & Tweed, “Defamation and Invasion of Privacy in the Internet Age,” 25 Southwestern Journal of International Law 9 (2019) Johnson & Johnson, “Trouble in Tinseltown, Los Angeles Daily Journal (April 23, 2019); “My Big Mouth,” Los Angeles Daily Journal (March 29, 2019); Johnson & Johnson, “Entertainment Contracts with Minors in New York and California, 30 New York State Bar Assn, Entertainment, Arts and Sports Law Journal 75 (2019); Johnson & Johnson, “A New Way to Revive a Corporation?,” Los Angeles Daily Journal (October 18, 2016); Johnson & Johnson, “Hollywood Docket: One Sided World,” 27 New York State Bar Assn, Entertainment, Arts and Sports Law Journal 32 (2016); Johnson & Elder, “Maybe America Needs More Peter Thiels,” Los Angeles Daily Journal (August 8, 2016); “We've Lost Control,” Los Angeles Daily Journal (June 16, 2016); “Talent Agency Act Survives Suit, Clarity Remains Elusive,” Los Angeles Daily Journal (May 10, 2013); “The Man Who Seduced Hollywood,” 36 Los Angeles Lawyer 41(September 2013); “Remedies for Web Defamation,” California Lawyer 36 (May 2013); “To Find Employment as a Lawyer, You Must Market Yourself,” 36 Los Angeles Lawyer 12 (June 2013); “Ten Rules for Success in the Practice of Law, 31 Los Angeles Lawyer 12 (June 2008); Chapter, Johnson & Aradi, “Defamatory Tweeting and Other Name and Likeness Violations” in Building Your Artist's Brand as a Business, International Association of Entertainment Lawyers (2012) (includes a discussion of right of publicity); Chapter, Johnson & Fowler, “Litigation: How to Draft Defensively Without Killing the Deal” in Licensing of Music from BC to AD (Before the Change/After Digital), International Association of Entertainment Lawyers (2014); Elder, Johnson & Rishwain, “Establishing Constitutional Malice for Defamation and Privacy/False Light Claims When Hidden Cameras and Deception Are Used by the Newsgatherer,” 22 Loyola of Los Angeles Entertainment Law Review 327 (2002); “New Developments in California Privacy and Defamation Law,” 23 California Litigation 21 (2010); Johnson & Johnson, “What Happened to Unjust Enrichment in California? The Deterioration of Equity in the California Courts,” 44 Loyola of Los Angeles Law Review 277 (2010); Johnson & Walsh, “The Danger of “Anti-Libel Tourism” Litigation in the United States, 32 Los Angeles Lawyer 44 (December 2009); Johnson, “Privacy and the First Amendment”, California Litigation (2006); co-author “Caught in the Act,” Los Angeles Lawyer (1998) (an analysis of trends in the right of privacy); Johnson & Lang, The Personal Manager in the California Entertainment Industry, 52 Southern California Law Review 375 (1979)(a definitive article on the regulation of talent agents, personal managers, and the interplay of entertainment unions and guilds in that nexus). He co-authored chapters on music publishing and personal managers in The Musician's Business & Legal Guide (2017 5th edition), and wrote the authorized and best-selling biography of the greatest coach in the history of sports, The John Wooden Pyramid of Success (Second Edition 2004).

Since 2012, Neville and Douglas Johnson have taught a course on entertainment and media litigation as Adjunct Professors at Southwestern School of Law. From 2011-2014, he was one of the panelists teaching the Los Angeles County Bar Association new admittees course on class actions; and since 2011 he has moderated the panel on ethical issues for the annual Year in Review for the Entertainment Section of the Beverly Hills Bar Association.

Professional Associations:

American Board of Trial Advocates (invitation only)
Association of Business Trial Lawyers
Beverly Hills Bar Association
Co-Chair Entertainment Section, 2009-2011
Board of Governors, 2012-2015, 2020-2022
Consumer Attorneys Association of Los Angeles
Board of Governors, 2005-Present
Consumer Attorneys of California
Los Angeles Copyright Society (invitation only)
Los Angeles County Bar Association
Loyola Productions [Filmmaking arm of the Society of Jesus (the Jesuits)]
Co-Chair of the Board, 2009-Present
National Association of Recording Arts and Sciences (Grammy organization)
Voting Member (as the recording artist professionally known as Trevor McShane)
Public Justice (National organization advocating for consumers and fundamental rights)
Board of Governors, 2011-Present
USC Entertainment Law Institute
Planning Board, 2011-Present

Education:

J.D., Southwestern University School of Law, 1975
B.A., University of California at Berkeley, Berkeley, 1971

Practice Areas:

Media Law
Entertainment Law
Entertainment Class Actions
Privacy Law
Complex Business Litigation Matters, including breach of contract, breach of fiduciary duty and fraud
Right of Publicity (wrongful use of name and likeness)
Copyright Infringement and Theft of Idea cases
Issues involving the entertainment unions

Admissions:

California
United States Supreme Court

About Douglas Johnson - Managing Partner

Website: Johnson and Johnson, LLP Law Firm | Johnson and Johnson, LLP (jjllplaw.com)

Professional Experience:

Mr. Johnson is well known for handling high-profile and high-impact entertainment matters. His clients include producers, actors, directors, writers, production companies, music artists, composers, music publishers, and independent record labels. He is well-known for his successes in royalty disputes, profit participation disputes, right of publicity cases, and theft of idea cases for film and television. Mr. Johnson also handles invasion of privacy and libel cases, business disputes, and class actions.

Mr. Johnson has been repeatedly named by Super Lawyer as a top intellectual property litigator for more than a decade, representing the top 2.5% of the profession in Southern California. Mr. Johnson also serves as outside general counsel for WorldStarHipHop.com, a popular music and pop culture website, where he deals with cutting-edge copyright, media, and right of privacy issues. Mr. Johnson has handled numerous copyright infringement lawsuits in Federal Court for Worldstar.

Since co-founding Johnson & Johnson, Mr. Johnson has been at the forefront of developing California's right of publicity laws. He regularly represents celebrities, models, and professional athletes in litigation against defendants who have wrongfully used their images. He has litigated cases up to the California Supreme Court, advocating for precedent to protect the rights of all Californians from those who would seek to profit from their names, images, and likenesses without authorization. Mr. Johnson's advocacy in this area of law extends to his participation on speaking panels, publication of scholarly articles, and educating law students on the importance of these rights. Mr. Johnson recently litigated a right of publicity case that resulted in a 9.6 million jury award and an attorney fee award of 7 million against Coca-Cola and Monster Energy for building their Hubert's Lemonade brand around the name of the founder of Hansen Juices, Hubert Hansen. Mr. Johnson also received a seven-figure jury award in a right of publicity case for an actor/supermodel.

Representative Matters:

Handled profit participation disputes on behalf of Sylvester Stallone (Demolition Man, Expendables, and the Rocky Films), Glen Larson (Magnum PI, Knight Rider, Fall Guy, Battlestar Galactica), Ed Weinberger (Amen), Richard Dreyfuss (Goodbye Girl, Mr. Holland's Opus, and Close Encounters Of The Third Kind, and What About Bob?), Raymond Wagner (Turner and Hooch), Jack Klugman (Quincy, Odd Couple), Mike Connors (Mannix), the Estate of Charles Bronson (St. Ives, Telefon), Mort Engelberg (Hot Stuff and Smokey And The Bandit), and the owners of the Friday 13th horror franchise.
Lead counsel in a class action against Sony Music, resulting in $12.7 million settlement and 36% uplift in ongoing foreign streaming royalties in Nelson v. Sony (S.D.N.Y) benefiting thousands of legacy recordings artists; currently co-counsel in similar litigation on behalf of legacy artists signed to Warner and Universal.
Lead Counsel defending RatPac inidea theft case over the 2018 Melissa McCarthy movie, Life of the Party. (case dismissed on Motion for Summary Judgment).
Lead Counsel representing producer in a dispute over turnaround rights to the film Rush Hour 4.
Lead Counsel for Janet Jackson in a royalty dispute with her label....

Embracing Risk and Winning at Trial with Jeffrey Kroll

Mon, 15 Jan 2024 05:00:00 -0400

Chicago-based trial lawyer Jeffrey Kroll is no stranger to risk. On the road to some of his biggest verdicts, including a 2017 verdict for $148 million, Jeff has turned down big money to cast his lot with the jury. Join Ben and Rahul for their conversation with Jeff, in which he discusses some of the core beliefs and strategies that inform his highly successful approach to trying cases to juries. Listeners will come away with many insightful tips that will benefit their own trial practices.

About Jeffrey Kroll

Website: Chicago Personal Injury Attorneys | Kaveny + Kroll

Jeffrey J. Kroll is a founding partner at Kaveny + Kroll, a Chicago firm focused primarily on plaintiffs’ tort litigation. Jeff has been representing victims of negligence for over three decades and has taken cases to verdict throughout the country in the areas of trucking accidents, products liability, premises liability, medical malpractice and transportation negligence.

In 2017, Jeff was a major part of the trial team that won a record-breaking $148 million verdict on behalf of a dancer paralyzed by a collapsed shelter at O’Hare International Airport. This is the highest compensatory damage award to an individual plaintiff in Illinois history.

Jeff regularly handles complex damage cases and has received multimillion dollar verdicts and settlements. Jeff obtained a $15.2 million verdict on behalf of a man who was seriously injured when he was struck and run over by a forklift at McCormick Place Convention Center in Chicago. He obtained a $5.25 million dollar verdict in the first U.S. bike share death. During his career, he has obtained verdicts or negotiated settlements on over 80 occasions where the results have exceeded $1 million, including six cases which have exceeded $10 million. Jeff has obtained more than $430 million in verdicts and settlements throughout his career.

Jeff is also active in national bar associations where he routinely speaks and writes on several trial topics as part of his commitment to maintaining quality and professionalism in the legal community. He has been asked to lecture on over 160 occasions and has published over 139 articles for lawyers. Based on his substantial contributions to continuing legal education, the Illinois Institute of Continuing Legal Education recognized Jeff with IICLE’s 2015 Addis E. Hull award. In 2008, that same group awarded Jeff the Top Instructor in CLE courses.

Jeff is also a highly sought-after legal commentator, making frequent local and national media appearances to provide in-depth legal insight and analysis of current events. He has been interviewed in countless television segments, podcasts, and publications.

$6.19 Million in Rural Ohio, with Allen Tittle

Mon, 04 Dec 2023 05:00:00 -0400

Join Ben and Rahul for their discussion with Ohio Trial Lawyer, Allen Tittle who recently obtained a $6.19 million verdict in a difficult medical malpractice case in rural Ohio. This was a case that Allen round tabled with Ben’s breakout medical malpractice group at the PSBR trial college in California last year. We discuss how Allen successfully used the hospital policies to establish the standard of care and system failures that resulted in the harm to his client. We also talk about how Allen’s unusual and challenging childhood created the foundation for his future success as a trial lawyer and informed his abilities to connect with clients and juries.

About Allen Tittle

Allen is a born and raised Ohioan. He grew up here, went to undergrad and law school in Ohio, and now serves this community with his law firm. Hardworking blue-collar people are his roots, who he relates with best, and is the reason he couldn’t see himself living anywhere else. Allen was dropped on his great-great-aunt and uncle’s doorstep when he was two weeks old. They took him in when they didn’t have to and raised him as their own. While growing up, the phrase “it takes a village” couldn’t be more true for him. He loves being able to help the people he grew up around and give back to the village that helped raise him. Both as a business and personally, Allen strongly believes in giving back to the community. He has a scholarship for students and is involved with many community initiatives. Allen is best known as a family man, Cleveland sports fan, and supportive member of his community.

Experience & Expertise

Allen is the founder and co-owner of Tittle & Perlmuter. He started the firm in 2015 at his kitchen table with six figures of student loan debt, his first baby on the way, and a brand new mortgage because he wanted a law firm where clients actually came first. Allen practices exclusively in the area of personal injury, with an emphasis on medical malpractice and nursing home neglect state-wide. Medical malpractice cases are some of the most difficult cases to take on, but he is always up for a challenge and relishes the role of the underdog. Being a lawyer gives him the power to fight the Goliaths of the world, whether it be a billion-dollar insurance company or a multi-million-dollar medical company. He has the honor and privilege of representing people and families who have had their lives turned upside down by catastrophic injuries with life-altering effects. Recovering money, getting justice and answers, and helping families move on is the biggest responsibility that he does not take lightly. Allen has committed his life’s work and legacy to serving his clients and community as one of Ohio’s leading personal injury lawyers.

Background & Education

Allen was born and raised in Huron, Ohio. After graduating from Huron High School, he attended Bowling Green State University where he graduated Magna cum laude. He then went to law school at Cleveland-Marshall College of Law where he graduated magna cum laude. Because of his education, experience, and expertise, Allen is asked to speak by multiple bars and legal associations like the Ohio Association for Justice, Cleveland Metropolitan Bar Association, Lorain County Bar Association, and the Westshore Bar Association.

Bar & Court Admissions

Ohio
United States District Court for the Northern District of Ohio

Community Involvement

Hanson House Traumatic Brain Injury Clubhouse, Member of the Board of Directors
Bay Wrestling Club, Assistant Coach
Youth Flag Football, Head Coach
Cleveland-Marshall College of Law Alumni Association’s Board of Directors

Honors & Awards

AV Preeminent, Peer Rated for Highest Level of Professional Excellence
Ohio Association for Justice, Medical Malpractice Chair 2018-2020
National Trial Lawyers Top 100
Rising Stars List 2015-2020
Super Lawyers List 2022
National Trial Lawyers Top 40 Under 40
Avvo Top Attorney, 10.0 Rating
Million Dollar and Multi-Million Dollar Advocate’s Forum
Nation’s Top Attorneys, Top 1%, National Association of Distinguished Counsel
Global Directory of Who’s Who
CALI Award for Excellence in Constitutional Law
Alumni Association Scholarship
Lead Counsel Verified
Best Lawyers 2023

Associations

Keenan Trial Institute, Master’s Graduate 2021
Ohio Association for Justice, Secretary
American Association for Justice, State Delegate
Cleveland Academy of Trial Attorneys
Ohio State Bar Association
Cleveland Metropolitan Bar Association
Lorain County Bar Association
Westshore Bar Association

Justice and Accountability for Victims of Mass Shootings with Jamal Alsaffar

Mon, 20 Nov 2023 05:00:00 -0400

When trial lawyer Jamal Alsaffar of Austin Texas heard about the mass shooting in Lewiston, Maine, he had the eerie feeling of history repeating itself. Many of the facts were strikingly similar to what had occurred in the Sutherland Springs church mass shooting case in Texas that Jamal tried to a Federal judge, resulting in a $230 million judgment for the families. In the process, Jamal also forced the U.S. Government to disclose documents and information that demonstrated a long-standing pattern of failing to report dangerous, violent, and mentally unstable members of the armed forces to the FBI databank, thereby permitting tens of thousands of deranged or dangerous individuals to purchase and continue to possess firearms. As a result of Jamal’s case, he not only secured compensation for his clients, but he forced the Air Force to enact policy changes that resulted in tens of thousands of dangerous individuals being reported. Join Ben and Rahul for their in-depth discussion with Jamal, including his journey to becoming a trial lawyer that started with him becoming a standout in high school and college mock trial competitions to becoming one of the leading lawyers in the United States in bringing claims against the Federal Government and representing victims of mass shootings.

About Jamal Alsaffar

Mr. Alsaffar was born and raised in Dallas, Texas and is a nationally experienced trial attorney. Mr. Alsaffar has spent his entire career as a trial lawyer representing individuals and families. He has successfully represented clients in state, federal, and appellate courts across the country in complex personal injury and medical malpractice cases. In addition to a Texas statewide practice, Mr. Alsaffar has a national Federal Tort Claims Act (FTCA) practice representing veterans and military families around the country including Texas, Oklahoma, Georgia, Florida, South Carolina, North Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia, Washington D.C., New York, New Hampshire, Illinois, Missouri, Nevada, Arizona, California, Oregon, and Washington.

In 2013, Mr. Alsaffar was selected as one of the 20 “Leading Lawyers” under the age of forty in the state of Texas by Texas Lawyer magazine. His legal peers have voted him as a “Super Lawyer” from 2014-2022 and prior to that as a Texas “Rising Star” from 2006-2014. Mr. Alsaffar has also served as the National Chair of the Federal Torts and Military Advocacy Section for the American Association of Justice, the nation’s premier trial lawyer organization. Mr. Alsaffar served as an adjunct professor of trial advocacy at the University of Texas School of Law, and also served as a volunteer coach for the University of Texas undergraduate trial advocacy team for over ten years. Mr. Alsaffar is a proud father of three children and is a volunteer select soccer coach for the Lake Travis Youth Association and serves on the board of LTYA.

PROFESSIONAL AFFILIATIONS

Mr. Alsaffar is a member of the State Bar of Texas, the American Association for Justice, Texas Trial Lawyers’ Association, Federal Bar Association, the Capital Area Trial Lawyers’ Association, and the Austin Bar Association. He has served as Co-Chair of the Birth Trauma/Medical Negligence Litigation Group of the American Association for Justice, and has twice served as the Chair of the Federal Tort Liability and Military Advocacy section of the American Association for Justice. He is on the Federal Torts Executive Committee for the American Association for Justice. Mr. Alsaffar is also a fellow of the Texas State Bar Foundation.

BAR ADMISSIONS

United States Supreme Court
Supreme Court of Texas
United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit
United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit
United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit
United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit
United States District Court, Western District of Texas
United States District Court, Eastern District of Texas
United States District Court, Southern District of Texas
United States District Court, Northern District of Texas
United States District Court, Middle District of Tennessee
United States District Court, Southern District of Illinois
United States District Court, Northern District of Florida
PRACTICE AREAS
Federal Tort Claims
Medical Malpractice
Personal Injury
Civil Trials and Appeals

EDUCATION

University of Texas at Austin, B.A., 1996
Baylor University Law School, J.D., 2000

NOTABLE CASE RESULTS

Joe Holcombe, et al.; Plaintiffs -vs- United States of America, Defendant, $230,000,000.00 Trial Judgment for failure to report mass shooter to FBI database. This is most commonly known as the Sutherland Springs Mass Shooting case.
Farley v. United States, $21,568,710.62 Trial Judgment against Manchester, New Hampshire Veteran Affairs Hospital, Concord, New Hampshire, for failure to properly treat a stroke resulting in permanent paralysis. $15,884,511.98 received by clients after fees and expenses.
Brown v. United States, $13,690,648 Trial Judgment against United States Navy, Naval Branch Health Clinic, Millington, TN, for failure to prescribe prenatal vitamins containing folic acid, resulting in a baby developing spina bifida and lifelong disabilities. $9,183,752 received by clients after fees and expenses.
Elliott v. United States, $8,000,000 Settlement against United States Army, Darnall Army Community Hospital, Texas, for negligent labor and delivery care resulting in hypoxic permanent brain injury to a child. $5,850,783.79 received by clients after fees and expenses.
Roberts v. United States, $7,860,000 Settlement against United States Army, Bassett Army Community Hospital, Fairbanks, Alaska, for negligent labor and delivery care resulting in permanent hypoxic brain injury to a child. $5,688,631.37 received by clients after fees and expenses.
Timmons v. United States, $6,500,000 Settlement against United States Air Force, Fort Walton Beach, Florida, for negligent labor and delivery care resulting in a permanent brain injury to a child. $4,607,211.28 received by clients after fees and expenses.
Humble v. United States, $5,800,000 Settlement against United States Army for negligent care during labor and delivery and a delay in performing a C-section at Darnall Army Community Hospital, resulting in a permanent brain injury to a child. $4,106,711.68 received by clients after fees and expenses.
Lee v. United States, $5,117,473.50 Trial Judgment against United States Air Force, Randolph Air Force Base, San Antonio, Texas, for failure to treat a child’s infection resulting in a double kidney transplant. $3,475,648.35 received by clients after fees and expenses.
Holweger v. United States, $2,300,000 Settlement against United States Navy for negligent care during labor and delivery and failing to timely perform a C-section at Portsmouth Naval Medical Center in Virginia. $1,623,930 received by clients after fees and expenses.
Cloer v. United States, $2,150,000 Settlement against United States Army, Blanchfield Army Community Hospital, Tennessee, for failing to diagnose and treat colon cancer resulting in death. $1,492,813 received by clients after fees and expenses.
Hogans v. United States, $1,650,000 Trial Judgment against United States Army, Joint Base Lewis-McCord in Washington and Winn Army Community Hospital in Georgia, for failing to diagnose a tumor leading to stroke and brain injury. $1,067,624 received by clients after fees and expenses.

HONORS AND AWARDS

Super Lawyers, (2014 - 2023)
Super Lawyers, Rising Stars (2007 - 2014)

Thinking Outside of the Box, with Scott Perry

Mon, 06 Nov 2023 05:00:00 -0400

Join Ben for his interview of Scott Perry, one of Virgina’s most talented and successful trial lawyers. Scott talks about his transition from Big Law to plaintiffs work and his later transition from a narrow focus on medical malpractice to a broader practice. Scott discusses some of his landmark cases, including a case that changed the safety standard for American rowing and a recent $10 million verdict on behalf of a high school basketball star severely injured during a school community service project. Scott talks about how he navigated the difficult facts of the case to achieve justice for his client.

About Scott Perry

Before joining Breit Biniazan, accomplished trial lawyer Scott Perry served as a founding partner of Perry Charnoff, PLLC.

Perry knows that it’s not just luck, but skill that gets personal injury lawyers the best result. He strives to surround himself with like-minded attorneys who enjoy the challenge of pushing the status quo and raising the bar for trial practice, which is why he joined forces with Breit Biniazan. Perry, who has a history of creating change in his community, strives to leverage this partnership to make an even greater impact for his clients and the communities he serves.

Several years ago, Scott represented a family in a devastating case involving a drowning on the Potomac River. The victim, an 18-year-old Filipino immigrant, became a rowing coach while on summer break from his Ivy League university. Unfortunately, one beautiful day, the victim was thrown from the launch and tragically drowned—despite being a strong swimmer.

When Perry looked into the case further, he discovered that the sport of rowing in the U.S. fell well behind its European counterparts when it came to safety. Coaches in other countries are required to wear special life vests and safety lanyards—and he successfully argued that safety measures like these could have prevented this tragedy. Perry’s represented families in several other sporting injury and wrongful death cases since then.

While at Perry Charnoff, Scott’s unique litigation approach led to multiple multi-million-dollar verdicts and settlements, including:

A $35.6 million jury verdict for a catastrophically injured client
A $12 million medical malpractice jury verdict for a family who lost a 39-year-old wife and mother due to an undiagnosed blood clot
A $4.5 million sexual abuse lawsuit involving two special-needs adults who were raped and impregnated by a workshop employee
A $3.0 million medical malpractice verdict for the family of a lawyer whose heart was punctured during a minor procedure
A $2.0 million medical malpractice jury verdict for a woman whose leg was amputated when a blood clot went undiagnosed
A $1.55 million medical malpractice verdict for a federal worker whose ureter was sewed shut during a hysterectomy
A $1.50 million premises liability lawsuit for the family of a child who drowned in a pool

Helping the Davids Stand Up to the Goliaths

Perry believes that trial lawyers and the jury system help level the playing field between well-funded parties and those with fewer economic resources. It’s a David and Goliath challenge between injured plaintiffs and the biggest, most well-financed firms in the U.S.—and these firms fight like mad.

With Scott’s broad experience in personal injury litigation, he levels this playing field expertly. And his philosophy of preparing each and every case as if it’s going to trial forces defendants with deep pockets to sit up and take notice.

Over the last 20 years, Perry has been consistently nominated as a Washington, D.C.-area “Super Lawyer,” honored in Virginia Lawyers Weekly, and (in 2019) named Medical Malpractice Lawyer of the Year. Each of these honors recognizes Perry’s unsurpassed ability to recover damages on behalf of his clients.

Not everyone realizes that, just like doctors, lawyers can become board-certified in certain areas of practice. Perry recently underwent an extensive process to become a Board Certified Civil Trial Lawyer, demonstrating his proficiency in this area of law.

Most recently, Scott was selected as a member of the invite-only Inner Circle of Advocates, which limits its members to the top 100 plaintiff trial lawyers in the country. He is one of only two Virginia attorneys selected to the Inner Circle, with the other member being his Partner, Jeffrey Breit. Both completed a rigorous vetting process requiring a review of verdicts and settlements, trial skills, commitment to the community, and general collegiality.

Representing Families After a Devastating Loss

Perry focuses his practice on catastrophic injury cases such as truck accidents, wrongful death, product liability, and medical malpractice. This laser focus allows Scott to give each client the individual attention and advice they deserve.

And it’s paid off—he’s successfully handled multiple cases involving catastrophic sports injuries, prompting the defendants to make nationwide safety changes to avoid future lawsuits.

What’s more, with a brain-injury survivor in his own immediate family, Perry is well-aware of the challenges families face—which is why he’s a longtime supporter and volunteer for Brain Injury Services, an organization dedicated to helping brain-injured children and adults build needed skills.

Scott, his wife JoAnn, and their two young children live in Northern Virginia. In his free time, Perry is an avid exercise enthusiast—though his favorite physical activity will always remain hiking with his family.

Trying Birth Injury Cases with Briggs Bedigian and Jon Stefanuca

Mon, 23 Oct 2023 04:00:00 -0400

During a recent two-month period, Maryland and Pennsylvania-based trial lawyers Briggs Bedigian and Jon Stefanuca obtained verdicts of $34 million and $187 million in back-to-back trials in complex birth injury cases. Join Ben and Rahul for their discussion with Briggs and Jon about their path to handling these challenging, highly leveraged, and risky cases, and the strategies they have developed for sustained and repeated success. Whether you handle birth injury cases or not, this episode contains important lessons that will benefit anyone who tries cases for a living.

About Briggs Bedigian

H. Briggs Bedigian (“Briggs”) is a trial lawyer dedicated to representing victims of medical malpractice and catastrophic personal injuries nationwide. Briggs and his partner, Charles Gilman, co-founded Gilman & Bedigian, LLC with one guiding principle – to provide the absolute best legal representation to those most in need.

Briggs’ particular set of trial skills sets him apart from his peers when he steps into the courtroom. His familiarity with the trial process and his humility and comfort trying cases in front of juries has proven both persuasive and productive. Briggs has tried more than 70 cases to verdict, including winning the largest medical malpractice verdict in Pennsylvania history, $182 million on behalf of a catastrophically injured child. His record of success also includes winning the second largest medical malpractice verdict in Maryland history of $55 million.

While Briggs prepares every case for trial, he routinely achieves multimillion-dollar pre-trial settlements, many in excess of eight-figures. Experience has proven that the hard work of trial preparation and his assertive strategy has been crucial to his success.

Briggs has earned a reputation in the legal community as the “go-to attorney” for catastrophic medical malpractice and personal injury cases. When judges, defense lawyers, doctors, and prominent lawyers refer Briggs their serious personal injury cases, you know he is providing top notch legal representation – and getting top results.

Bar Admissions:

Maryland
Pennsylvania
District of Columbia
United States District Court of Maryland
United States District Court for the District of Columbia

Special Admissions by way of Pro Hac Vice:

Virginia
Texas
Alabama
New Jersey
Georgia
Delaware
North Carolina
Ohio
Nevada

Education:

University of Baltimore School of Law, J.D.
Honors: Top 10% of class
Ithaca College, New York, B.A.
All American football player
Captain of College football team – elected by teammates.

Professional Associations and Memberships:

The Inner Circle of Advocates (Inducted 2015)
Maryland Association for Justice (Elected to Board of Governors)
Philadelphia Trial Lawyers Association (Elected to Board of Governors)
Pennsylvania Association for Justice
The American Association for Justice
Maryland State Bar Association
Baltimore City Bar Association

Honors and Awards:

2013 Trial Lawyer of the Year – Maryland Trial Lawyers Association
2016 Named as one of Maryland’s Top 100 Lawyers – Super Lawyers Magazine
Named as “Super Lawyer” in the field of medical malpractice by Maryland Super Lawyers Magazine
Named as a ‘Rising Star” in the field of medical malpractice and personal injury by Baltimore Magazine’s Maryland Super Lawyers
The Heuisler Honor Society
Named in The National Trial Lawyers Top 40 under 40

About Jon Stefanuca

As a trial attorney at Gilman & Bedigian, LLC, Jon handles a variety of medical malpractice and personal injury cases. Jon has extensive experience with cases involving catastrophic injuries, including, but not limited to:

Cerebral Palsy
Pediatric brain injury
Hypoxic Ischemic Encephalopathy
Developmental delays
Brain bleeds/ strokes
Neurologic injuries
Musculoskeletal injuries
Infections/ sepsis/ meningitis
Surgical injuries
Anesthesia injuries
Paraplegia/ quadriplegia
Traumatic brain injuries (TBI)
Spinal cord injuries

Jon dedicates most of his time to helping children injured by medical negligence, including children diagnosed with cerebral palsy, hypoxic ischemic encephalopathy, and developmental delays.

Beyond medical negligence, Jon has extensive experience with toxic exposure cases, including carbon monoxide poisoning and lead paint poisoning.

He has handled hundreds of birth injury cases around Maryland and across the country. Some of his recent jury verdicts speak for themselves:

$182,000,000, Birth Injury: Hagans v. Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania
$34,000,000, Birth Injury: Anderson v. University of Maryland St. Joseph Medical Center
$20,000,000, Intellectual property dispute: Adcor Industries, Inc. v. Beretta USA Corp.
$13,300.000, Birth Injury: Lewis v. Upper Chesapeake Medical Center

In addition to medical malpractice litigation, Jon has extensive experience with toxic exposure cases, including carbon monoxide and lead paint cases. His experience includes class actions, mass actions, business disputes, contract disputes, intellectual property disputes, and non-disclosure agreement .

litigation.

Verdicts and settlements in excess of $350,000,000.00.
America’s Top 100 Medical Malpractice Litigators by America’s Top 100.
“Nation’s Top One Percent” of attorneys by National Association of Distinguished Counsel.
Power List for medical malpractice and personal injury by The Daily Record.
Board Member, Maryland Association for Justice, the largest trial lawyers’ association in the State of Maryland.
Member, American Association for Justice.
Maryland Super Lawyer in the field of medical malpractice by Super Lawyers Magazine since 2020.
Rising Star in medical malpractice by Maryland Super Lawyers Magazine since 2011.
Maryland Top 10 under 40 for medical malpractice in 2015.

Prior to joining Gilman & Bedigian, LLC, Jon was a trial attorney with Murphy Falcon & Murphy, a nationally recognized group of elite trial lawyers. Jon represented the injured in a variety of cases involving medical malpractice, catastrophic personal injuries, product defects, brain injuries, lead poisoning, and carbon monoxide poisoning, among other cases. He was a member of the litigation team in the class action filed against St. Joseph Medical Center and Dr. Mark Midei, which culminated in a $37,000,000.00 settlement. Jon was also a member of the litigation team in the class action filed against Kennedy Krieger Institute, involving allegations of unethical and unlawful experimentation on children. Jon also developed a reputation for representing professional athletes and their families in personal injury cases.

Unlike most other attorneys, Jon has experience representing both plaintiffs and defendants. Jon was a litigation associate with Nash & Associates, LLC, where he represented MedStar Health, a $4 billion health care system in the Baltimore area with a network of nine hospitals and twenty other health-related businesses across Maryland and the Washington, D.C. region. As a result of this experience, Jon has a unique understanding of medical malpractice defense mentality and strategy.

Jon served a judicial clerkship for the Honorable W. Michel Pierson, Circuit Court Judge of the Circuit Court for Baltimore City, prior to entering private practice.

EDUCATION

Jon graduated with honors from the University of Maryland School of Law. He served as the Articles Editor on the Board of the Maryland Law Journal of Race, Religion, Gender, and Class. He was also admitted as a member of the school’s Moot Court Board. As a student attorney, he represented a number of community organizations in the Economic Housing and Community Development Law Clinic for which he received a Special Achievement Award.

LANGUAGES

In addition to English, Jon speaks Russian, French and Romanian.

PUBLICATIONS

Jon Simon Stefanuca, The Fall of the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971: A Public Choice Explanation, 19 U. Fla. J.L. & Pub. Pol’y 237 (2008).
Jon Simon Stefanuca, Crawford v. Washington: The Admissibility of Statements to Physicians and the Use of Closed-Circuit Television in Cases of Child Sexual Abuse, 5 U. Md. L. J. Race, Rel. Gender & Class 411 (2005).
Jon Simon Stefanuca, The PRI and Its Demise as Mexico’s Single Ruling Party, 38 Towson U. J. Int’l Aff. 32 (2002).
Jon Simon Stefanuca, The ICC and the United States: Arguments in Favor of Ratification of the Rome Treaty, 37 Towson U. J. of Int’l Aff. (2001).

Trial Alert: Gideon Asen's Recent Medical Malpractice Trial with Trevor Savage

Tue, 10 Oct 2023 17:26:46 -0400

Gideon Asen attorney, Trevor Savage, joins the podcast to talk about a recent case he and Ben Gideon tried involving a delay in diagnosis of prostate cancer. Ben and Trevor discuss some of the legal challenges they had to overcome and how they used focus groups and big data to identify key issues and frame the case effectively for trial. They discuss their approach to voir dire, opening statements, use of demonstrative aides and order of witnesses.

About Trevor Savage

Trevor is a skilled trial attorney who represents clients in claims involving medical malpractice, wrongful deaths and other complex personal injury cases.

After completing a clerkship with the Maine Supreme Judicial Court, Trevor began his career at a large firm in Portland, representing medical providers, businesses, and insurance companies.

Trevor’s experience as a defense attorney gives him a unique perspective that he uses to give Gideon Asen’s clients an advantage during litigation with insurance companies.

Trevor lives in North Berwick, Maine, with his wife, Amy, and two children, Jacob and Will.

Avoid Being Sued or Having Your Money Stolen with Larry and Lauren Acker

Mon, 25 Sep 2023 04:00:00 -0400

Join Ben for his discussion with trial lawyers Larry and Lauren Acker from Travers City, Michigan. Larry, who has spent his career trying legal and accounting malpractice claims, offers insights into how best to avoid having money embezzled from your law practice and how to avoid being sued for malpractice. This father and daughter team discuss trying a recent accounting malpractice case together and the approach to communicating these types of cases to jurors.

About Lawrence J. Acker

_________________________

Lawrence J. Acker, P.C/ The Acker Law Firm

12930 S. West Bayshore Drive

Traverse City, MI 49684

248-229-1911

Education:

B.A., Oakland University, Rochester MI 1970

M.A.T., Oakland University, Rochester MI 1972

J.D., Detroit College of Law, Detroit MI 1977

Practice Areas:

Legal Malpractice

Medical Malpractice

Accounting Malpractice

Family Law Fraud Issues

Personal Injury

Lawrence Acker is a trial attorney. He has conducted trials in multiple Federal jurisdictions and multiple State Courts. He has conducted arbitration hearings at the American Arbitration Association, at JAMS and has served as a private arbitrator.

Fellow of The American College of Trial Lawyers (FACTL 2007). Fellowship in the ACTL is available only by invitation. Fellows are inducted after rigorous investigation of adherence to the highest standards of trial performance and professional ethics. Membership is available to no more than 1% of the Trial Lawyers in the USA and Canada, after an attorney has established a reputation for excellence in trial advocacy.

Lawrence Acker served as Chairman of the State of Michigan Committee of the American College of Trial Lawyers for a two-year term (2019-2020).

Lawrence Acker is a past member of the Michigan Character and Fitness Committee.

Lawrence Acker has been recognized by The Best Lawyers in America, Martindale Hubbell Directory of Preeminent Attorneys and Michigan Super Lawyers

Lawrence Acker has served on the Editorial Board of Michigan Lawyers Weekly. He was nominated as “Lawyer of the Year” in 2002 by Lawyers Weekly.

Most recent trial completed: Lake Michigan Carferry vs. DeBoer Baumann, CPA firm. Mason County Circuit Court, Ludington, Michigan; Case No. 2019-000249-NM Entered judgment on jury verdict with interest 6/22/2023 in the amount of $746,918. Co-counsel Ms. Lauren Acker.

About Lauren Acker

Associate, Lawrence J. Acker, P.C/ The Acker Law Firm

12930 S. West Bayshore Drive

Traverse City, MI 49684

Education:

J.D. William & Mary Law School, 2019

B.A. Washington & Lee University, 2012

Admitted to Practice:

Michigan

District of Columbia

Oregon

Lauren has been assisting her father, Lawrence J Acker, with cases since November 2019, focusing on professional malpractice and personal injury.

Lauren is involved in all aspects of matters in Michigan State Courts and Federal Court including U.S. District Courts for the Eastern District of Michigan; Southern District of Texas, Houston Division; and Central District of California, Los Angeles.

Lauren sat second chair during a jury trial for accounting malpractice that resulted in the largest jury verdict in Mason County, Michigan.

Continuous Practice and Improvement Yields Better Results with Monte Tynes

Mon, 11 Sep 2023 04:00:00 -0400

Douglas “Monte” Tynes is a second-generation trial lawyer from Pascagoula, Mississippi. Monte, who serves as the co-chair of the damages section of the Edge Trial College, has an insatiable desire to continue learning and getting better at the craft of trying cases. In his career, Monte has tried numerous jury trials in civil rights, employment, personal injury, and medical malpractice cases. He tries cases in Mississippi, in some of the most conservative and difficult plaintiff’s venues in the Country. Monte shares his recent experience achieving a verdict of almost $ 1 million in a low speed, no damage, rear-end car accident trial in a conversative Mississippi venue. Monte talks about his “speed trial” technique and how he presented his difficult damages case. Monte talks about other lessons learned from this and several other recent trials, and what he is continuing to do each day to hone is skills at the craft of trying cases.

About Monte Tynes

Douglas L. Tynes, Jr., who prefers to go by the much more informal ‘Monte’ Tynes, is a second-generation attorney, who began practicing law with his father, Douglas L. Tynes, in 2006. After the latter’s retirement in May 2013, Mr Tynes continued practicing in the same historic building where his father had worked for more than 30 years.

Mr. Tynes is a devoted practitioner of the law. He goes the extra mile to become better acquainted with his client by making house calls, so he may know them in their surroundings. Mr. Tynes makes sure that his team at Tynes Law Firm share his work ethic and is equally understanding of the needs of his clients.

Areas of Specialization:

Mr. Tynes’ practice includes:

Automobile accidents

18-wheeler accidents

Medical malpractice

Criminal law

Family law cases such as divorce, custody, and child support

Mr. Tynes is admitted to practice in all state courts in Mississippi, as well as the United States District Court for the Southern District of Mississippi, and the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals.

Education:

Mississippi College School of Law, 2002-2005

Active in the Mississippi Trial Lawyers Association student chapter

Earned a Juris Doctorate in May of 2005

University of Mississippi School of Law, 2004-2005

Finished final year of law school as a visiting student

Georgia Institute of Technology, 1998-2002

Earned Bachelor of Science in Civil Engineering

Member of the American Society of Civil Engineers and Sigma Phi Epsilon

Wrote for The Technique, the school’s weekly newspaper

While attending school full time, also worked at Pond & Co., Architects and Engineers

Ocean Springs High School

Graduated with High Honors

Lettered in football and soccer

Part of civic organizations such as Phi Kappa

Representative Clients:

Mr. Tynes has an impressive success rate when fighting complex and challenging cases. He has also obtained favorable results in several other kinds of cases, such as a recent $260,000.00 verdict in a sexual harassment case against former Sheriff Mike Byrd.

In one of his most rewarding cases, Mr. Tynes, along with his co-counsel, obtained a rare acquittal in a capital murder case in ‘State of Mississippi v Tevin James Benjamin’.

Personal Life:

A longtime resident of the Mississippi Gulf Coast, Monte is passionate about his family, fishing, and anything to do with Georgia Tech.

He is married to Leilani Tynes, and they have four beautiful children.

Finding Your Authentic Voice with Christian Morris

Mon, 28 Aug 2023 04:00:00 -0400

Join Ben and Rahul for their conversation with Nevada trial lawyer Christian Morris. Attorney Morris describes her journey, from going up on a farm in Maine with no electricity or running water to being named 2019 Trial Lawyer of the Year in Nevada after obtaining a $31 million verdict on behalf of a young California woman who suffered anaphylactic shock while attending a convention in Las Vegas. Along the way, Attorney Morris describes how she found her own authentic approach, style, and voice as a lawyer that has enabled her to connect with jurors and to build a successful practice and career that she loves.

About Christian Morris

Christian Morris, Esq., is a personal injury trial attorney. Christian focuses exclusively on personal injury cases and making sure her clients obtain a just verdict or settlement.

She recently received a $31 million dollar verdict for a woman who was severely brain damaged due to the negligence of Medic West, an ambulance company that chose to eliminate a lifesaving medication from their medic’s jump bags to save $2.42 per bag.

She is licensed to practice law in Nevada in both state and federal courts. Christian also holds bar licenses in California and New Jersey. In February, 2012, Christian successfully passed the New York State Bar. In 2013, Christian was accepted to the Gerry Spence Trial Lawyer’s College, and she continues her work with the Gerry Spence Method on the Ranch in Wyoming. Christian was voted Nevada’s Trial Lawyer of the Year by the Nevada Justice Association for 2019. She is the second woman in twenty-two years to receive the honor. Christian also serves on the Board of Governors for the American Association of Justice.

Christian is well respected in the legal community for her candor, hard work and commitment to the civil justice system. Her verdicts have changed the law in Nevada for both premises liability cases and how Plaintiffs’ counsel can be compensated for their fees. She has conducted both jury trials and bench trials and has published decisions by the Nevada Supreme Court. Christian is the proud mother of Jackman Reese Burnette (age 5) and Winter Ryan Burnette (age 3).

Trial Alert: Breaking Down Rahul’s Recent $46 Million Verdict

Fri, 04 Aug 2023 04:00:00 -0400

In this episode, Ben and Rahul break down the recent $46 million verdict Rahul obtained in a case on behalf of a client injured during a Brazilian Jujitsu class. Rahul talks about how he frames the issues in the case to deal with the challenge of many jurors believing that those who engage in dangerous activities, like Jujitsu, assume the risk of injury. He shares his approach to voir dire and to obtaining this high-value verdict in a relatively conservative venue where verdicts tend to be on the lower side. Rahul talks about how the verdict was received in the Jujitsu community and how it is likely to lead to changes that will make the practice safer.

About Rahul Ravipudi

Rahul Ravipudi is a partner at Panish | Shea | Boyle | Ravipudi LLP and has spent his legal career handling catastrophic injury and wrongful death cases involving commercial vehicles, pedestrians, industrial or construction accidents, utility negligence, dangerous conditions of public and private property as well as cases of sexual abuse and sexual assault. Mr. Ravipudi also represents consumers in class actions against businesses who engage in unfair/illegal business practices and public entities in cases where corporations have endangered the safety, health, property or comfort of the public.

Mr. Ravipudi currently serves as Public Entity Plaintiffs’ Co-Lead Counsel in the JUUL Labs Product Cases, representing school districts and other public entities in California involved in litigation against the electronic cigarette manufacturer. Has also serves as Plaintiffs Co-Lead Counsel in the Southern California Fire Cases litigation arising out of the 2017 Thomas Fire and subsequent debris flows in Montecito, California as well as on the Plaintiffs Executive Committee in the California North Bay Fires litigation. Mr. Ravipudi previously served on the Steering Committee in the Blythe bus crash litigation.

Committed to serving as an advocate for his clients, Mr. Ravipudi has obtained numerous eight-figure awards including a $20,500,000 jury verdict for the mother of a high school student who was killed while walking to a bus stop, a $19,786,818 jury verdict for a man who suffered severe burn and traumatic brain injuries when his rental home exploded as a result of Southern California Gas Company negligence, a $13,935,550 jury verdict for 19-year-old pedestrian who suffered extensive injuries as a result of being struck on the sidewalk by a vehicle driven by a Los Angeles County employee, a $13,000,000 settlement for the children and parents of a woman who was killed when her car was hit by a Hawthorne, California police officer, a $11,000,000 settlement for the family of a middle school student who drowned during a school-sponsored swim party, a$10 million for the family of an independent truck driver killed by an intoxicated heavy lift operator at a stevedoring terminal in Long Beach, and an $8,000,000 jury verdict in Clark County District Court for a Nevada man who suffered significant internal injuries after he was served and ingested what he believed was a Honey Blonde Ale but was actually a chemical cleaning compound left in the tap lines.

Mr. Ravipudi shared his insight into successfully litigating cases against the stevedoring companies in an article entitled, “Danger on the Docks – Where there is an injury or death on the waterfront, drugs or alcohol are too often involved” published in the February 2011 edition of Advocate, journal of the Consumer Attorneys Association of Los Angeles.

Additional recoveries obtained by Mr. Ravipudi include a $15,950,000 settlement for a teen who suffered a brain injury on an HOA playground, $8,000,000 settlement for an 81-year-old woman who suffered severe spinal cord injuries after falling at a hotel, a $7,000,000+ settlement during trial for the family of a man killed at SpeedVegas when the vehicle he was driving slammed into a track wall and burst into flames, $6,500,000 settlement for the two minor children and friend of a Southern California man who was killed after being struck on the highway by a freight truck whose driver had fallen asleep behind the wheel, a $6,000,000 settlement for a woman who suffered severe burn injuries when a faucet in the bathtub of her apartment detached and sprayed scalding hot water onto her body, a $5 million for an HVAC worker who suffered serious injuries when he fell through a skylight while working on a customer’s roof, a $3.3 million gross jury verdict arising out of the death of a pest control person crushed and killed when a semi-truck reversed into him at a warehousing facility, and $9 million from the State of California (Caltrans) when a 16-year-old girl on a restricted license lost control of her vehicle and collided into a guardrail damaged two days earlier resulting in a bilateral traumatic below knee amputations. This case involved significant appellate issues which led to Mr. Ravipudi’s article, “Dealing with the state of California’s first line of defense – stonewalling any meaningful discovery” published in Advocate, Journal of Consumer Attorneys Association of Los Angeles in February 2009.

In recognition of his outstanding trial efforts, some of the awards Mr. Ravipudi has received include, but are not limited to:

2023 Lawdragon 500 Leading Plaintiffs Consumer Lawyers

2023 Lawyer of the Year in Mass Tort Litigation / Class Actions – Best Lawyer

2022 Top Plaintiffs Lawyer in California – Daily Journal

2022 Lawdragon 500 Leading Plaintiffs Consumer Lawyers

2021 Robert E. Cartwright Sr. Award – Consumer Attorneys of California

2021 Consumer Attorney of the Year finalist – Consumer Attorneys of California

2021 Top Plaintiff Lawyer in California – Daily Journal

2021 Lawdragon 500 Leading Plaintiffs Consumer Lawyers

2020 Top Plaintiffs Lawyer in California – Daily Journal

2020 Lawdragon 500 Leading Plaintiffs Consumer Lawyers

2020 Plaintiffs Lawyer Trailblazer – National Law Journal

2019 Consumer Attorney of the Year finalist – Consumer Attorneys of California

2019 Plaintiffs Lawyer Trailblazer — National Law Journal

2019 Trailblazer Award – South Asian Bar Association of Southern California

2018 Consumer Attorney of the Year finalist – Consumer Attorneys of California

2017 Trial Lawyer of the Year – Consumer Attorneys Association of Los Angeles

2017 Consumer Attorney of the Year finalist – Consumer Attorneys of California

2017 Top Plaintiffs Lawyers of California – Daily Journal

2017 Top 100 Lawyers of California – Daily Journal

2016 Trial Lawyer of the Year finalist – Consumer Attorneys Association of Los Angeles

2016 Consumer Attorney of the Year finalist – Consumer Attorneys of California

2016 Top Verdict By Impact – Daily Journal

2015 Trial Lawyer of the Year finalist – Consumer Attorneys Association of Los Angeles

2014 Top 20 Under 40 – Daily Journal

In addition, Mr. Ravipudi has been consistently ranked top in his profession for his work in Personal Injury Litigation – Plaintiffs with annual inclusion to Best Lawyers since 2013 and selection to the Super Lawyers list since 2014, the latter of which recognizes no more than five percent of attorneys in the state. Mr. Ravipudi was previously selected as a Super Lawyers “Rising Star” from 2006-2013 – an honor awarded to the top 2.5 percent of lawyers in the Southern California area under 40 years of age.

Prior to joining Panish | Shea | Boyle | Ravipudi LLP, Mr. Ravipudi worked at another consumer law firm where his work helped recover over $4 billion for his clients. He participated as co-lead class counsel in a consumer class action case brought on behalf of all gas and electricity rate payers in the State of California against El Paso Natural Gas Company and Sempra Energy. This case arose out of the California Energy Crisis of 2000/2001 and resulted in the recovery of more than $3.5 billion in restitution to California utility customers. To date, this is recognized as one of the largest antitrust settlements in American history.

Mr. Ravipudi also participated as co-lead counsel on an antitrust class action case brought on behalf of all gas and electricity rate payers in California against Reliant Energy Services and other energy traders for manipulating the California natural gas market by engaging in wash trades, churning, and false reporting. Hundreds of millions of dollars were recovered for rate payers of the State of California as well.

In addition to serving as an Associate Editor for the Advocate, Journal of Consumer Attorneys Association of Los Angeles, Mr. Ravipudi actively publishes articles in various journals and trade publications and is a frequent speaker on various issues, including class action litigation and trial tactics. In 2010, Mr. Ravipudi was profiled in the California Law & Politics magazine in an article entitled “Class Act(ion)”.

A Fellow of the International Academy of Trial Lawyers, Mr. Ravipudi is also a Fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers, a Fellow of the International Society of Barristers, and an Associate of the American Board of Trial Advocates (ABOTA). He is an active member of the Consumer Attorneys of California, the Consumer Attorneys Association of Los Angeles (CAALA), the South Asian Bar Association (SABA), and the Nevada Justice Association. He serves on the Board for Loyola Law School, on the Executive Committee for the Los Angeles Chapter of ABOTA, on the Board of Governors for CAALA, on the Steering Committee for SABA, and on the Board for Public Counsel. He has previously served as Treasurer of the South Asian Bar Association Public Interest Foundation and is an active supporter of Children’s Hospital Los Angeles.

Mr. Ravipudi received his Bachelor of Arts degree in Economics and Minor in Chemistry from the University of California, Riverside and his law degree from Loyola Law School where he has served as an adjunct professor teaching Trial Advocacy since 2008. He resides in La Canada Flintridge with his three sons and wife Smitha, who serves as Chief Executive Officer at USC Care & Ambulatory Care Services at Keck Medicine of USC.

Trial Lessons Learned from the Tobacco Wars with Sarah London

Thu, 20 Jul 2023 04:00:00 -0400

Join Ben and Rahul for their interview of San Francisco trial lawyer, Sarah London of Lieff Cabraser. Sarah explains how her interest in community organizing ultimately led her to a career as a plaintiff trial lawyer. She views the law as the ultimate weapon for promoting positive societal change. Not long after becoming a lawyer, Sarah London found herself in Florida trying case after case against the big tobacco companies. At first, the plaintiffs were losing every trial. But in time, they found strategies to turn the cases around, win, and obtain large verdicts. This experience of trying similar cases over and over provided a laboratory for better understanding of how to select juries and frame a case for trial success. The insights gained through this process are valuable not just for tobacco litigation, but anyone who conducts jury trials. Sarah was recently appointed as co-lead counsel for the Juul litigation. Sarah’s insights into trial lawyer are both practical and inspirational. You won’t want to miss this episode!

About Sarah London

“Human progress is neither automatic nor inevitable… Every step toward the goal of justice requires sacrifice, suffering, and struggle; the tireless exertions and passionate concern of dedicated individuals.”

Martin Luther King, Jr.

A partner in Lieff Cabraser’s San Francisco office, Sarah R. London is a determined, skilled, and experienced advocate for the injured, employees, and consumers.

In February of 2020, Sarah was appointed to the Plaintiffs’ Executive Committee in the Gilead HIV Drug Kidney & Bone Injuries Litigation. In December of 2019, she was appointed to serve as Co-Lead Counsel and Liaison Counsel for plaintiffs in the nationwide multidistrict Juul e-cigarette fraud and injury litigation. In September of 2019, Sarah was appointed by Judge Judith E. Levy to serve as Subclass Settlement Counsel in In re Flint Water Cases, the federal class action lawsuit seeking justice for the over 100,000 residents of Flint, Michigan who were exposed to seriously elevated levels of lead as a result of insufficient water treatment.

Sarah also serves in lead roles in women’s health cases, including work as court-appointed Liaison Counsel and Interim Class Counsel in the federal class action filed on behalf of families in May 2018 against San Francisco’s Pacific Fertility Center over the Center’s March 2018 allegedly negligent destruction of hundreds of frozen eggs and embryos as a result of a leak in a cryogenic storage tank. Sarah also served in a leadership role in successful litigation recovering millions of dollars on behalf of women who suffered serious injuries due to complications from allegedly defective trans-vaginal surgical mesh.

Sarah has been directly involved in several recent California environmental disaster cases, including litigation against Plains All American Pipeline arising out of the 2015 oil spill in Santa Barbara, and two important class action cases on behalf of homeowners and businesses that suffered economic injuries in the wake of the massive Porter Ranch gas leak, which began in October of 2015 and lasted into February of 2016.

A Super Lawyers Rising Star for eight consecutive years and 2015 finalist for the Consumer Attorneys of California Streetfighter of the Year Award, Sarah has held multiple leadership positions in CAOC, including her current position on the Board of Directors. In September 2019, Sarah was appointed Chair of the Resource Board of the National Association of Women Judges.

More Big Data with John and Alicia Campbell

Mon, 03 Jul 2023 04:00:00 -0400

Episode Summary

John and Alicia Campbell join Ben and Rahul for a follow up discussion on the value of Big Data in preparing cases for trial. John is joined by his business partner, fellow attorney and wife, Alicia Campbell. John and Alicia discuss their forthcoming book, co-authored with Attorney Sean Claggett, in which they present both the science and practical uses of big data to help trial lawyers make better decisions and achieve better trial results. In this episode, John and Alicia discuss some of the lessons learned from years of jury research and big data studies; how the data is best used to maximize value at trial; and some of the common mistakes trial lawyers make in case presentation and jury selection that can impact the win rate and verdict value in the case.

About John and Alicia Campbell

John and Alicia Campbell, Campbell Law

John Campbell, JD is a trial and appellate lawyer turned law professor turned jury researcher.

John trained as a trial lawyer under John Simon, a member of the Inner Circle of Advocates, and then went on to become a successful consumer attorney. John’s verdicts and settlements exceed $350 million. John has also handled appeals in the Eighth, Second, Tenth, and Fourth Circuit, as well as the United States Supreme Court and a variety of state courts. Most recently, John served as lead counsel in a series of class actions against municipalities, including Ferguson, Missouri, who engaged in policing for profit. The cases led to the eradication of many predatory fees targeted at minorities and the working poor. John remains a member of Campbell Law LLC.

For eight years John served as a professor at the University of Denver Sturm College of Law. While there, he founded the Civil Justice Research Initiative, dedicated to better understanding jury behavior through rigorous empirical research. He continues to run CJRI at the University of Denver and teaches as an adjunct professor.

John’s academic work led to demand for him to study individual cases for plaintiff attorneys. He ultimately founded Empirical Jury. In only a few years, Empirical Jury has emerged as a cutting-edge firm that uses big data and scientific approaches to equip attorneys to obtain the best result possible for clients. Empirical Jury has been involved in verdicts in excess of $550 million and is routinely called on to analyze some of the most complex consequential cases in the country.

During the Covid-19 era, Empirical Jury is also leading the way on understanding the Covid Effect through careful data gathering and analysis. To date, Empirical Jury has surveyed over 1,200 jurors on topics relating to Covid-19, virtual trials, and jury duty.

Alicia Campbell

Alicia started Campbell Law, LLC, in 2009. Prior to that, she worked for a legal services law firm representing people in Social Security and consumer claims. Alicia decided to create her own firm so that she could handle the cases she wanted and give her clients a personal and positive experience.

Since opening Campbell Law, Alicia has tried a mortgage fraud case to verdict in 2010, and she has argued before the Court of Appeals in 2011 and 2013 about mortgage issues. In 2015, she settled a mortgage fraud case in Missouri for $1.5 million dollars. And in 2016, Alicia settled a mortgage fraud and wrongful foreclosure case in Missouri for $4 million dollars. Alicia has also appeared in front of the Missouri State Supreme Court in 2012 and 2013 arguing on behalf of homeowners, in an attempt to change the unlawful detainer statute in Missouri. She has argued before the 8th Circuit, and she has also argued before the Missouri Court of Appeals in 2011, 2013, 2014, 2015 and 2016.

In 2018, Alicia was lead counsel in certifying a class action against the City of Ferguson for its use of illegal and excessive fees in municipal court to generate profit.

Alicia takes on mortgage companies and banks, as well as other types of financial fraud. She has pursued mortgage fraud claims for the last 5 years and understands people's struggles when it comes to their homes. She has been voted one of the best lawyers to call "if the bank wants your house."

She has filed individual and class cases that involve predatory lending practices and schemes by banks and small lenders. She also sues debt collectors, auto dealers, and payday lenders, and has had considerable experience in the employment context, handling employment discrimination claims.

Big Data is a fundamental part of Campbell Law.

More than perhaps any other firm in the country, Campbell Law believes that better information makes better decisions. Campbell Law believes that big data and a science based approach to cases levels the playing field and that it can make any case more valuable. Indeed, John and Alicia operate on a simple rule: Big decisions call for big data.

You can’t decide whether to settle, what jurors to select, what evidence to share, how your client plays, whether to admit some comparative fault, how much to ask for in closing argument, or any of the other myriad questions we all face by relying solely on your gut. You need real answers. And they are available with big data. The methods are now tried and true. Time and again, the methods John and Alicia have developed have accurately predicted verdict ranges and provided insights into how to win difficult cases and to maximize value.

This marriage of big data with trial law came from a happy confluence of events.

John started his journey towards big data while working as a professor at the University of Denver Sturm College of Law. There he became a well-known academic studying jurors. He is a recognized author in the field and continues to produce research to advance justice in courts and legislatures.

Alicia joined the fight as she began to study her own cases using the same principles that informed academic studies. This desire to meld scientific rigor with real world questions produced a company called Empirical Jury. As founders of Empirical Jury, John and Alicia studied cases in at least 40 states, using over 135,000 jurors, across 330+ cases. In only five years they were honored to participate in over $1 billion in verdicts and more than $2 billion in settlements.

Empirical Jury was a wonderful experience, but it was only a first step. Over the last five years, as the plaintiff bar has embraced big data, so too has the defense. PhDs in social science and statistics are now common hires at large defense firms.

So, John and Alicia decided that more was required. At Campbell Law they are driven by three future-looking goals.

To continue to use big data to help attorneys obtain, fine-grained, and powerful insights that help them best serve their clients;

To develop technological tools for the future, including jury selection software, AI that allows deeper understanding of juries, and much more;

To encourage the development of a wider body of knowledge and research regarding jurors and juries. This includes founding the Justice through Empirical Data Institute (JEDI), which will work with Arizona State University to fund important jury research that benefits all of the practicing bar.

How to Compete and Win Big Every Time with Brian Panish

Mon, 19 Jun 2023 04:00:00 -0400

Join Ben and Rahul for their discussion with legendary trial lawyer Brian Panish, founding partner of Los-Angeles-based trial firm, Panish Shea Boyle and Ravipudi (PSBR). Brian discusses how the values he learned growing up and playing competitive sports through college shaped his work ethic and approach to the competition of trial practice. Brian shares keys to success at trial and in building a world-class trial law firm. Brian is the G.O.A.T. You don’t want to miss this episode!

About 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 500 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 Co-Lead Counsel in the Woolsey Fire litigation, Plaintiffs Co-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. Mr. Panish also serves as Lead Trial Counsel in the Southern California Gas Leak Cases where he led a team of lawyers in obtaining a $1.8 billion settlement from Southern California Gas Company and Sempra Energy. He previously served in leadership roles in the Asiana Airlines Crash Litigation, the Olympus Superbug CRE Litigation and DePuy ASR Hip Implant Litigation, among others.

Most recently, Mr. Panish has been retained to represent the husband and son of Halyna Hutchins, a cinematographer who was fatally shot and killed by Alec Baldwin on the movie set of ‘Rust’ in October 2021.

Since 2011, Mr. Panish has obtained more than $500 million in verdicts including, among others, a $23,720,996 bench trial award for a Southern California man and his wife after the man suffered a lower leg amputation as a result of being struck by a 28-foot utility truck while riding his motorcycle, a $21,503,420.48 verdict for a man who suffered catastrophic injuries after a vehicle illegally exiting the 405 Freeway HOV lane struck his motorcycle, a landmark $53,745,374 verdict for two Southern California brothers who were severely injured following a head-on collision with CRST big rig, a $41,864,102 jury verdict and subsequent $46,000,000 settlement for a United States Air Force Captain who suffered catastrophic injuries after being struck from behind while on his motorcycle and then dragged the length of a football field and a half by a Southern California Gas Company truck, a $36.5 million jury verdict against Schneider National for a big-rig crash that left a woman with severe spinal cord injuries, a $34.5 million verdict for a man who suffered a below the knee amputation after being hit by a tractor trailer, a $21,503,420.48 jury verdict for a Southern California man who suffered catastrophic injuries after a vehicle illegally exiting the 405 Freeway HOV lane struck his motorcycle and sent him careening across three lanes of traffic and into a passing flatbed trailer, a $17.4 million verdict for a Ph.D. student who suffered brain and jaw injuries during a rear end chain collision accident, a $17 million jury verdict against the Los Angeles MTA in the wrongful death of a visually impaired passenger, a $17.845 million award in a wrongful death case involving four family members killed when a Marine jet crashed into their home, a $20 million jury verdict for a woman who suffered a brain injury in a hit-and-run accident involving a J.B. Hunt tractor trailer, a $17 million jury verdict for a 84-year old man hit by a bus resulting in a leg amputation, a $15.3 million jury verdict for a woman and her daughter after the woman was severely injured on a negligently driven Alameda Contra-Costa Transit District bus, a $10.45 million jury verdict for the family of a security guard killed on the CBS studio lot and a $8.3 million jury verdict in the first DePuy ASR Hip Implant case to go to trial.

Because of his expertise in personal injury, wrongful death, mass tort and product liability cases, Mr. Panish has been appointed to serve on the Plaintiffs’ Steering and Executive committees in numerous high profile mass torts and major disaster cases, including litigation involving train crashes (co-lead counsel in the the Chatsworth Metrolink disaster, the Glendale Metrolink crash, and the Placentia Metrolink collision), airplane disasters (Alaska Airlines Flight 261 and Singapore Airlines Flight 006 crashes), pharmaceuticals (Vioxx and diet drugs), and defective product cases (Welding Rods, DePuy ASR Hip Implant Litigation, and Toyota Unintended Acceleration cases.) He is currently handling numerous cases involving the Asiana Flight 261 plane crash as well as serving as Plaintiffs Co-lead Trial Counsel, representing over 7,000 clients in the Porter Ranch Gas Leak litigation.

Mr. Panish has been recognized by numerous publications and organizations as being among the top trial lawyers in the country. Some of the honors he has received include the following:

2023 Lawdragon 500 Leading Plaintiff Consumer Lawyers
2023 Lawdragon 500 Leading Lawyers in America
2023 Leading Commercial Litigators – Daily Journal
2022 Finalist for CAOC Consumer Attorney of the Year
2022 West Trailblazer – The American Lawyer
2022 Top 100 Lawyers in California – Daily Journal
2022 LA 500 – Los Angeles Business Journal
2022 Lawdragon 500 Leading Lawyers in America
2022 Top Plaintiff Lawyers in California – Daily Journal
2022 Top 100 Lawyers – Los Angeles Business Journal
2022 Lawdragon 500 Leading Lawyers in America
2022 Lawdragon 500 Leading Plaintiff Consumer Lawyers
2022 California Lawyer Attorney of the Year (CLAY) Award in the area of Personal Injury
2022 Titan of the Plaintiffs Bar – Law360
2021 Leaders of Influence: Litigators & Trial Attorneys – Los Angeles Business Journal
2021 Top 100 Lawyers in California – Daily Journal
2021 Top Plaintiff Lawyers in California – Daily Journal
2021 LA 500 – Los Angeles Business Journal
2021 Lawdragon Leading Lawyers in America
2020 Top 100 Lawyers in California – Daily Journal
2021 Best Lawyers® Lawyer of the Year – Mass Tort Litigation / Class Action – Plaintiffs – Los Angeles
2020 Lawdragon Leading Lawyers in America
2020 Plaintiffs Lawyer Trailblazer – National Law Journal
2020 Top Plaintiff Lawyers in California – Daily Journal
2020 Lawdragon 500 Leading Plaintiff Consumer Lawyers
2019 Top 100 Lawyers in California – Daily Journal
2019 Top Plaintiff Lawyers in California – Daily Journal
2019 Plaintiffs Lawyer Trailblazer – National Law Journal
2019 Titan of the Plaintiffs Bar – Law360
2019 California Lawyer Attorney of the Year (CLAY) Award in the area of Personal Injury
2019 Best Lawyers® Lawyer of the Year – Personal Injury Litigation – Plaintiffs – Los Angeles
2018 Finalist for CAOC Consumer Attorney of the Year
2018 Top 100 Lawyers in California – Daily Journal
2018 Top Plaintiff Lawyers in California – Daily Journal
2018 Daniel O’Connell Award – by Irish American Bar Association-Los Angeles
2018 Best Lawyers® Lawyer of the Year – Aviation Law – Los Angeles
2017 Top 100 Lawyers in California – Daily Journal
2017 Top Plaintiff Lawyers in California – Daily Journal
2017 Civil Advocate Award – by the Association of Southern California Defense Counsel (ASCDC)
2017 Finalist (2) for CAOC Consumer Attorney of the Year
2016 Outstanding Litigator – by Southwestern Law School
2016 Top Plaintiff Lawyers in California – Daily Journal
2016 Best Lawyers® Lawyer of the Year – Plaintiff’s Personal Injury Litigation – Los Angeles
2015 National Law Journal’s Elite Trial Lawyers Hall of Fame
2015 Best Lawyers® Lawyer of the Year – Product Liability Litigation – Los Angeles
2015 Top 25 Plaintiff Lawyers in California – Daily Journal
2015 Robert E. Cartwright Sr. Award (given by the Consumer Attorneys of California in recognition of excellence in trial advocacy and dedication to teaching trial advocacy to fellow lawyers and to the public.)
2014 Consumer Attorney of the Year – by the Consumer Attorneys of California
2013 California Lawyer Attorney of the Year (CLAY) Award in the area of Personal Injury
The National Law Journal’s 100 Most Influential Lawyers In America
Daily Journal’s Top 100 Most Influential Attorneys in California
2012 Top 20 Lawyers in California by The Recorder
2010 Trial Lawyer of the Year by the California Chapter of the American Board of Trial Advocates (ABOTA)
2010 Champions of Justice award from Loyola Law School
2010 Best Lawyers® Lawyer of the Year – Product Liability Litigation – Los Angeles
2009 Best Lawyers® Lawyer of the Year – Personal Injury Litigation – Los Angeles
1999 Trial Lawyer of the Year – by Consumer Attorneys Association of Los Angeles (CAALA)
Top 500 Attorneys and Litigators in the United States by Lawdragon
Top 10 Southern California Super Lawyers® (various years, including from 2009-2017)
Listed in Best Lawyers® since 2001
Listed in Southern California Super Lawyers® since 2004

In addition to his numerous honors, Mr. Panish currently serves as immediate past president of the prestigious Inner Circle of Advocates, comprised of 100 of the nation’s top plaintiffs’ lawyers. He is also a Fellow in the American College of Trial Lawyers (including serving on the State Selection Committee), the International Society of Barristers, the American Board of Trial Advocates (ABOTA), and was the 2011 President of the Los Angeles Chapter of ABOTA. He is a member of the American Bar Association (formerly a Litigation Section Board Member), the Consumer Attorneys Association of Los Angeles (formerly on the Board of Governors), and the Consumer Attorneys of California (formerly on the Board of Governors). He also serves on the Best Lawyers® Board of Advisors.

Mr. Panish received his law degree, with honors, from Southwestern Law School, and received an Honorary Doctor of Laws degree from Southwestern in 2011. He received his B.S. from California State University Fresno, where he was named Scholar Athlete, was the recipient of the Athletic Directors Award and was named an outstanding alumnus at the school’s Centennial Celebration in 2010. Mr. Panish is licensed to practice in California, Nevada, and Texas. Submit our online contact form to request legal assistance with your claim.

Verdicts and Settlements:

The following is a list of just some of the landmark cases that Brian Panish has been involved in:

$4.9 Billion – Anderson v. General Motors Corp.
$3.3 Billion – LA County v. Tobacco Industry
$58 Million – Griggs v. Caterpillar, et al.
$55.4 Million – Lampe v. Continental General Tire
$53.745 Million – Lennig v. CRST
$46 Million – Lo v. Southern California Gas Company
$39.5 Million – Freeman v. Board of the Trustees of the California State University
$36.5 Million – Sheth v. Schneider National
$34.5 Million – Casillas v. Landstar Ranger, Inc.
$32.5 Million – Johnson/Allen/Cascio v. City of Beverly Hills
$32 Million __ J.G. v. Tulare County Child Welfare Services
$27 Million – Dominguez v. San Francisco
$25.5 Million – Sherman v. Courrege
$23.7 Million – Rojas v.Hajoca Corporation
$23.5 Million – Lee v. Pupil Transportation Cooperative
Forming a Powerhouse Trial Team with Jodi Nofsinger and Susan Faunce

Mon, 05 Jun 2023 04:00:00 -0400

Maine trial lawyers, Jodi Nofsinger and Susan Faunce join Ben and Rahul to talk about how they have joined together to form a powerhouse trial team and recently won a $6.5 million verdict in a malpractice case in Maine. Jodi and Susan talk about their diverse backgrounds which led them to become trial lawyers and how they have worked together over the years to form one of Maine’s most successful trial teams.

About Jodi Nofsinger

Attorney Jodi Nofsinger represents people who have been harmed by medical malpractice and those who have suffered serious personal injury. With an educational background in medicine and biology, Jodi is the rare attorney who understands both the law and science of the cases she handles.

Since joining Berman & Simmons in 1997, Jodi has earned a reputation as a tenacious and effective advocate for her clients. She is a natural competitor who thrives when representing the underdog and holding the powerful accountable.

She is also a trailblazer among Maine’s trial lawyers. In 2014, Jodi became only the 22nd trial lawyer in Maine—and only the third woman—inducted as a Fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers. Fellowship is extended to trial lawyers who are master advocates for their clients, and whose careers are distinguished by the highest standards of ethics and professionalism.

Jodi learned about the justice system from her mother, a clerk at a federal courthouse in Rockford, IL. Jodi recalls her mother’s compassion for people with disabilities who had come to court seeking benefits that were denied by the government. At an early age, Jodi understood that a lawyer can make all the difference for people who have been wronged.

“People put themselves in your hands, often after the worst thing that has ever happened to them, and your job is to get them to the end of their case safely, and with the best result possible,” Jodi says. “As a lawyer, you have the privilege and power to make positive change in people’s lives. That is the kind of responsibility that makes you want to do better.”

Jodi obtained a Bachelor of Science in Biology degree as a pre-med undergraduate. Beginning in high school and continuing until she entered the University of Maine School of Law, she worked in the field of biology, where she conducted research in the areas of heart disease, cellular biology, and genetics.

Besides her outstanding record of success in medical malpractice and catastrophic personal injury cases, Jodi is also well known for her work on civil rights cases, such as the groundbreaking lawsuit brought on behalf of transgender high school student Nicole Maines of Orono, ME. Jodi serves on the board of directors for the ACLU of Maine and the Maine Trial Lawyers Association.

About Susan Faunce

Since joining Berman & Simmons in 2006, attorney Susan Faunce has represented clients throughout Maine who have been harmed by personal injury and medical negligence. She currently leads the firm’s mass tort practice, which involves dangerous drug and medical device litigation, and works on medical malpractice and wrongful death cases. Susan is motivated by compassion for her clients and an interest in medicine.

From a young age, Susan knew she wanted to become a lawyer, in hopes of making a significant impact on people’s lives. Today she is one of Maine’s leading personal injury attorneys and has been recognized by The Best Lawyers in America, Super Lawyers, and Benchmark Litigation.

“I was raised by a single mother who spoke limited English and I lived in an underdeveloped country as a young adult,” Susan says. “These experiences have taught me to be courageous, resourceful, and persistent. I understand that every case carries both legal and emotional aspects, and I believe every client should have a strong advocate who will work tirelessly to successfully resolve their case.”

Susan is a graduate of Bowdoin College where she majored in Government Studies and Asian Studies. After college she worked as a paralegal on high-profile intellectual property cases at a major Boston law firm. She joined the Peace Corps and served in Morocco, teaching English to local high school students and French to women in the community. Susan chose to return home to Maine and earned her law degree from the University of Maine School of Law.

Susan serves as the Androscoggin County representative on the Maine State Bar Association Board of Governors and as President of the Maine Trial Lawyers Association. She is also a board member of the Maine Justice Foundation and the Robbie Foundation, a non-profit organization that provides funding for adaptive equipment and therapies for special needs children.

Sponsor Bonus Episode with SmartAdvocate

Wed, 24 May 2023 04:00:00 -0400

Selecting a Winning Jury with Harry Plotkin

Mon, 22 May 2023 04:00:00 -0400

Ben and Rahul talk jury selection with Harry Plotkin, a nationally renowned expert on jury selection who has picked over a thousand juries in cases across the country. Harry has been involved in many high-profile cases and ground-breaking plaintiff’s verdicts. Harry shares his strategies for identifying favorable and unfavorable jurors and identifies areas where lawyer intuition leads to poor choices in jury selection. Harry explains how involvement of a jury consultant can increase the chances of a good result at trial. If you are heading to trial and picking a jury, you don’t want to miss this episode!

About Harry Plotkin

Harry is a nationally renowned jury consultant and leading voice in the field of jury decision-making, psychology, and persuasion.

He has helped shape the outcome of over one thousand trials across the country in nearly every state.

$19.25 MILLION VERDICT in dangerous condition trial in Santa Cruz
        Howard v. CalTrans, February 2023

100% LIABILITY VERDICT in liability phase/fall down lift shaft trial in San Mateo
        Veimau v. Phillips, December 2022 (settled for large confidential amount before damage phase)

$45 MILLION VERDICT in public school district physical abuse trial in Los Angeles
        Wong v. Santa Monica-Malibu Unified School District, October 2022

$464.2 MILLION VERDICT in employment retaliation trial in Los Angeles
        Martinez/Page v. Southern California Edison, June 2022

$150 MILLION VERDICT in wrongful death trial in Palm Springs
        Collins v. Diamond Generating Company, July 2022

$11 MILLION VERDICT in pedestrian v. auto crash trial in Santa Monica
        Knight v. Haskell, August 2022

$34.5 MILLION VERDICT in aiding/abetting wrongful termination in Santa Cruz
        Ruvalcaba v. Keenan & Associates, May 2022

$102.5 MILLION VERDICT in public school district sexual abuse trial in San Jose
        Doe v. Union School District, March 2022

$25.7 MILLION VERDICT in medical malpractice arbitration in San Diego
        Vargas v. Kaiser Permanente, April 2022

$23.2 MILLION VERDICT in care home death (of an 81 year-old) trial in Bakersfield
        Mosley v. Pacifica Healthcare, March 2022

$10 MILLION VERDICT in "jaywalking" pedestrian death trial in Long Beach
        Garcia v. Herrera, December 2021

$7.2 MILLION VERDICT in federal airline/unruly passenger mistreatment trial in LA
        Bandary v. Delta, October 2021

$136.9 MILLION VERDICT in federal hostile work environment/race trial in SF
        Diaz v. Tesla, October 2021

$12.6 MILLION VERDICT in spinal fusion/premises liability trial
        Acosta v. Athena Management, August 2021

$6.4 MILLION VERDICT in spinal stimulator/vehicle crash trial in Orange County
        Castaneda v. Perez, September 2021

$13 MILLION VERDICT *county record* in wrongful death/product trial in rural Missouri
        Church v. CNH Industrial, November 2020

$25.6 MILLION VERDICT in dangerous condition/pedestrian stuck in crosswalk trial
        Tusant v. City of Hemet, February 2020

$17 MILLION VERDICT (with fees) in right of publicity trial in San Diego
        Hansen IP Trust v. Coca Cola, Monster Energy, February 2020

$13.3 MILLION VERDICT in traumatic brain injury trial against County sheriffs/nurses
        Collins v. County of San Diego, July 2019

$2 MILLION VERDICT in non-termination retaliation trial against a public university
        Linskey v. UC Irvine, April 2019

$6.5 MILLION VERDICT in zero-offer, coffee burn trial against a hotel
        DeRuyver v. Omni La Costa, March 2019

$7 MILLION VERDICT in 70-mph motorcyclist's wrongful death against local city
        Ascensio v. Covina, October 2018

$45.4 MILLION VERDICT in failure to prevent sexual abuse trial against local County
        F.M. v. Los Angeles County DCFS, July 2018

$2 MILLION VERDICT in non-termination retaliation trial against a public university
        Linskey. v. UC Regents, April 2019

$16.2 MILLION VERDICT in disputed slip-and-fall, disputed brain injury trial
        Kidd v. WKS/El Pollo Loco, February 2018

$25 MILLION VERDICT in product liability/wrongful death trial
        Cruz, Mathenge v. Nissan North America, July 2017

DEFENSE VERDICT ($30M+ demand) in fraud/fiduciary duty trial
        Hotze v. Hotze, October 2018

DEFENSE VERDICT ($30M demand) in fraud/elder abuse trial
        Howard v. Howard, September 2018

$25.1 MILLION VERDICT in whistleblower retaliation trial
        Babyak v. Cardiovascular Systems, April 2017

$29 MILLION VERDICT in medical malpractice trial
        Williams v. Pilapil, March 2017

$16.3 MILLION VERDICT in trip and fall trial
        Picazzo v. CW Driver, October 2017

DEFENSE VERDICT ($16M demand)in fraud/breach of contract trial
        Oregon Ice Cream v. Gleason, April 2017

$256 MILLION VERDICT in fraud/breach of contract trial
        Kahn v. Nissan, May 2017

$26 MILLION VERDICT in wrongful death (of a minor) trial
        Zisette v. Starline, November 2016

$5.3 MILLION VERDICT plus malice in negligence/molestation trial
        Doe v. Five Acres, May 2017

$27 MILLION VERDICT in wrongful death/construction site trial
        Gonzalez v. Atlas Supply, July 2016

$47 MILLION VERDICT in breach of contract/employment trial
        Stewart v. AAPS, February 2016

$2.9 MILLION VERDICT (plus malice) in wrongful termination trial
        Mackey v. Helinet, January 2016

$14 MILLION VERDICT in insurance bad faith trial
        Madrigal v. Allstate, November 2015

$7.1 MILLION VERDICT in age discrimination trial
        Simers v. LA Times, November 2015

$10.5 MILLION VERDICT in breach of contract trial
        Stelluti Kerr v. Mapei Corporation, November 2015

$3.5 MILLION VERDICT in eye injury trial versus charter bus
        Guerra v. Starline, November 2015

$9.7 MILLION VERDICT in product liability/design defect trial
        Rivera v. Volvo, August 2015

$28 MILLION VERDICT in medical malpractice/failure to diagnose trial
        Rahm v. Kaiser Permanente, March 2015

$60 MILLION VERDICT in federal wrongful death/product liability trial
        Shinedling v. Sunbeam, June 2015

$8.7 MILLION VERDICT in single-plaintiff discrimination/retaliation trial
        Leggins v. Rite Aide, July 2015

DEFENSE VERDICT in class-action bad faith trial
        Keller, et. al. v. California State University, April 2015
       Class sought $58 million in damages, plus interest

$1.75 MILLION VERDICT + MALICE in employment retaliation trial
        Wascher v. Kaiser, June 2015
       No claims for economic damages, only emotional distress

$3.3 MILLION VERDICT + MALICE in breach of fiduciary duty trial
        Colaco v. Cavotec, June 2015
       DEFENSE VERDICT on claims, won on counter-claims

$16.2 MILLION VERDICT against employer in car crash/injury trial
       Evans v. Prospect Education, February 2015
       Jury found driver was in “course and scope” while commuting

$58 MILLION VERDICT in personal injury/car crash trial
        Herman v. Cardiel, June 2014
       Verdict included $45 million in non-economic damages

RECORD VERDICT in a federal whistleblower trial
        Zulfer v. Playboy, March 2014
       $6 million verdict, plus finding of malice (settled)

DEFENSE VERDICT in product liability/wrongful death trial
       Chen v. BusWest, April 2015
       Plaintiff’s attorney asked for $57 million in closing

Character Counts in the Courtroom with Randy Kinnard

Mon, 08 May 2023 04:00:00 -0400

From his Purple Heart in Vietnam to his landmark $55 Million verdict against Marriott Hotels in the Erin Andrews trial, Nashville-based trial lawyer, Randy Kinnard leads with character. Join Ben for his fascinating discussion with Attorney Kinnard tracing his journey from West Point to becoming one of the nation’s most successful civil trial lawyers.

About Randy Kinnard

Considered One Of The Best Lawyers In Nashville, TN
As a seasoned Nashville personal injury and medical malpractice attorney, Randall L. Kinnard is a highly respected legal professional. He has been recognized by countless organizations and publications for his exceptional skill both in and out of the courtroom. Mr. Kinnard is a leading lawyer in Tennessee and has been ranked as one of the best in all of Nashville. He has recovered millions of dollars for injury victims over the years, always fighting for the maximum value of his clients’ cases.

Valuing His Clients First & Foremost
Mr. Kinnard emphasizes two things in his practice: competence and respect. He has started many initiatives that shed light on the importance of respect in life and legal practice. Mr. Kinnard truly respects his clients, treating them as a counselor and acting as a friend to them through the entire legal process.

A Strong Track Record Of Success
He stands out from other lawyers by more than just his results and commitment to respect—Mr. Kinnard is certified as a Civil Trial Specialist by the National Board of Legal Specialty Certification and Board-Certified as a Medical Malpractice Specialist by the American Board of Professional Liability Attorneys.

In his 40+ years of practice, he has recovered many record-setting verdicts for injury victims, including a $22 million jury verdict that was the largest in the state for a single person. This is what sets him apart as one of the premier plaintiff’s medical malpractice attorneys in all of Nashville. He was also able to secure a $55 million verdict for sportscaster Erin Andrews in her lawsuit against a hotel and a stalker.

Award-Winning & Nationally Recognized
Randall L. Kinnard is widely recognized by leading legal organizations as one of the region’s most talented and successful trial lawyers. He has been named to The Best Lawyers in America since 1993, Mid-South Super Lawyers every year since 2007, and received the Tennessee Trial Lawyers Association’s “Outstanding Trial Lawyer of the Year” award in 2016, among many other distinctions.

Mr. Kinnard is also one of a select group of lawyers to become a member of the Inner Circle of Advocates, an invite-only group of the nation’s top 100 plaintiffs’ trial attorneys.

The Kentucky Court Trial Review praised Mr. Kinnard's work in the legal community in a post on social media:

"Randall Kinnard, a Nashville lawyer, had quite a year. He had three really significant verdicts. This guy is good. I summarize.

January - Plaintiff told she didn't have breast cancer. She did. Led to 11 week treatment delay. $1.75 million in Murfreesboro

March - He represented Erin Andrews in her case against Marriott regarding the peephole incident. $55,000,000. Nashville.

October - Vanderbilt lost a biopsy sample. Plaintiff doesn't (and can't know) if she has cancer. $2,000,000 in Nashville. It was all emotional distress.

If I needed a lawyer in a personal injury case in Tennessee, Kinnard (pictured) would be on my short list. He's like Tyler Thompson. Only from a little further down south."

Prior to pursuing law school, Mr. Kinnard attended West Point. He served in Vietnam with the 173rd Airborne Brigade, which equipped him for success in his legal practice. He was awarded the Vietnamese Cross of Gallantry, Purple Heart, Bronze Star for Valor, and Air Medal for his two tours in Vietnam.

Community Involvement
In addition to his dedicated support of his clients, Randall Kinnard is also driven to give back to his community. Mr. Kinnard serves as a volunteer for Alive Hospice, residing on the Quality Council for the organization. In addition, he is a board member of Centerstone, a non-profit organization that helps more than 40,000 individuals with mental illnesses.

Mr. Kinnard is on the Board of Directors of Friends of Warner Parks and supports The Legal Aid Society of Middle Tennessee and the Cumberlands. While serving as Chair of Fundraising for Legal Aid, he helped raise $700,000, setting a record for the organization! Mr. Kinnard has also been a board member of his church and a dedicated Sunday school teacher. He is honored to support dozens of local and national charitable organizations.

Currently, Mr. Kinnard is in the process of founding The Children’s Justice Center, which is a non-profit organization designed to provide free legal help, advice, and court representation for children who have been abused and neglected.

Mr. Kinnard enjoys spending his free time in the outdoors. He loves running, fishing, golf, and hiking. He also enjoys reading a good book, especially on the topic of history.
Exposing Insurance Bad Faith with Matthew Sharp

Mon, 24 Apr 2023 04:00:00 -0400

Reno, Nevada trial attorney Matt Sharp specializes in holding insurance companies accountable for failing meet their obligations to their insureds. Recently, Matt obtained a record-setting $200 million verdict against the largest health insurer in the country. Prior to that, Matt obtained a $100 million verdict in another bad faith case. Join Ben and Rahul for their discussion with Matt about the ins and outs of first party and third-party insurance bad faith claims—and how these cases can result in large verdicts where there is evidence that an insurance company failed to meet its obligations. Any trial lawyer who may encounter a bad faith claim in practice cannot afford to miss this episode!

About Matthew Sharp

RENO PERSONAL INJURY LAWYER
NEVADA INSURANCE LITIGATION ATTORNEY

Over the past 15 years, Reno trial lawyer Matthew L. Sharp has represented individuals and businesses injured by the unlawful conduct of others, including negligence, malpractice, and insurance bad faith. Mr. Sharp focuses on representing clients in connection with insurance disputes, including bad faith claims, delay or underpayment of claims, or the failure to defend. In addition, he has considerable experience handling health insurance disputes, as well as disputes regarding auto insurance, disability insurance, and life insurance.

Additionally, as an experienced personal injury attorney, Matthew Sharp helps clients get money damages for auto accidents, trucking accidents, motorcycle accidents, elder abuse, and defective products.

Contact Reno accident and injury attorney Matthew L. Sharp at (775) 383-8751 to schedule a free consultation to learn more about your rights and options.

Representing Clients in Connection with Insurance Disputes
Matthew Sharp’s experience and know-how when it comes to insurance disputes is second to none. In fact, he has represented clients in cutting edge insurance litigation regarding managed care and other health insurance issues. For instance, he obtained a favorable settlement on behalf of clients injured at a subpar medical facility from a large Nevada HMO who had negligently referred patients to the facility – one of the first cases of its kind in the country.

He represents clients in insurance disputes involving all types of insurance policies, including:
- Health insurance
- Disability insurance
- Automobile insurance
- Life insurance
- Homeowners insurance
- Commercial insurance
The Road to a $100 Million Verdict with Andrew Garza

Mon, 10 Apr 2023 04:00:00 -0400

Join Rahul and Ben for their discussion with Andrew Garza, founder of the Connecticut Trial Firm. Andrew talks about how he started his plaintiff’s practice while working as a bartender at night to make ends meet. He worked hard to become a better trial lawyer and to develop cutting edge approaches to developing cases and preparing them for trial. Andrew describes how he applied these strategies recently to obtain a $100 million verdict in a negligence and product liability case tried in Connecticut State Court—the largest personal injury verdict in the State’s history.

About Andrew Garza

Biography

Personal injury clients face many challenges. After an injury, they may struggle to pay bills, find a replacement vehicle, or even obtain medical care. Time and again, insurance companies take advantage of the injured in order to increase their corporate profits. Andrew understands what it means to overcome adversity. He grew up in public housing in Groton and worked his way through college and law school by waiting tables and tending bar. He has devoted his practice to helping those who are most vulnerable to obtain justice. Andrew uses his skills to level the playing field for his clients. When he is not practicing law, Andrew is probably hosting a great party for his family and friends or building furniture in his workshop.

Education

Andrew received a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Connecticut. He graduated cum laude from New England School of Law, where he was a New England Scholar and served on the executive board of The New England Law Review.

$38 Million Negligent Security Verdict and More with Ben Cloward

Mon, 27 Mar 2023 04:00:00 -0400

Join Rahul and Ben for their discussion with Las Vegas trial lawyer, Ben Cloward (https://www.thefiercefirm.com/). Attorney Cloward shares how his Mormon faith and commitment to service created the foundation for his career as a plaintiff trial lawyer. Ben describes in detail how he used aggressive discovery and big data to develop and try a negligent security case on behalf of the family of a man murdered at a local housing development. Ben talks about how he was able to identify the most compelling facts, come up with the ideal sequencing of the evidence, and rebut factual and legal defense to achieve this extraordinary result.

About Ben Cloward
In 2016, at the age of 37, Benjamin P. Cloward became the youngest lawyer in the history of the State of Nevada to be awarded the prestigious “Trial Lawyer of the Year” by the Nevada Justice Association. That same year, he became the youngest member of the Nevada, Las Vegas Chapter of ABOTA (American Board of Trial Advocates), and at the time was also the youngest person in the State of Nevada to be Board Certified as a Personal Injury Specialist. He has received many additional recognitions, including being AV-Rated by Martindale-Hubbell and receiving a perfect 10.0 by Avvo.com. He has been featured in several magazines in Nevada for his accomplishments and hard work.

Just recently, in February 2020, Ben obtained a $38 million jury verdict, which is believed to be the largest ever negligent security for wrongful death in the State of Nevada. Other verdicts Ben has obtained include a $15 million jury verdict in 2016 on behalf of a family whose disabled son, Harvey, was allowed to choke to death on a paratransit bus. That verdict was upheld in a unanimous decision after four years of contentious appellate litigation with the final judgment ballooning to over $20.5 million dollars. The defense in that case never formally offered a single penny. After obtaining the verdict, Ben continued working on the safety issue that led to Harvey’s death, and with the help of many other people, got “Harvey’s Law” passed in Nevada in 2017, which required certain training for all paratransit bus drivers to ensure others were protected. In 2016, Ben also obtained a $12.9 million jury verdict for a family whose life had been altered by a drunk driver who injured the mother and killed the daughter. He also obtained a $10 million settlement for a client who was significantly injured from a fall which resulted in a moderate brain injury. Ben has obtained multiple soft-tissue, low visible property damage jury verdicts including a $2.98 million jury verdict in 2018, a $1,075,000 verdict in 2014, and several 6 figure verdicts. In addition to obtaining significant jury verdicts, Ben has also been involved in settling over thirty cases for values ranging from $1 million to $10 million as noted above.

Ben successfully argued the Khoury v. Seastrand, 133 Nev. Adv. Op. 52 (July 28, 2016) case which was a huge victory for all injured Nevadans because it rejected the Howell doctrine, which allows negligent people who caused harm to get a discount when they hit responsible citizens who carried personal health insurance.

Ben is a graduate of the famed Gerry Spence Trial Lawyer’s College and believes as does Gerry that “It all begins with you . . .” Ben served on the board for a nonprofit company called the Loa Fund, which focuses on providing financial assistance to those who struggle with addiction to receive help through wilderness therapy and other addiction recovery programs. Ben believes that you can never truly understand another human until you have walked a mile in their shoes and that everyone should be given the benefit of the doubt and a chance to prove themselves. Ben was raised in Salem, Utah. As a young boy, Ben earned his Eagle Scout Award and after graduation from high school, he served a two-year mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints in Louisiana.

Ben attended the University of Utah and graduated in 2005 with a bachelor’s degree in finance. He began law school at the University of Tulsa, College of Law. After his first year, Ben transferred to the University of Utah, S.J. Quinney College of Law, where he graduated in 2008. While in law school, Ben received the Outstanding Achievement Award for Teaching Law in the High School, the CALI Excellence for the Future Award for Property, and was on the Dean’s List. He also served as the President of the J. Reuben Clark Law Society and as a Judicial Intern for the then-State Court Presiding Judge, Gregory K. Frizzell, who is now a Judge for the United States District Court for the Northern District of Oklahoma. He also participated as a Note and Comment Editor for the Journal of Land, Resources, and Environment Law, where his Comment, Why has State v. Hutchinson Been Ignored? An Analysis of Why Utah Cities Lack Authority to Exact Water, 28 J. LAND RESOURCES & ENVTL. L. 433, was selected for publication.

Ben’s interests outside of work include spending time with his wife and two beautiful daughters. He also enjoys mule deer archery hunting, bass-fishing, camping, and watching the Boston Red Sox. He is active in his church and currently serves as a Stake High Councilor. He believes our highest calling in life is to help others come unto Christ.

Trial Alert: Gideon Asen Trial Loss, Followed by $4.5 Million Verdict with Taylor Asen

Mon, 13 Mar 2023 04:00:00 -0400

Episode Summary:
Join Rahul for his conversation with Ben and Ben’s law partner, Taylor Asen, in which they break down recent back-to-back jury trials: one which resulted in a defense verdict and the other a $4.5 Million verdict for the plaintiff.

About Taylor Asen:
“Taylor went above and beyond during the entire case. I felt valued, respected and as if I was the #1 and only client he had.” – Adam D. (Winslow, Maine)
Taylor specializes in medical malpractice cases, trucking accident cases, and other complex personal injury cases. Except for his partner Ben, Taylor is the only Maine lawyer listed in Lawdragon’s list of top 500 plaintiff’s attorneys.
Taylor possesses a unique combination of intellect, competitive drive, and human empathy that makes him a powerful advocate for his clients. Taylor has dedicated his career to championing the interests of individuals who have suffered harm or injury from corporate misconduct, individual negligence, and bad medical care. Taylor’s efforts on behalf of injured Mainers have resulted in several of the largest case settlements in Maine history.
“Nobody is more committed to his clients than Taylor,” said Ben Gideon. “His mind is always working. It’s not unusual for me to receive a call after midnight from Taylor, wanting to brainstorm about a thorny problem or about case strategy. Taylor is also a gifted legal writer, enabling our clients to gain the upper hand in motions and briefs submitted to the courts. When it comes to the full range of personal qualities and skills needed to achieve extraordinary client results, there are few lawyers I’ve met who can match Taylor.”
A native of Maine, Taylor is a graduate of Yale Law School. At Yale, Taylor worked in the Veterans Legal Services Clinic, representing veterans who were improperly denied disability benefits. After graduating from law school, Taylor clerked for federal judges in New York City and Newark, New Jersey. Taylor began his career at a plaintiff class action firm in New York, before returning to Maine to represent individual plaintiffs in medical malpractice, truck accident and other complex personal injury cases.
“The wealthy and the powerful don’t just expect their attorneys to be good. They expect them to be the best,” Taylor says. “We aren’t interested in being ‘good’ lawyers. We expect ourselves to provide our clients representation every bit as good as America’s biggest corporations receive.”
Taylor’s wife, Becca, is the Director of Recruiting and Professional Development at Bernstein Shur. Taylor and Becca live in Falmouth, Maine with their three children, Davida, Vivienne, and Leon.
Fearless Pursuit of Frontier Justice with Zander Blewett

Mon, 27 Feb 2023 05:00:00 -0400

Episode Summary

Anyone familiar with the popular television series, Yellowstone, will recognize the peculiar challenges of trying plaintiffs’ cases in Montana. Yet, Montana trial lawyer, Zander Blewett, has been doing it successfully his entire career. Join Ben (www.gideonasen.com) for his in-depth discussion with Zander, describing the unique circumstances that brought him to the practice of plaintiff law, his many landmark cases and verdicts, and his approach to success as a trial lawyer, family man and leader in the community.

About Zander Blewett

Founding Partner
The University of Montana Law School has been renamed the "Alexander Blewett III School of Law at the University of Montana." Alexander (Zander) Blewett III has earned an AV® Preeminent Peer Review Rating by Martindale-Hubbell™, the highest recognition possible in the legal industry, for his professionalism and ethics.

Practice Areas
Admitted
- Montana, 1971
- U.S. District Court, District of Montana
- U.S. Court of Appeals, 6th and 9th Circuits
- U.S. Supreme Court
Education
- University of Montana, J.D., 1971
- Montana State University, B.S., 1967
Associations and memberships
- The Inner Circle of Advocates (Only Montana Member in National Organization limited to top 100 trial lawyers in the United States)
- State Bar of Montana; Montana Trial Lawyers Association
- The Association of Trial Lawyers of America (Member, President’s Club)
- American College of Trial Lawyers
- American Board of Trial Advocates (Advocate)
- International Society of Barristers
Notable Cases
- $27 million settlement in a brain injury case (Vangsnes vs. North American Mission Board of the Southern Baptist Convention, Inc. et. al.)
- $21.3 million verdict in a Great Falls malicious prosecution case (Seltzer v. Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher)
- $7 million verdict in a Billings railroad crossing accident (Dorn v. BNSF)
- $5 million verdict against the US government after a fire destroyed a ranch (Hughes v. USA)
- $3.9 million verdict in a Missoula brain injury claim (Ginn v. Smurfit Stone Container)
- $3.2 million verdict in a Great Falls auto accident (Bumgarner v. Farmers Union Mutual Insurance)
Biographical details
- Montana Trial Lawyers Association, Montana Trial Lawyer of the Year, 1993 – 1994 and 2006 – 2007
- Only Montana lawyer named in Lawdragon Hall of Fame (national publication).
- Only Montana lawyer named in Lawdragon 500 Leading Lawyers in America, 2018 & 2019
- Only Montana lawyer named in Lawdragon 500 Leading Plaintiff Consumer Lawyers, 2019 – 2021
- Only Montana personal injury lawyer named to the Top 100 Mountain States Super Lawyers® for 2012
- Listed in Top 100 Mountain States Super Lawyers® in 2007 – 2012, 2014 – 2016, 2019 – 2021
- Selected, Best Lawyers in America since 2005.
- Delegate, 9th Circuit Judicial Conference, 1990 – 1993
- Montana State Coordinator, National Board of Trial Advocacy
- Fellow, International Academy of Trial Lawyers (Montana State Chair)
- Certified, Civil Trial Advocacy Specialist, National Board of Trial Advocacy, 1983
Mastering the Ability to Try High Impact Cases with Jim Leventhal

Mon, 13 Feb 2023 05:00:00 -0400

Episode Summary

Few lawyers have succeeded in building and trying more complex, high impact cases than Colorado-based trial lawyer, Jim Leventhal. Join Ben (www.gideonasen.com) for his in-depth discussion with Jim, beginning from Jim’s early days working in the public defender's office while moonlighting in his father’s clothing store, to his journey building one of the most successful plaintiff’s firms in the county. Learn how Jim’s journey included investigating and trying many significant and ground-breaking cases which have changed the legal and medical landscape and made the world a safer place for all patients.

About Jim Leventhal

JIM LEVENTHAL is devoted to helping and improving the quality of life of the clients he serves by putting the interests of the client first. This emphasis on achieving the best possible result for his clients is reflected in Jim’s recognition as one of the Best Lawyers in Colorado and the United States. As the founder of Leventhal Puga Braley P.C. Jim has worked diligently for over 41 years in cases involving medical negligence and serious personal injury, fighting relentlessly to ensure that people receive justice.

Jim Leventhal’s Cross-Examination of an Adverse Party: Complete Transcript
https://www.patrickmalonelaw.com/useful-information/legal-resources/attorneys/legal-resources-attorneys-injured-clients/cross-examination-transcripts/leventhal-jim-adverse-examination-of-a-defendant-doctor-in-a-medical-malpractice-case/

Winning Trials in Conservative Venues with Tom Keefe

Mon, 30 Jan 2023 05:00:00 -0400

Join Ben (www.gideonasen.com) for his conversation with the insightful, brilliant, and always irreverent trial lawyer, Tom Keefe. Ben and Tom discuss Tom’s journey from childhood, where he grew up the son of a successful worker’s compensation lawyer, to his current status as one of the most successful plaintiff’s trial lawyers in Illinois. Tom talks about strategies he uses to connect with jurors in the deeply red, conservative venues of Illinois where he tries many of his cases.

About Tom Keefe
Tom Keefe, Jr. has been handling high stakes complex lawsuits on behalf of plaintiffs for nearly 40 years. He has compiled a remarkable record including more than 200 verdicts, judgments and settlements in excess of $1,000,000, and more than 20 of those in excess of $10,000,000. His clients have been compensated more than three-quarters of a billion dollars in cases ranging from medical negligence to products liability to vehicle and truck accidents to construction injuries to claims against railroads. He is relentless.

Tom is consistently named as one of America’s top lawyers and has been a Super Lawyer since 2007 through the present. For nearly a decade, his peers have voted him the best Downstate Lawyer, and among the Top 10 of all lawyers, in the State of Illinois. He has received Martindale Hubbell’s highest rating for more than 30 years. Most notably, he is a member of the Inner Circle of Advocates, an invitation-only group of 100 of the best plaintiff lawyers in the United States.

He has given hundreds of lectures and presentations and written extensively. He has been the recipient of numerous honors including the Madison County Record Person of the Year, the Richard Hudlin Memorial Award, and the Leonard Ring Award. He and his late wife Rita have long been active philanthropists and tireless supporters of social justice.

Winning Verdicts and Championing Causes with Brent Walker

Mon, 16 Jan 2023 05:00:00 -0400

Join Ben (https://gideonasen.com/our-team/benjamin-gideon/) and Rahul (https://www.psbr.law/ravipudi.html) for their conversation with renowned Dallas, Texas trial lawyer, Brent Walker, one half of the firm Aldous & Walker. Brent talks about growing up with a trial lawyer mother and his journey to partner with legendary Texas trial lawyer Charla Aldous. Brent discusses how the two of them have built a firm focused on individual clients and taking on important causes, like Texas’ challenge to school mask mandates and sexual assault at a Jesuit school. Brent describes how he and Charla have teamed up at trial to achieve an incredible string of verdicts in a diverse set of cases. This is a great episode that you won’t want to miss.

About Brent Walker

Sharp. Protective. Trial Attorney.

Some attorneys focus on different areas of law, building a practice around specific kinds of cases and concentrating on them. But I don’t work like that. Instead, I try all kinds of cases. My job as a Dallas trial attorney is to go into court and stand up for my clients, whether the client is a person with a personal injury case or a corporation locked in a legal battle with another business. Whatever your case, I can plead your cause in court.

The experience of representing individuals and businesses as both plaintiffs and defendants gives me a unique perspective and helps me better serve clients of the firm. At the same time, my extensive appellate experience allows me to work on cases before and during trial with an eye toward possible issues in the event of an appeal.

Courtroom Experience

Before coming to work with Charla and the team at Aldous \ Walker—then Aldous \ Walker—I worked at one of Dallas’ leading healthcare law firms, as well as one of the nation’s leading personal injury firms. Over the years, I’ve gained significant experience in personal injury cases involving catastrophic injuries and wrongful death, as well as commercial litigation claims involving breach of contract and misappropriation of trade secrets.

But the most important thing to remember is not that I’ve tried this kind of case or that, but that I have, in fact, taken them to trial. I’ve stood up in court, argued cases to judges and juries, and persuaded them to my clients’ point of view. In an age where some young attorneys never even see the inside of a courtroom, that makes me rather unique.

Navigating the World of 30(b)(6) Depositions with Mark Kosieradski

Mon, 05 Dec 2022 05:00:00 -0400

Minnesota trial lawyer, Mark Kosieradski is not only a highly accomplished trial lawyer, but he has written multiple books and is recognized across the country as a leading expert on the use of 30(b)(6) depositions. Mark joins Ben and Rahul to talk about his roots, practice and expertise using 30(b)(6) depositions to help build and win the case.

About Mark Kosieradzki
Mark R. Kosieradzki is a board-certified civil trial advocate by the National Board of Trial Advocacy and the Minnesota State Bar Association. He is recognized in Best Lawyers in America in addition to recently receiving his twenty-first Super Lawyer award. Mr. Kosieradzki is a past president of the Minnesota Association for Justice (MNAJ, formerly known as the Minnesota Trial Lawyers Association) and the Minnesota Chapter of the American Board of Trial Advocates (ABOTA). He was on the Board of Governors for the American Association for Justice and is a member of the Million Dollar Advocates Forum.

Mr. Kosieradzki is an expert on 30(b)(6) depositions and teaches his techniques at seminars across the country. He is nationally renowned for his knowledge of 30(b)(6) deposition practice and authored 30(b)(6): Deposing Corporations, Organizations & the Government.

From Mark: I am the son of Polish immigrants. My mother fought in the Polish Underground in Warsaw during World War II. She was captured by the Nazis and imprisoned in a Nazi camp. My father was captured by the Russians and sent to a Gulag north of the Arctic Circle. They survived the war and ultimately immigrated to the United States. My parents taught me to stand up for what is right and to be scrappy. They also taught me that every day is an opportunity for a new adventure. These lessons have guided me to success professionally and personally. In addition to the passion I have for my work, I am an avid cyclist. At age 50 I took up playing the blues harmonica and on my 60th birthday I took up surfing in Costa Rica. This past year I took salsa lessons in Havana. As my parents taught me, and I share with my own children: look for and pursue the opportunities to do something meaningful and keep life exciting.

Changing Lives One Client at a Time with Tanya Ortega

Mon, 21 Nov 2022 05:00:00 -0400

Recorded at TLU Vegas, Rahul (https://www.psbr.law/ravipudi.html) and Ben (https://gideonasen.com/our-team/benjamin-gideon/) talk to California trial lawyer Tanya Ortega about her approach to maximizing the value of cases for her brain-injured clients. Tanya has developed unique specialization in brain injuries, which begins with a deep understanding of the science and how to use objective medical evidence and the right experts to prove a TBI case. Tanya talks about her philosophy, which centers around investing substantial time and resources for individual clients, not just to help them win their cases, but also to help them on the road to healing from their brain injuries. For anyone who plans to handle a TBI case, this is an episode you won’t want to miss.

About Tanya Ortega
Tanya started her career in Chicago after earning a prestigious judicial clerkship and subsequently worked for a large Chicago insurance defense firm representing Fortune 100 and 500 companies against personal injury claims. For years, she won cases for insurance companies and learned every strategy used to defeat the claims of injured individuals. At Harris Personal Injury Lawyers, Tanya now uses her insight of the judiciary and insurance companies to gain a significant advantage for her clients.

Tanya’s recent litigation accomplishments include the following jury verdicts and settlements: a jury verdict in McCall v. Coast Line Distributing, Inc., et al. for $2.1 million; a confidential settlement of $2.8 million; a settlement of $1.5 million in Singh v. Parris; a settlement in Jane Doe v. Tom Malloy Corporation, et al. for 1.2 million; a settlement in Osumi v Central Coast Fence, Inc., et al. for $1 million; a settlement in Adams v. Main Street Produce, Inc., et al. for $1 million; a settlement in Macari v. Salvucci and RBZ Vineyards, LLC dba Sextant Wines for $1 million and a settlement over the insurance policy limit in Wolff v. Cliff Resort LLC and Raul Quintana-Castillo. The Wolff case settled for $600,000, including $500,000 from Progressive Insurance that was 10 times the underlying policy limit of $50,000. Tanya was recognized by Top Verdict for having obtained one of the top 100 jury verdicts in California. She has been named a Super Lawyers Rising Star for consecutive years, an achievement limited to the top 2.5% of attorneys in California, and The Top Women Attorneys in Southern California.

Tanya is also a member of the American Association for Justice Traumatic Brain Injury Litigation Group where she has been invited to speak at conferences across the country on various subjects, including an Overview of Traumatic Brain Injuries, Bias in Neuropsychological Testing as well as Sexism and Racism in Neuropsychological Testing.

Tanya is a lifelong runner and formerly competed on the University of Houston cross country and track teams as a middle-distance runner. When not at the office, Tanya is at the beach with her husband and kids.

Sponsor Bonus Episode with Hype Legal

Mon, 14 Nov 2022 05:00:00 -0400

Join us for a discussion with folks from Hype Legal as part of our special sponsorship bonus track.

Winning A Texas-Sized $352 Million Verdict and More with Randy Sorrels

Mon, 07 Nov 2022 05:00:00 -0400

In this episode, Ben (https://gideonasen.com/our-team/benjamin-gideon/) speaks with Texas trial lawyer Randy Sorrels about his recent $352 Million verdict returned for the family of a single, injured plaintiff—the largest compensatory damages verdict for a single injured individual ever recorded. Randy tells the story of this landmark trial against well-known Texas lawyer, Rusty Harden. Randy also discusses two other multi-million-dollar pandemic verdicts, including one involving former major league baseball great, Roger Clemens. Randy talks about what it’s like trying cases together with his wife and starting a new law firm during the pandemic. He also talks about his work as President of the Texas Bar Association. Randy is a gifted and inspiring lawyer, and you don’t want to miss this episode.

About Randy Sorrels

Randy Sorrels holds the unique distinction of being the only Texas board certified plaintiffs’ lawyer ever to have been both 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 – including most recently being named the ALM Media/Texas Lawyer Attorney of the Year Award (2022). 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 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 a 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 TEX-ABOTA’s Trial Lawyer of the Year, as well as the Best Lawyers® Personal Injury – Plaintiffs “Lawyer of the Year” in Houston. Previously, he 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).

Trial Alert: Ben's Recent $5.5 Million Verdict with Meryl Poulin

Mon, 24 Oct 2022 04:00:00 -0400

Ben and attorney Meryl Poulin of Gideon Asen talk with Rahul about a verdict obtained on September 30, 2022, in which a jury in Androscoggin County, Maine, returned a verdict of $5.5 million on a claim brought by the daughter of a decedent against a funeral services business for mishandling of her father’s remains after death. This is the largest jury verdict in Maine this year, and for the past several years.

At trial, the evidence showed that the funeral service was picking up decedents for cremation, but not processing the bodies for cremation, but rather allowing them to decompose in the basement of the funeral home. Plaintiff alleged negligent and intentional infliction of emotional distress claims. The damages claim was limited to Plaintiff’s emotional distress in learning about the mishandling of her father’s remains. There were no physical injuries, medical expenses, or lost earnings claimed.

The pretrial offer was $7,500.

Here are some of the issues discussed on the podcast:
1. How to overcome defense attempt to benefit from a stipulation to liability.
2. How to turn Defendant’s “acceptance of responsibility” argument against them at trial.
3. How to maximize recovery of emotional distress damages when there is minimal (or no) physical injury.
4. How to dismantle the “death by 1000 cuts” defense.
5. How to use voir dire to find jurors willing to assign real value to emotional distress damages.
6. How to captivate the jury with a powerful opening.
7. How to frame a powerful closing and rebutting close, even in a conceded liability case.

About Meryl Poulin
Meryl is a Maine native and attended Colby College and the University of Maine School of Law.

Meryl is an extraordinary athlete. At Colby, Meryl played varsity hockey, field hockey, and softball and was captain of the hockey and field hockey teams. Meryl was able to achieve incredible athletic success despite being sidelined for many months with two major knee injuries and reconstructive surgeries. Her experience dealing with chronic knee injuries gave her insight into the difficulties of living with pain and the effect of debilitating injuries on every part of a person’s physical and emotional well-being.

At Maine Law school, Meryl distinguished herself as an appellate advocate, winning the honor of “Prize Arguer” in her class and the Gignoux Award for Appellate Advocacy. Meryl was a part of two moot court teams that competed on a national level. In her third year, she and her moot court partner finished in the top three of a competition of more than forty.

After law school, Meryl worked at a large law firm in Portland defending medical malpractice and personal injury cases. This work gave her a keen understanding of how insurance companies operate. “There is no shortcut to getting your client fairly compensated by an insurance company,” says Meryl. “You have to put your head down and do the work. Insurance companies respond only to intelligent, persistent, and dogged advocacy.”

More recently, Meryl worked at Pine Tree Legal Assistance, Maine’s largest legal aid organization. At Pine Tree, Meryl represented low-income Mainers in housing and eviction cases and survivors of domestic violence and sexual assault in protection order and family law cases. At Pine Tree Legal, Meryl tried nearly twenty cases to verdict and prevailed in all but one case.

“I met Meryl when she was representing hospitals,” said Taylor Asen. “She was fearless, and I could see right away that she was going to be one of the best trial lawyers of her generation.”
Sponsor Bonus Episode with LawPods

Mon, 17 Oct 2022 04:00:00 -0400

A discussion with Robert Ingalls, founder and CEO of LawPods, a podcast production company for lawyers and law firms. This episode is part of our special sponsorship bonus track.
- LawPods Website | LinkedIn | Facebook | Instagram | Twitter
It's About Vision with John Romano

Mon, 10 Oct 2022 04:00:00 -0400

Join Ben and Rahul for their discussion with legendary Florida trial lawyer, John Romano. John recounts his experience learning from masters of trial practice during the golden age of trial practice in Florida and about the need for trial lawyers of each age and generation to continuously reinvent themselves, innovate, and develop a new vision for the times. John shares strategies of presenting non-economic losses in a compelling way that resonates with the jury.

About John Romano
A partner at Romano Law Group, John F. Romano is a civil trial advocate board-certified by the Florida Bar and the National Board of Trial Advocacy, as well as the American Board of Professional Liability Attorneys. John is also a member of the Taos Group, an association of prominent trial attorneys from around the country who work together to better serve the needs of their clients.

John regularly handles and litigates cases in the following areas: auto and truck accident litigation and trials, fall-down and premises liability cases, product liability, business litigation, pharmaceutical drug cases, pharmaceutical medical device cases, insurance litigation and criminal defense.

John has successfully litigated to a verdict nearly every type of civil and criminal case, including those involving failure to diagnose cancer, product defects, drug and vaccine defect litigation, libel and slander, vehicular collisions, personal injury, murder, armed robbery and wrongful denial of health insurance benefits. He lectures across America on trial advocacy and tort and criminal law, has authored three textbooks, and has published more than 100 articles in national publications or papers for national presentation.

John is a graduate of Cardinal Newman High School in West Palm Beach. He accepted a football scholarship from Florida State University and went on to attend law school at South Texas College of Law in Houston, receiving his Juris Doctor degree in 1973. He was admitted to practice law in the state of Florida in 1974. John also proudly served as a Captain and J.A.G. Officer with the United States Marine Corps (primarily with the Second Marine Division out of Camp LeJeune, North Carolina).

John returned to Florida to work with the personal injury and general trial attorneys at the law firm of Cone, Wagner, Nugent, Johnson & McKeown, and later formed the Palm Beach County law firm of Romano, Eriksen & Cronin. In 2007, the firm became Romano Law Group. With nearly 40 years in law practice, he has held numerous positions in national law organizations and has been recognized for his contributions to the field of law in Florida, including receiving the Jon E. Krupnick award in 2015. He was inducted into the Trial Lawyer Hall of Fame in 2015.

John has authored thousands of legal opinions and articles, including The Right to Trial by Jury.

Think of Her as Your One-Woman Special Operations Force for Trial with Ibiere Seck

Mon, 26 Sep 2022 04:00:00 -0400

Join Ben (https://gideonasen.com/our-team/benjamin-gideon/) and Rahul (https://www.psbr.law/ravipudi.html) for their discussion with trial lawyer Ibiere Seck. Ibiere is a one-of-a-kind trial talent who often gets tapped to enter cases in the final days before trial as lead trial counsel or co-counsel. In this episode, Ibiere describes her journey from her early days working at the Johnnie Cochrane to her current position as one of California’s leading plaintiff lawyers. Ibiere talks about her approach to trials and how such has managed to find her authentic voice as a lawyer. You don’t want to miss this episode.

About Ibiere Seck
Ibiere is the founder and principal trial attorney at, Seck Law P.C. where her practice focuses primarily on complex catastrophic injury, wrongful death, traumatic brain injury and sexual assault cases. Ibiere is the Secretary of the Consumer Attorneys Association of Los Angeles, the largest plaintiff trial lawyers association in the nation, and will lead the association as its President in 2024. She is also the Past President of The National Black Lawyers: Top 40 Under 40.

Ibiere received her Juris Doctorate from Loyola Law School, Los Angeles. While in law school, she earned several distinctions, including being selected as a member of the nationally recognized Byrne Trial Advocacy Team and worked as a prosecutorial extern with the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office and as a civil rights intern with Inner City Law Center where she advocated for the homeless and working poor. Ibiere received her Bachelor of Arts in Philosophy and Journalism Magna Cum Laude from Northeastern University in Boston, Massachusetts.

Brain injury, civil rights and sexual assault of minors. Ibiere exclusively represents plaintiffs in civil litigation/trial and prides herself in being a zealous advocate on an endless pursuit for justice on behalf of people who have been wronged, harmed or injured.

Prior to starting her firm, Ibiere was a partner and trial lawyer at the firm founded by the late civil rights attorney, Johnnie L. Cochran, Jr.

Ibiere has been recognized by her peers as a zealous advocate for her clients. She has been selected Southern California Super Lawyers list, an honor reserved for those lawyers who exhibit excellence in practice. Only 5% of attorneys in Southern California receive this distinction and was voted National Bar Association’s “Nation’s Best Advocates 40 Under 40” in 2015. A year later, she was the recipient of Consumer Attorneys Association of California’s Street Fighter of the Year award for her work on behalf of survivors of childhood sexual abuse.

Ibiere is a member of the California State Bar and is admitted to practice in the U.S. District Court, Central District of California as well as state courts; She is a member of the Los Angeles County Bar Association where she serves on the litigation section executive committee; Black Women Lawyers Association of Los Angeles, National Trial Lawyers, American Association for Justice; John M. Langston Bar Association, Consumer Attorneys of California, Beverly Hills Bar Association.

With a passion for service, Ibiere has long committed herself to causes. Her community service work proudly includes Los Angeles Trial Lawyers’ Charities (a non-profit organization founded by plaintiff trial lawyer with the purpose of making a positive difference in the quality of life for people within the greater Los Angeles area, focusing on issues related to education, children, survivors of abuse, persons with disabilities, and homelessness, by providing financial assistance to needy persons and groups in the greater Los Angeles area) and Allies for Every Child (an organization dedicated to bringing together and strengthening families in historically underserved communities in Los Angeles with the purpose of cultivating conditions for children to succeed in life).

When not advocating for her clients Ibiere enjoys traveling, volunteering and spending time with her family. She serves on the board of Los Angeles Trial Lawyer’s Charities, Allies for Every Child. She is also a supporter of the Western Center on Law & Poverty and the Mesereau Free Legal Clinic in south Los Angeles, both of which she served as an advisory board member.

Bonus: Building a Trial Lawyer Community with Dan Ambrose

Mon, 19 Sep 2022 04:00:00 -0400

In this episode, Ben (https://gideonasen.com/our-team/benjamin-gideon/) and Rahul (https://www.psbr.law/ravipudi.html) catch up again with Trial Lawyer University founder Dan Ambrose to debrief from the Los Angeles trial college and discuss his plan for the second annual TLU Vegas conference in October.

About Dan Ambrose:

Daniel Ambrose started out in Detroit, Michigan as a criminal defense lawyer. Dan has attended programs such as the National Criminal Defense College, Western Trial Advocacy Institute and Gerry Spence’s Trial Lawyer’s College, tried over 150 jury trials, and has studied trial advocacy for 20 years.
Dan is known for his exceptional skills advocating for his clients. Through 20 years of practice, he has found a unique method to help trial lawyers efficiently master their skills. THE METHOD, was developed by meeting weekly with five trial lawyers over an eighteen month period. They presented, video recorded, and discussed their strengths and weaknesses.
Dan currently lives in Los Angeles, California and now focuses on civil trial work, consulting, trial coaching and teaching.

The Art and Science of Persuasion with Justin Kahn

Mon, 12 Sep 2022 04:00:00 -0400

Charleston, South Carolina attorney, Justin Kahn, is not only a successful trial lawyer and professor of trial practice, but also an accomplished magician and student of the neuro and cognitive science of jury persuasion. In this episode, Ben (https://gideonasen.com/our-team/benjamin-gideon/) and Rahul (https://www.psbr.law/ravipudi.html) interview Justin live at the PSBR Trial College, where Justin taught a breakout group on trial presentation skills. Enjoy the Bob Marley music in the background as Justin discusses strategies to improve your ability to communicate and persuade.

About Justin Kahn

REPRESENTATION FROM AN AV® RATED ATTORNEY

Justin S. Kahn is a civil litigator. His practice focuses on catastrophic personal injury matters and various kinds of complex litigation. Since 1992, Justin has worked hard fighting for those who cannot help themselves. He has successfully resolved cases and claims for several million dollars as well as represented people in small claims court matters. He is an advocate for those who cannot help themselves. He gives personal attention to every client. He gets to know the client to better understand the impact of the negligence on their life. Communication is key to effective representation. Mr. Kahn will keep you up to date and provide answers to the questions you have.

Accolades
Board Certified Medical Malpractice, American Board of Professional Liability Attorneys
Board Certified Civil Trial Advocate, National Board of Legal Specialty Certification
Board Certified Civil Practice Advocacy, National Board of Legal Specialty Certification
AV® Rated by Martindale-Hubbell®
Super Lawyers: Top Rated Medical Malpractice Attorney in Charleston, SC
Certified Court Mediator, South Carolina Supreme Court

Experience
Mr. Kahn is an adjunct professor at the Charleston School of Law where he teaches civil pre-trial practice and for over 20 years, Mr. Kahn has written the South Carolina Rules of Civil Procedure Annotated as well as the South Carolina Rules of Evidence Annotated published by the South Carolina Bar CLE Division. These are the books lawyers and judges use every day in the courts of South Carolina.

Justin S. Kahn's published text and annotations for the Rules of Civil Procedure and the Rules of Evidence provide practical information regarding case law and statutes. They are available for purchase at the links below:
South Carolina Rules Annotated 2020
South Carolina Evidence Handbook Annotated, 15th Edition

He is admitted to the United States Supreme Court, the Second, Third and Fourth Circuit Courts of Appeals, the District of Columbia, the United States Federal Court of Claims, the United States District Court of South Carolina and the South Carolina Supreme Court.

Mr. Kahn has been involved with cases around the country, including in New York, New Jersey, Ohio, Tennessee and Alaska. He is also a circuit delegate of the South Carolina Bar and serves on several committees. Additionally, he writes and speaks nationally on various topics including procedure, evidence, persuasion, and litigation.

Justin also enjoys performing close-up magic and blogging about technology. He is married and has three children

Game Changing Voir Dire with Dirk Vandever

Mon, 29 Aug 2022 04:00:00 -0400

Kansas City trial lawyer Dirk Vandever has developed a mastery of voir dire and trial that few lawyers can match. In this episode, Ben (https://gideonasen.com/our-team/benjamin-gideon/) and Rahul (https://www.psbr.law/ravipudi.html) chat with Dirk at the PSBR Trial College, where he taught a breakout group on voir dire strategy. Join Ben and Rahul for their conversation with Dirk and learn the voir dire and trial techniques Dirk uses to regularly obtain significant seven-figure verdicts on behalf of his clients.

About Dirk Vandever
Dirk Vandever served as the youngest president of the Kansas City Metropolitan Bar Association before going on to become president of the Kansas City Bar Foundation and the American Board of Trial Advocacy (KS/MO). He regularly lectures on trial practice at national, state and local levels. He graduated with honors from the University of Missouri – Columbia (BS) and UMKC (JD). His proudest achievements have been his own two children and being able to help his clients who need it.

How to Captivate the Jury from the Opening with Daniel Kramer

Mon, 15 Aug 2022 04:00:00 -0400

Daniel Kramer discusses how to craft a successful opening to captivate the jury by painting a scene the jury can relate to and help them understand your case from the onset. He delivers insight on how to set the stage and use it throughout trial to engage the jury and help them not only understand but track the evidence of the case. Also included in this episode is a rundown of how to up your trial game by utilizing focus groups, why you should do them as often as possible, and giving yourself exposure to testing methods before you get in the courtroom.

About Daniel Kramer
Daniel Kramer is a trial lawyer who specializes in representing families and individuals involved in catastrophic personal injury and wrongful death matters, as well as employment discrimination and retaliation lawsuits. Daniel has obtained numerous jury verdicts as lead counsel, all victories on behalf of his clients. Multiple verdicts have been featured in both The Daily Journal, Verdict Search, The Huffington Post, and Fox 11 News. Five verdicts were ranked as the top 50 verdicts in the state of California for 2016, 2017, 2018, and 2019 by TopVerdict.com. Early in his career, Daniel tried one of the first cases in Los Angeles County history to embrace a controversial new law regarding the recoverability of health insurance payments in personal injury actions. In his first year with the firm, Daniel obtained a $3 million settlement on behalf of the family of a WWII veteran who was tragically killed when a truck owned by a large grocery store chain ran a red light and crushed their husband and father to death. In 2015, Daniel obtained a $1,237,500 settlement on the eve of trial on behalf of CalTrans worker who was severely injured in a freeway collision. In 2016, Daniel obtained a $1,420,000 settlement just before trial against a shopping center for failing to protect its customers when a vehicle jumped a curb severely injuring a mother and her two daughters. Also in 2016, Daniel obtained a $1,000,000 policy limits settlement on behalf of a family who lost their 87-year-old father and grandfather who fell down a poorly lit stairwell. In late 2016, Daniel obtained a $2,160,000 jury verdict against the City of Los Angeles in a slip and fall case. That verdict was selected as one of California’s Top 100 verdicts in 2016. In 2017, he obtained a $1,830,000 wrongful termination verdict and judgement on behalf of a minimum wage worker who was terminated because of his disability, where the jury awarded punitive damages. In 2018, Daniel received a $2,847,500 verdict against two large construction companies after his client fell in an open trench resulting in 3 broken ribs and permanent nerve damage. Just before COVID, Daniel obtained an $850,000 verdict in a very difficult slip and fall trial where the client suffered a fractured knee cap. In July 2021, and in one of the first cases tried during COVID in the Central Courthouse in Los Angeles, Daniel obtained a $12,622,238.75 verdict on behalf of an electrician who was injured by a defective roof hatch.

In 2015, Daniel graduated from the renowned Gerry Spence Trial Lawyers College; that same year he graduated from CAALA’s Plaintiff Trial Academy. In 2016, he graduated from the Trojan Horse Method.

From 2013-2020, Daniel has been consistently honored as a “Top Attorney” in personal injury and employment law by Pasadena Magazine, which reached out to thousands of lawyers from all over the Los Angeles and Pasadena vote for the “most esteemed and highly regarded attorneys” in their chosen fields. Dan was distinguished for his “exceptional service” in his specialties.

From 2018-2020 he has been selected as a Super Lawyers “Rising Star” which recognizes no more than the top 2.5% of attorneys in each state.

In 2017 and 2018 he was a finalist for CAALA’s prestigious “Rising Star” award, given to the top plaintiff attorney in Los Angeles under the age of 40.

From 2012-2017 he was an adjunct professor at Southwestern Law School where he taught Law Firm and Civil Litigation practice at the Graduate Legal Academic Program.

Before founding KTL, Daniel was the founding partner of Kramer Holcomb Sheik LLP.

Daniel co-founded the Beverly Hills Bar Association’s Personal Injury Section which he currently chairs and in 2016 he was elected as the youngest member of the Southwestern Law School Board of Directors where he will serve as president in 2023.

Daniel currently serves on the Board of Directors of the Los Angeles Trial Lawyers’ Charities where he served as president in 2021.

In 2017, Daniel was elected as one of the youngest members to the American Board of Trial Advocates (ABOTA) and in 2019 he was elected by the entire membership to the LA-ABOTA Executive Committee.

He currently serves on the Board of Governors of the Consumer Attorneys of California (CAOC).

When not in the courtroom Daniel is a die-hard Colorado Buffaloes, Atlanta Braves and Falcons fan, while permanently trying to convince his wife, toddler son, and baby daughter that they need to jump on the bandwagon.

Discovering a Passion for Trial with Greyson Goody

Mon, 08 Aug 2022 04:00:00 -0400

Greyson Goody followed his passion for surfing to California, but found a new passion for trying jury trials. Join Ben (https://gideonasen.com/our-team/benjamin-gideon/) and Rahul (https://www.psbr.law/ravipudi.html) for their discussion with Greyson about how he developed a courtroom style that has enabled him to win most of his trials, even those that had serious challenges. As a bonus, Greyson shares his insight into work-life balance as a new father and the secrets of the vegan, trial-lawyer diet! You won’t want to miss this episode.

About Greyson Goody
Greyson Goody is a Partner and senior trial attorney at the Simon Law Group.

Greyson is originally from Jackson, Wyoming. One of Greyson’s earliest memories is watching his father, a federal public defender, argue and try cases. Greyson always knew he wanted to follow in his father’s footsteps and become a lawyer. After graduating from Montana State University, he eventually found his way to California to attend Thomas Jefferson School of Law in San Diego. Here he met fellow Simon Law Group attorneys Brandon Simon, Sevy Fisher, Evan Garcia, and Travis Davis.

Since becoming an attorney, Greyson has obtained over $40 million in jury verdicts. Notably, he was the lead trial attorney in Pebley v. Santa Clara Organics, which finally gave clarity to the issue of determining reasonable value for lien-based treatment when the plaintiff is insured. Greyson is a proud member of the Consumer Attorneys Association of Los Angeles (CAALA), Consumer Attorneys of California (CAOC), Orange County Trial Lawyers Association (OCTLA), Consumer Attorneys of San Diego (CASD), and the South Bay Bar Association (SBBA). He is a current Board Member of CAOC.

Outside of work, you can likely find Greyson catching some waves, crafting up new vegan recipes, and spending quality time with his wife, Taly, of Goody Law Group.

Sponsor Bonus Episode with Steno

Mon, 25 Jul 2022 04:00:00 -0400

Advanced Cross Examination and More with Roger Dodd

Mon, 18 Jul 2022 04:00:00 -0400

Episode Summary
Roger Dodd has spent most of his life trying cases in venues around the United States. From capital murder trials to complex personal injury cases, Roger has done it all. Roger has also devoted much of his career to speaking and teaching trial skills. His multi-day seminar in cross examination has become so popular that when a date is announced the seats fill immediately. Roger will be presenting on advanced cross examination at the upcoming PSBR Trial College and has seminars scheduled for Hawaii and Boston later in the year. Join Ben and Rahul for their discussion with Roger that ranges from his approach to cross examination to other experiences and lessons he’s learned during his four decades as a trial lawyer.

About Roger Dodd
Formerly a Board Certified Civil Trial Specialist for thirty (30) years and formerly a Board Certified Criminal Trial Specialist for 20 years, trial attorney Roger Dodd has represented clients in legal matters since 1976. Mr. Dodd has been a lecturer, expert witness, and teacher in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, Russia, St. Thomas, Puerto Rico, Canada, Mexico, and various Caribbean locations (comprehensive map with all locations of Mr. Dodd's lectures).

Mr. Dodd is a frequent guest and commentator on television programs, including Court TV, Good Morning America, Geraldo at Large, and is co-author of Cross-Examination: Science and Techniques. He is one of a select group of attorneys to receive the distinguished Super Lawyer rating in multiple states. In addition to teaching throughout the U.S. and other countries, Mr. Dodd provides specialized individual training (www.doddlawclinic.com) and trial lawyer coaching (www.rogerdoddtriallawyercoaching.com).

Mr. Dodd is also a partner in the Jacksonville, Florida plaintiff law firm Spohrer & Dodd P.A. (www.sdlitigation.com) and the firm of Dodd & Kuendig, Park City, Utah (www.doddkuendig.com).

The Wisdom that Comes with A Life Spent Trying Cases with Keith Mitnik

Tue, 05 Jul 2022 19:00:00 -0400

Perhaps no lawyer in America conducts more civil jury trials than Keith Mitnik, the Senior Trial Attorney at America’s largest personal injury law firm, Morgan and Morgan. Keith tries more jury trials in a month than most trial lawyers try in a year. Keith’s focus on trying cases and his high volume of trial work allows him to test and improve his courtroom strategy and technique regularly. Join us for Keith’s discussion with Rahul and Ben where he shares brand new insights, proven approaches, and memorable moments. This is a show you will not want to miss.

About Keith Mitnik
Keith R. Mitnik was born in Eustis, Florida in 1959. He graduated from Eustis High School in 1977, and from UCF Magna Cum Laude in 1981 with a degree in Allied Legal Services. He graduated from FSU Law School with honors in 1984. Upon graduation he was selected to train under one of the premier Trial Attorneys in Central Florida. Within two years he was named a partner by his mentor. He remained in the firm of Robertson, Williams, Mitnik and McDonald until 1992, when he formed The Law Firm of Peed and Mitnik. In 1997 he joined the Law Firm of Morgan & Morgan and is now one of the owners.
Mr. Mitnik is Senior Trial Lawyer for Morgan & Morgan, and is designated to assist other members of the firm on their trials. As a result, he tries a large number of cases every year.
He has handled many high-profile cases and has been interviewed by Mike Wallace on 60 Minutes. Over the years, his list of clients has included judges, elected officials, law firms, and world-famous musicians. He has handled such high-profile cases as the suit against Britney Spears by her former manager; the suit by the Backstreet Boys against their former manager; the suit by Harlem Globetrotters legends, including Curly Neal and Meadowlark Lemon, against The Harlem Globetrotters; the civil suit against Casey Anthony; and the “Tailwind” case against CNN and Time Magazine (one of the leading defamation cases of the last decade). He has been honored as a member of the Florida Legal Elite, Florida’s “Super Lawyers,” Best Lawyers in America (2013 Lawyers of the Year), and Martindale’s Bar Registry of Preeminent Lawyers.
Mr. Mitnik has obtained a long list of verdicts in excess of a million dollars. In the last few years, he has jury verdicts of $1 Million, $1.35 Million, $2.4 Million, $2.7 Million, $5.1 Million, $18.1 Million, $27 million, $40 Million, and a $90 Million (which was the 7th largest verdict in America for 2010).
He is a frequent seminar presenter for plaintiffs’ lawyers in Florida and across the country, sharing his cutting edge lawsuit strategies.
Education
From high school to law school, Mr. Mitnik received his education in Florida, the state in which he bases his law practice to this day. Mr. Mitnik graduated from UCF Magna Cum Laude in 1981 with a degree in Allied Legal Services. He graduated from FSU Law School with honors in 1984. Upon graduation he was chosen by his mentor to train under one of the premier trial attorneys in Central Florida.

Using Technology to Automate Discovery with Pratik Shah

Mon, 20 Jun 2022 18:00:00 -0400

SHOW SUMMARY:
Have you ever sought a more efficient way to complete discovery? Well, attorney Pratik Shah did and then created a technological solution to streamline and improve the discovery process. Join Rahul (https://www.psbr.law/ravipudi.html) and Ben (https://gideonasen.com/our-team/benjamin-gideon/) for their discussion with Pratik about his game-changing discovery technology and his observations on efficiency and productivity in the practice of trial law.
ABOUT PRATIK:
Pratik Shah
Associate Director of Litigation

Pratik H. Shah is the Associate Director of Litigation at Panish | Shea | Boyle |Ravipudi LLP, working alongside the firm’s Director of Litigation on trial strategies, as well as with referral lawyers to ensure a smooth transition of cases brought to the firm by outside counsel.
A Southern California native, Mr. Shah began his legal career as a Deputy District Attorney with the County of Sacramento where he worked on the trial team. He led numerous trials to verdict in Sacramento County before returning to Southern California to open a solo practice with a focus on criminal defense and personal injury.
Prior to joining Panish | Shea | Boyle | Ravipudi LLP, Mr. Shah served as Co-Founder and Partner at Shah D’Egidio APC Injury Lawyers, a civil litigation law firm in San Diego focused on personal injury, bad faith insurance, and civil rights. He also Co-Founded the legal technology platform, EsquireTek, and continues to serve as the Chief Executive Officer of the software company.
In 2021, Mr. Shah was named one of the Top 15 Attorneys Disrupting the Legal Industry and he has been consistently recognized by Super Lawyers® as a Southern California Rising Star since 2016. He is a member of Consumer Attorneys of California, Consumer Attorneys Association of Los Angeles, and the American Association of Justice. Mr. Shah is a past President of the South Asian Bar Association of San Diego, an active member of both the Consumer Attorneys of San Diego and the San Diego County Bar Association, and a committee member for the Brain Injury Association of California.
A member of the State Bar of California, Mr. Shah received his law degree from Thomas Jefferson School of Law and is admitted to practice before all courts of the State of California as well as the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California.

ARTICLE:
EsquireTek.com
https://www.esquiretek.com/category/press/
USA Today: The Top 15 Attorneys Disrupting the Legal Industry to Make it Better
Pratik H. Shah founded a successful law firm in Southern California and made a pronounced career out of going up against the billion-dollar bullies known as insurance companies. Noticing a definite need in the law-firm workday, Shah launched EsquireTek, groundbreaking software that automates the discovery process in minutes and gives lawyers back what they need most — time.

Trial Alert - Breaking Down Rahul's Recent $8 Million Verdict

Mon, 06 Jun 2022 04:00:00 -0400

Ben and Rahul break down the case and events leading up to Rahul's recent $8 million verdict.

Sponsor Bonus Episode with Expert Institute

Mon, 30 May 2022 04:00:00 -0400

Join us for a discussion with folks from the Expert Institute as part of our special sponsorship bonus track. Learn about cutting edge services EI has developed to help trial lawyers track information about their own and opposing experts.

Deconstructing and Building A Winning Case with Phillip Miller

Mon, 23 May 2022 04:00:00 -0400

In this episode, Ben speaks with trial lawyer and trial consultant Phillip Miller about how he helps trial lawyers deconstruct and then build a winning case for trial. Phillip starts by identifying landmines that will cause you to lose the case. Each landmine must be made irrelevant, immaterial, or otherwise overcome so that it does not sink the case. Phillip then talks about questions that every juror needs answered: why is the case important? How will the verdict affect meaningful change apart from money? Who is the villain (wrongdoer) in the case? What is the “real evidence”—i.e., the evidence that is not manufactured by one side of the other? Has this happened before? Phillip talks about his strategy for voir dire, which involves using a series of clear PowerPoint slides to frame critical issues that identify good and bad jurors or prime jurors on important issues in the case.

About Phillip Miller
Tennessee Serious Injury Attorney

"Making the world a little better and a little more fair for everyone."

Phillip Miller is a nationally recognized attorney who specializes in representing people and families who have experienced serious, catastrophic injuries and death. He is certified as both a civil trial specialist and a pre-trial specialist by the National Board of Trial Advocacy. Mr. Miller has been recognized as one of the “Best of the Bar” by the Nashville Business Journal, as a "Super Lawyer," is "AV" rated, and his firm has been designated as one of the pre-eminent law firms in the United States.

Mr. Miller is the past president of the Tennessee Association for Justice. Mr. Miller is a frequently sought lecturer on legal issues and has spoken at the National Judicial College, Harvard Law School, the University of North Carolina, Sanford Law School, The William Mitchell School of Law, the Nashville School of Law, the University of South Texas, and Duke Law School.

As part of his practice, Mr. Miller is frequently hired by other firms to help them prepare their biggest, most significant cases. Firms in Michigan, Alabama, Illinois, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Texas, Oregon, Kansas, California, New York, New Jersey, Colorado, Kentucky, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, and Missouri have used Mr. Miller to help them recover tens of millions of dollars for their injured clients.

Phillip's passions include education, the environment, dogs, and what he would describe as "making the world a little better and a little more fair for everyone."

In addition to being a founding sponsor of School Aid, International, and sponsoring a Head Start class for more than 18 years, Phillip has also volunteered for Junior Achievement, bringing a businessman's perspective to middle school students.

He is a lifetime member of the Sierra Club and belongs to the Tennessee Environmental Council, Tennessee Greenways, Nashville Greenways, and the World Wildlife Organization. Phillip sponsors "Rover," a free neutering/spaying program though the ASPCA, and visits them whenever they are nearby providing services to needy pet owners in the area.

Back to Back Record Breaking Verdicts with Joe and Pat Cullan

Tue, 10 May 2022 20:20:59 -0400

Trial law has been in the blood of Omaha-based trial lawyers, Pat and Joe Cullan, since they were growing up. They learned life lessons about how to be a trial lawyer from their father, legendary trial lawyer, Dan Cullan. Like their father, Pat and Joe are also doctors, who use their combined expertise in law and medicine to level the playing field on behalf of their clients. Now, Pat and Joe are legends in their own right, recently winning record-breaking verdicts in no-offer medical malpractice cases in some of the toughest venues in America. In this episode, Rahul and Ben explore how lessons learned early in life created a foundation for their success and how their unique brotherly chemistry and approach to trying complex medical cases has yielded such extraordinary results.

About Joe Cullan
Dr. Joseph (Joe) Cullan is both a trial lawyer and a medical doctor. He has nearly two decades of legal experience fighting for the injured and has taken part in medical internships in the U.S., Argentina, and Ireland. His considerable legal and medical experience give Dr. Cullan a definite edge in representing those who have suffered catastrophic injuries due to negligence and wrongdoing.

Licensed to practice in Arizona, Nebraska, and California, Dr. Cullan has obtained record setting verdicts and recovered tens of millions of dollars on behalf of his clients. He has played a key role in nationally-recognized cases across the U.S. and has earned various awards and accolades as a result. Dr. Joe Cullan and his brother, Dr. Pat Cullan, have both been selected to the Inner Circle of Advocates. This is one of the most prestigious organizations and membership is limited to the top 100 lawyers in the United States. The members must have a proven and extraordinary record of results on behalf of their clients. In addition, to this prestigious award, Dr. Joe Cullan has been named to Nebraska’s Top 100 Trial Lawyers by The National Trial Lawyers and the Million and Multi-Million Dollar Advocates. Dr. Cullan’s medical and legal training, along with his unwavering dedication to righting wrongs, has helped him represent a range of clients across his key areas of practice, including medical malpractice, birth injuries, catastrophic injuries, and more. He believes in using his hands-on and academic experience to help his clients face better and brighter futures.

About Pat Cullan
A medical doctor and a seasoned trial lawyer, Dr. Patrick (Pat) Cullan has an impressive track record of representing those who have suffered catastrophic injuries due to another’s negligence or wrongdoing. In his first trial together with his father, Dr. Dan Cullan, he successfully fought for a $6.7 million verdict on behalf of a child who sustained terrible injuries in a swimming pool. Dr. Patrick Cullan and his brother Dr. Joe Cullan have been trying cases together for over ten years. They have repeatedly obtained ten figure record setting verdicts on behalf of their clients. Together they have single handedly recovered tens of millions of dollars for their clients, including record-breaking birth injury, truck accident, and wrongful death verdicts.

Dr. Pat Cullan is dedicated to applying his advanced educations in medicine and law, to complex injury cases in order to obtain better results for his clients. He recognizes the value of quality legal representation after a serious accident, injury, or instance of negligence. He uses every ounce of his training and experience to deliver real results for his clients, and this has earned him recognition as one of the country’ leading injury lawyers.

Dr. Pat Cullan along with his brother, Dr. Joe Cullan, are two of the youngest lawyers who have been admitted into the Inner Circle of Advocates. This honor is only bestowed on 100 lawyers nationwide. Membership is limited to those lawyers who have an extraordinary record of verdicts and settlements in difficult cases. Dr. Cullan’s other achievements include being named as Nebraska’s Top 100 Trial Lawyers list by the National Trial Lawyers, Super Lawyer, and National Trial Lawyer’s Top 40 under 40.

Dr. Pat Cullan and Dr. Joe Cullan are asked to speak across the country and in Europe on catastrophic injury cases.

Hard work, professionalism, and honesty provide the cornerstones of Dr. Pat Cullan’s legal practice. He is driven to secure the best possible result for every client he represents.

What You Need to Know about Zoom Trials with Judge Matthew Williams

Mon, 25 Apr 2022 04:00:00 -0400

Perhaps no jurisdiction has conducted more Zoom jury trials since the start of the pandemic than King County (Seattle), Washington. In this episode, Ben and Rahul speak with King County Superior Court Judge, Matthew Williams, about lessons he has learned managing Zoom trials, including his experience conducting jury selection. trial, witness examination, cross examination, use of exhibits, and his observations concerning the key differences between Zoom and in-person trials.
About Judge Williams
Matthew W. Williams is a Superior Court Judge for the State of Washington. Almost all of his time off the bench is devoted to Rule of Law and AntiCorruption Initiatives in pre/post conflict nations and emerging democracies around the world. He has such led initiatives in Central Asia, South America, Africa, the Middle East, and within the former Soviet Republics. He also has been invited to provide training and consultations for justice systems within those regions in culturally specific advocacy, case-management, transparency/ “open courts”, and judicial process and demeanor. Since 1985 he has served as an operational consultant and trainer in complex information gathering and analysis environments. Judge Williams teaches at the Washington State Judicial College and serves as member of Washington State Superior Court Judges Association (SCJA) Ethics and Education Committees. He serves as a trainer and presenter for the SCJA and the Washington State District and Municipal Judges Association (DMCJA) as well as the National Judicial College (NJC), and the National Center for State Courts (NCSC). Judge Williams serves on the Advisory Board of the Institute for the Global Understanding of the Rule of Law (IGUL), and as an Advisor to the Civil Jury Project at NYU School of Law. He is a member of the National Center for State Courts (NCSC) Post-Pandemic Planning Workgroup, and has provided consultation and training to judges throughout the United States on every aspect of remote/virtual operations. He was selected as 2021 Trial Judge of The Year by the Washington Chapter of the American Board of Trial Advocates (ABOTA). Judge Williams has taught Trial Advocacy at Seattle University School of Law (University of Puget Sound) since 1991. In 2020 he developed and conducted the first fully virtual Trial Advocacy program at Seattle University, which included both traditional in-person advocacy skills as well as the emerging skill sets associated with remote advocacy. Judge Williams has served many terms as faculty team leader for the renowned Kessler-Eidson Trial Techniques Program at Emory School of Law in Atlanta, Georgia. Additionally, from 2000-2016 he served as a Director of the National Institute of Trial Advocacy (NITA) Trial, Deposition, and Public Service Programs. In 2016 NITA awarded Judge Williams the Prentice Marshall Award for the Development of Innovative Teaching Methods. Judge Williams began his legal career(s) with the Attorneys General of Nebraska, Iowa, and Washington State. He handled death penalty and criminal appeals matters as well as complex commercial and tax litigation. He left State service and supervised Federal drug, weapons, and aviation enforcement. He then served as the Supervising Attorney for the City of Seattle’s Major Civil Litigation unit. He left public service in 1994 and became the Managing Attorney of a mid-sized law office until 2003. From 2003 to 2010, Judge Williams served as a general manager for a national insurance carrier where he managed multiple business units across the nation while implementing best practices and data driven decision making. Along the way, he served as a Special Disciplinary (Ethics) Counsel for the Washington State Bar Association, as a member of the Enforcement of Lawyer Conduct (ELT) Task Force, and as a Trustee of the Washington Defense Trial Lawyers (WDTL). In 2010 he was elected to the King County District Court. He was elected to the King County Superior Court in 2016. Judge Williams earned a Bachelor of Science in Economics from the University of Nebraska (1980), and a Juris Doctorate from the University of Nebraska School of Law (1983). He has logged thousands of hours as pilot-in-command. He holds the rank of Black Belt in Tae Kwon Do and has served as a martial arts and personal defense instructor.

Family, Faith and the Fight for Justice with Craig and Toni Schlapprizzi

Mon, 11 Apr 2022 04:00:00 -0400

St. Louis, Missouri trial lawyers Craig and Toni Schlapprizzi learned what it means to be a trial lawyer from their successful trial lawyer father, Don Schlapprizzi. Now, both Craig and Toni are prominent trial lawyers in their own right who have won many large verdicts, and recently, achieved a record-setting $37 million settlement in a product liability case. Join Rahul (https://www.psbr.law/ravipudi.html) and Ben (https://gideonasen.com/attorney-benjamin-gideon/) for a discussion with Craig and Toni about how their family and faith shaped their career as trial lawyers and the keys to their incredible success.
About Craig Schlapprizzi
CRAIG SCHLAPPRIZZI
Craig@SchlapprizziPC.com
Vice President & Personal Injury Lawyer

Growing up, Craig Schlapprizzi always knew he wanted to be a lawyer; it was ingrained in him from an early age, but it wasn’t until he was in law school at Washington University that it clicked that he truly wanted to be a trial lawyer, and a good one at that.

“Anybody who does this, represents plaintiffs in personal injury cases, knows it becomes a huge part of your identity and your life.”
His favorite aspect of his job is the courtroom experience. He’s most passionate about representing everyday people in a courtroom in front of a jury because he believes it’s a privilege, an honor, an incredible experience, and, of course, a competition. He played football during his time at Dartmouth and was motivated by the competition and dedication involved. He experiences that same competition through his trial work.
“There is a deep sense of satisfaction in standing up for someone who has been unjustly pushed around.”
He likes going into something representing a person; he has always felt like he was on the right side, representing and fighting for somebody who was wronged. He’s able to bring closure, and get people who wouldn’t otherwise have the means, to live out the rest of their lives with dignity–that is what motivated him to be a personal injury trial lawyer.
When Craig’s not in court, he’s pursuing his other passion: cooking. He gets inspiration for his concoctions from Mario Batali, Michael Mina, and Emeril. When he’s not creating his latest pasta recipe, he enjoys trying new restaurants, exercising, travel, and spending time with family and friends.
Craig is also a big history fan, his favorite historical figures being Abraham Lincoln and Winston Churchill. He’s read many books on Lincoln, but he most frequently references the "The Quotable Winston Churchill" for a quick laugh or bit of motivation.
He is a member of the Missouri Association of Trial Attorneys and is on the Board of Governors, as well as a member of the ABA, and the American Association for Justice.
About Toni Schlapprizzi
TONI SCHLAPPRIZZI
Toni@SchlapprizziPC.com
Vice President & Personal Injury Lawyer
Antoinette (Toni) Schlapprizzi is a trial lawyer at Schlapprizzi Attorneys at Law, licensed in Missouri and Illinois. She believes that every human being has a unique dignity that must be honored and respected, and through her work as a trial attorney, she aggressively defends and protects this unique dignity each and every day. Battling for truth on behalf of those who have survived serious injury and the loss of a loved one is at the core of who Toni is.
She received her undergraduate degree at Tulane University, where she played Division I soccer as a central defender. After riding the bench her freshman year, she earned a starting spot, and remained a starter on her team’s defensive line until her career ended. She went on to graduate from Washington University School of Law. Since then, she’s been defending the survivors of serious injury and wrongful deaths in both state and federal courts in Missouri and Illinois alongside her brother, Craig, and her father, Don.
Certainly what drew Toni to the law was her father, Don Schlapprizzi. His conviction, moral code, and talent seep from every pore of his being to serve injured people and their families decade after decade. As a little girl, her father would tell her the stories of his clients and the courtroom, and she would pray for those people every night before bed. Toni considers her father to be one of the greatest mentors, teachers, and men she has ever known.
“I have a heart and drive to serve our clients; I learn from them every day; they are gifts in my life; I work as hard and smart as I possibly can for them.”
Toni fervently believes in the jury process.
“A singular person is secured an equal playing field against powerful industry – whether insurance, government or business. Juries ensure that the each of us will have a fighting chance against the powers that be.”
Toni continues the legacy of Schlapprizzi Attorneys at Law with her father, Don, and brother, Craig. She feels blessed to be a plaintiffs’ trial lawyer, and has great esteem for the legal profession and the courageous jurors, past, present, and future, in our community.

Winning the Hard Trials with Felix Luna

Mon, 28 Mar 2022 04:00:00 -0400

Seattle-based trial lawyer, Felix (Gavi) Luna is not afraid to try hard cases. Join Ben ((Ben Gideon | Gideon Asen LLC) ) and Rahul ((Rahul Ravipudi (psblaw.com) for this episode as Gavi explains the strategies and techniques he has used to get extraordinary results in some of the toughest cases, including a case involving highway design and a malpractice case involving failure to prevent a stroke.
Felix Gavi Luna
luna@pwrfl-law.com
Felix moved to Seattle from Boston, Massachusetts, as a teenager and grew up in Seattle’s Beacon Hill neighborhood. After graduating from Rainier Beach High School, he went on to graduate from the University of Washington. He then attended the UW School of Law, graduating in 1997 with highest honors, Order of the Coif, Order of the Barristers.
Felix spent his first ten years of practice at Heller Ehrman LLP, where he was promoted to shareholder. There, Felix’s practice focused on complex commercial and civil rights litigation. While with Heller Ehrman, Felix examined and cross-examined scores of fact and expert witnesses at trial, and spent more than a year of his tenure with the firm actively engaged in trial or arbitration.
Felix joined Peterson Wampold Rosato Feldman Luna in March 2007, where he continues his career as a trial lawyer. Since joining PWRFL, Felix has been a member of several trial teams in counties across the state. He also serves as an adjunct professor/lecturer for the UW School of Law trial advocacy program and as a coach for the school’s national mock trial team. Felix also serves on numerous legal and civil boards, and regularly conducts Continuing Legal Education seminars for other attorneys on many subjects related to trial advocacy. In addition to being named a “Top 100 Super Lawyer” by Washington Law & Politics and earning a “Superb” rating on Avvo, Felix was recognized as the 2005 Outstanding Young Lawyer of the year by the King County Bar Association and named a 2005 40 under 40 honoree by the Puget Sound Business Journal for his contribution to the Puget Sound civic and business community. In 2011, he was honored by the UW School of Law with the recent graduate award and by the Washington Defense Trial Lawyers Association as its 2011 Plaintiff Attorney of the Year. In 2012 Felix joined the Damage Attorney’s Round Table (DART) and in 2015 Felix joined the American Board of Trial Advocates (ABOTA). In 2018, he was inducted into the American College of Trial Lawyers (ACTL). You can watch Felix give his speech on behalf of all of the 2018 inductees here. In 2019, he received the Tom Chambers Trial Lawyer of the Year Award and in 2020 Felix was inducted into The Inner Circle of Advocates.
Felix’s practice currently focuses on personal injury cases, civil rights litigation, and business disputes. When he’s not working, Felix loves to travel, spend time with his family and to exercise and play team sports.
Finding Strength in Vulnerability with Ben Gideon

Tue, 15 Mar 2022 13:48:52 -0400

In this inspiring episode, Ben (www.gideonasen.com) talks about how many trial lawyers face personal challenges they must overcome to find happiness and success in their practices. Ben reveals how his own journey to overcome anxiety helped to shape his character and approach as a trial lawyer.
ABOUT BEN GIDEON
BEN’S PHILOSOPHY
When clients come to us, they are looking for financial compensation. They are often struggling just to stay above water, and they need money to provide safety and security to meet basic life needs and to build a new and better life for themselves and their family in the future.
But for many of our clients, their case is also about something more—something larger—than money. It’s about accountability. It’s about wanting to create a society where individuals, corporations, medical providers and insurance companies don’t get away with selfish, neglectful or greedy choices that put people at risk. It’s about obtaining the catharsis and closure the only comes when justice is done to make up for the precious things that another’s harmful conduct took away from them.
In short, I have come to realize that my clients don’t just want a lawyer. They want a Champion—that is, someone who will fight for them individually, but also be willing to fight for the larger cause for which they stand.
Let Us Be Your Champion.
– Ben Gideon, 2021
ABOUT BEN
Early Years
Ben grew up in Portland, Maine, attended public schools and graduated from Deering High School in 1989. Ben’s father, Martin Rogoff, was a prominent member of the Maine Law School faculty, so Ben grew up immersed in discussions of the law. Ben began to develop his legal skills early in life through nightly arguments with his father at the dinner table.
In high school, Ben played varsity soccer and was the captain of the hockey team. Following high school, Ben attended Cornell University in Ithaca, NY. Ben attempted to walk on to the Cornell hockey team, but was eventually cut from the team, ending his hockey career. Depressed and disappointed at this failure, Ben became a poor student, failed several classes, and was told he was being suspended from college on academic probation.
After rehabilitating himself through some community college courses, Ben was able to gain re-admission to Cornell and to complete his degree. Ben applied to law school and was admitted to Boston University School of Law. There, Ben was a standout student. His grades were so exceptional after his first year that he was accepted as a transfer student to Yale Law School where he earned his law degree.
Ben began his career in private practice at a large, multi-national law firm, Latham & Watkins, in New York City. He practiced there for several years before deciding to return to Maine to join Berman & Simmons, PA, Maine’s largest plaintiff’s law firm.
A Leader at Berman & Simmons
During his years at Berman & Simmons, Ben rose from an associate to become an owner and practice leader at the firm. Ben was instrumental in helping the firm re-invent its approach to litigating and trying cases; expanded its areas of practice expertise; and recruited and trained many talented lawyers.
During his 17 years at Berman & Simmons, Ben enjoyed many great successes and some disappointing failures, but overall managed to build the most successful plaintiff’s personal injury and medical malpractice practice in the State of Maine. Ben achieved success in a broad range of different types of plaintiff’s cases—police civil rights, product liability, medical malpractice, nursing home, maritime and industrial accidents.
Early in his career, Ben achieved a landmark civil rights verdict against a police officer for violating his client’s civil rights with a Taser shooting. The verdict was affirmed on appeal to the United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit.
In 2014, after 4 ½ year of litigation, Ben achieved a record-setting $22.5 million jury verdict in Burlington, Vermont, on behalf of a utility lineman who lost both of his legs during a high-voltage powerline switching operation.
Ben followed his Vermont verdict with a verdict of $1.75 million jury verdict in a medical malpractice trial in Bangor, Maine.
More recently, Ben recovered $2.5 million in a medical malpractice case tried to a jury in New Hampshire.
Over the past decade, no other plaintiff’s lawyer in Maine can match Ben’s level of success on behalf of his clients, which include:
- Recovering more than $130 million in verdicts and settlements
- Achieving 31 verdicts or settlements in excess of $ 1 million
- Recovering more than $50 million for the victims of medical malpractice
- Recovering tens of millions of dollars for victims of car and trucking accidents.
- Recovering more than $11 million in actions against major automobile manufacturers, including Toyota, Hyundai, and Fiat Chrysler
- Recovering more than $15 million from power and electrical utility companies
- Recovering millions of dollars for families of the victims of the El Faro maritime disaster
- Recovering more than $5 million from 3 trials and several settlements of medical malpractice and personal injury against the U.S. Government
- Recovering millions of dollars for victims of nursing home negligence and abuse
- Recovering millions of dollars for victims of dangerous and defective products
Peer Recognition
Ben’s accomplishments, professionalism and character have won him the recognition of his peers. Ben has been named in Best Lawyers in America every year since 2013 and was named “Lawyer of the Year” for the State of Maine twice. Ben has been listed in Super Lawyers every year since 2013. He has received the top rating of “AV Preeminent” from Martindale-Hubbell and has a 10.0 out 10 rating on AVVO.
In 2019, Ben became only the second lawyer in Maine to be inducted into the Inner Circle of Advocates, an invitation-only group of the best 100 plaintiff lawyers in the United States.
Here is how the Inner Circle describes its criteria for membership:
Membership Criteria
Membership in The Inner Circle of Advocates is by invitation and based on criteria that include an applicant’s performance and success in the courtroom. The Inner Circle carefully evaluates experience, reputation, judicial references, and peer evaluations to identify the best 100 trial lawyers in the country. Typically, applicants are expected to have at least three verdicts of one million dollars or a recent verdict in excess of ten million dollars to be considered for membership. The Inner Circle looks for cutting edge lawyers in their jurisdiction who are active courtroom lawyers with a willingness to learn and teach about our craft and to be part of a close-knit, sharing group of professional colleagues. Membership in The Inner Circle of Advocates is not just an accolade, it is a commitment to participate in a unique laboratory of professional advancement.
In 2020, Ben was inducted as a Fellow in the American College of Trial Lawyers (ACTL), and invitation-only group limited to the top 1% of lawyers. Here is how ACTL describes the qualifications required for membership:
Membership in the College cannot exceed one percent of the total lawyer population of any state or province.
Founding Gideon Asen LLC
After 17 years at Berman & Simmons, in November 2020, Ben decided to leave one firm he loved and had helped to build, to form a new law firm, Gideon Asen LLC.
“I was very proud of everything we accomplished at Berman & Simmons,” Ben said, “but I was excited by the challenge of building a new firm that could be even better.”
Ben’s first step was to recruit Taylor Asen to join him.
“Taylor and I have a common mission,” Ben said. “Although we’re separated by 12 years, Taylor also attended Yale Law School and completed prestigious Federal clerkships. He’s insanely smart.”
“But perhaps more important, Taylor and I share a common vision of a plaintiff’s law firm where clients have access to exceptional lawyers and service. We are both supremely competitive and don’t tolerate mediocrity. We believe we owe it to our clients to give them the very best, and that is what Gideon Asen will provide.”
Podcast, Writing and Teaching
Ben enjoys thinking about the practice of trial law and strategies for success and is a frequent writer and speaker on trial topics.
Ben co-hosts a podcast called Elawvate! which focuses on the human factors and guiding principles that drive successful lawyers and law firms.
Personal Life and Interests
Ben lives in Freeport, Maine, with his wife, Sara Gideon, and three children, Julian, Aleksandr, and Anna Josephine. Sara is a former two-term Speaker of the Maine House of Representatives and was the 2020 Democratic Nominee for U.S. Senate in Maine. When Ben is not practicing law, he enjoys skiing at Sugarloaf, fishing in Casco Bay, hiking, canoeing, traveling and just spending time with his family.
EDUCATION
- Cornell University, 1993
- Yale Law School, 1999
RECOGNITIONS
- The Inner Circle of Advocates, 100 of the Best Plaintiff Lawyers in the U.S., 2019-present
- American College of Trial Lawyers, Fellow, 2020-present, Top 1% of all lawyers
- America’s Top 100 Attorneys ― Listed in Maine for Personal Injury, Medical Malpractice, and Products Liability, 2017
- The Best Lawyers in America ― 2013–present; “Lawyer of the Year,” 2016–present
- Super Lawyers ― “Super Lawyer,” 2013–present
- Martindale-Hubbell ― Top Rated “AV Preeminent”
- Chambers & Partners USA ― Listed for Litigation: Medical Malpractice & Insurance and Mainly Plaintiff
- Benchmark Litigation ― “Litigation Star”
- AVVO — Rated 10.0 out of 10
MEMBERSHIPS
- Maine Board of Overseers of the Bar, Professional Ethics Commission
- Maine State Bar Association
- American Association for Justice (AAJ)
- American Bar Association
- Governor, Maine Trial Lawyers Association
ADMISSIONS
- Maine (2003)
- U.S. District Court, District of Maine (2010)
- Vermont (2016)
- New Hampshire (2010)
- U.S. District Court, Southern District of New York (2002)
- New York (2000)
Damages Evolving with David Ball Artemis Malekpour Nick and Courtney Rowley

Tue, 01 Mar 2022 20:35:35 -0400

We are kicking off Season 2 of the Elawvate podcast (www.elawvate.fm) with a bang! In our first episode, Ben (Ben Gideon | Gideon Asen LLC) ) and Rahul ((Rahul Ravipudi (psblaw.com) host four of the country’s most respected trial lawyers and trial consultants, to discuss their forthcoming book, Damages Evolving. Those familiar with David Ball’s foundational work, Damages, will learn how his ideas have evolved, shaped through his long-time partnership with Artemis Malekpour and new collaboration with Nick and Courtney Rowley. They discuss how trial strategies have evolved over the past two decades and continue to evolve today.
About David Ball
David Ball (Malekpour Ball Consulting) is the nation's most influential trial consultant. With partner Artemis Malekpour, he guides plaintiff's civil cases and criminal defense cases across the country. They are the nation's only trial consultants qualified to help attorneys with Reptilian methods and strategy, as well as with Ball's David Ball on Damages techniques and a wide range of other essential approaches. They have an unparalleled record in helping attorneys with every size and kind of case.
Dr. Ball is also a pioneer in adapting methods of film and theater for use in trial. His theater/film students hold Oscars, Obies, Tonys, and Emmys. His Theater Tips and Strategies for Jury Trials has been a bestseller for nearly two decades, and his Backwards and Forwards has been a foundation of theater and film training since 1984.
Dr. Ball wrote two of the bestselling trial strategy books ever published: David Ball on Damages and—with Reptile cofounder Don Keenan—Reptile: The 2009 Manual of the Plaintiff's Revolution.
Dr. Ball is an award-winning teacher for the North Carolina Advocates for Justice and the American Association for Justice's National College of Advocacy. He has also taught law students at North Carolina, Wake Forest, Pittsburgh, Minnesota, and Campbell law schools, and at Duke Law as a senior lecturer. He has long been the nation's most in-demand continuing legal education speaker.
About Artemis Malekpour
Artemis Malekpour is a partner in the litigation consulting firm of Malekpour & Ball Consulting. With a background in psychology and psychiatric research, she specializes in focus groups, case strategy, damages and jury selection. Artemis did her undergraduate work at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, followed by a Master’s in Healthcare Administration from UNC’s School of Public Health. After several years of working in the Department of Psychiatry at UNC Hospitals, Artemis went on to earn a degree with honors from Duke Law. Artemis’ path to litigation consulting began while still in law school, working as an intern with David Ball and interviewing jurors post-trial in both civil and death penalty cases. This experience early on focused her on identifying what drives decision-making as well as the importance and skill of framing an arguments in re productive, simple, and persuasive ways. A member of the North Carolina State Bar, Artemis has consulted on a wide variety of cases across the country. Through years of conducting jury research, observing deliberations and moderating discussions, her particular expertise is identifying potential landminesand analyzing each case from the decision makers’ perspectives.
About Courtney Rowley
Courtney Rowley is a trial lawyer, mother of three, and the author of three books: Trial By Woman, Running with The Bulls, and Voir Dire and Opening Statement. After clerking at one of the top law firms in California with a position, she saw the writing on the wall which was and still is: women don’t have the same opportunities that men have and the likelihood of becoming a trial lawyer is so much less than that of a man who, in all reality, is half as good and has less experienced than the woman. So, she didn’t take the big high paying job with great benefits, a great salary and a brand new car, instead, she drove her parents’ junky prius up to Ventura and went out on her own. She started trying cases. Misdemeanors, felonies. And she started winning. After she was the youngest to be accepted to and attend Gerry Spence’s trial lawyer college she started trying civil cases and has won record verdicts throughout the country. She taught with the Spence college as a staff member for years.
She tries cases with her husband, but, if you ask Nick, he’ll tell you that a lot of the time it’s that he’s trying a case with HER. She’s overcome the adversity that women face in this profession through hard work and determination and she wrote a book about it and has formed a community and a listserve you should check out called Trial By Woman to widen the path for women and all lawyers who are looking to redesign the practice of law.
She is a co-founder of Trial By Human and lectures and teaches throughout the country.
About Nick Rowley
Nicholas Rowley has a history of service starting out serving in both the United States Air Force and United States Army. While in both branches he served as a medic committed to aiding and caring for his fellow service members. Nick lived the values of the military medic and the creed to “aid all those who are needful, paying no heed to my own desires and wants; treating friend, foe and stranger alike, placing their needs above my own.”
Accomplishing a bachelor’s degree in Psychology by the age of 19 while serving, he went on to get a law degree. Nick’s military service, time as a volunteer firefighter, and first legal experiences representing victims of medical negligence led to his continued drive to help others. While in law school and still serving in the military, Nick started his family. He is the proud father of 7 sons and 4 daughters.
Nick’s passion for learning evolved into a passion for teaching. Several books he has written and co-written have been authored and Nick had dedicated time teaching all over the country. Grounded in passion, hard work, and selfless service, he has given and continues to give back. His efforts have been recognized nationally and he was recently named the 2018 Trial Lawyer of the Year – one of the youngest attorneys to ever receive the recognition. Nick 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. He also has represented countless health care providers during his career and advocates against meritless lawsuits.
Nick has served on several boards both inside and outside of the legal profession, including the Imagination Workshop, which is a non-profit theater arts organization committed to using the unique power of the theater to provide life-changing artistic opportunities to the mentally ill, homeless veterans, senior citizens, and ‘at-risk’ young people.
Nick is a relentless warrior who has succeeded and proven himself in the battles of litigation time and time again, however, he prides himself on his caring, empathetic approach to serving others in need. His passion includes being a voice for victims inside and outside of the courtroom while working on reforming laws that infringe on America’s fundamental civil rights.
How Big Data Helps Trial Lawyers Get Better Results with John Campbell

Mon, 17 Jan 2022 08:00:00 -0400

Access to Big Data has proven to be indispensable in making key decisions to maximize values of verdicts and settlements. Join Join Ben ((Ben Gideon | Gideon Asen LLC) ) and Rahul ((Rahul Ravipudi (psblaw.com) for our discussion with John Campbell, the leading national expert on Big Data for trial lawyers. Through his company Empirical Jury (www.empiricaljury.com) John has already helped countless trial lawyers get results that many would have thought to be impossible just a few years ago. If you're a trial lawyer, you can't afford to miss this episode!
About John Campbell
Professional Biography
Professor Campbell focuses on bringing the real-world into the classroom. He also focuses his scholarship and service efforts on the enhancing the nexus between practicing attorneys and scholars.
Teaching
John teaches a variety of courses, including lawyering process, torts, evidence, and a live client appellate class. He also teaches internationally, including at Moscow State University.
Scholarship
John creates high-impact scholarship about mortgage issues, measuring written persuasion, and studying jury behavior. He recently won the national writing competition held by the American College of Financial Service Lawyers, an ABA group. And his work on juries and other topics have appeared in a variety of journals, including the Washington University Law Review (a Top 20 journal), Iowa Law Review (a Top 20 journal), the University of Michigan Journal of Law Reform, Brooklyn Law Review, and Catholic Law Review.
Service
In order to bring his trial work and jury study work together to benefit the University, John co-founded and is the co-director of the Denver Empirical Justice Institute (DEJI) - an organization dedicated to promoting two fundamental ideas. They are 1) being a trial and appellate lawyer is a noble calling, and 2) empirical studies can inform and improve trial practice and the rules that impact it.
Impact beyond the University
In addition to his work at the University, John is an active trial and appellate lawyer (Of Counsel, Campbell Law LLC). As a trial and appellate lawyer he is ranked by SuperLawyer and Best Lawyers. He is also rated AV Preeminent on Martindale Hubbell, and has served as lead counsel in cases that resulted in total recoveries of over $300 million.
John also runs a jury consulting group (Empirical Jury), where he helps litigants assess their case, improve it, and then pick better juries. The firm uses online platforms, statistics, and lessons from big data to change the way attorneys prepare for trials.
View CV
Degree(s)
- JD, Saint Louis University School of Law, 2006
- BA, Education, Concordia University at Austin, 2000
Licensure / Accreditations
- Law License
- Licensed to Practice Law
- License to Practice Law - Illinois
- License to Practice Law - Missouri
Never Stop Asking Questions with Mark Mandell

Mon, 03 Jan 2022 08:00:00 -0400

What is the key to Mark Mandell's success as a trial lawyer? He questions all assumptions and has spent his entire career in search of answers. And what he has uncovered along the way is required knowledge for anyone who wants to try cases for a living. Join Ben ((Ben Gideon | Gideon Asen LLC) ) and Rahul ((Rahul Ravipudi (psblaw.com) for our probing discussion with Mark as he describes his thoughtful approach to trial work that has led to many successful verdicts and settlement and underpins his two widely acclaimed books on trial practice: Case Framing and Advanced Case Framing.
About 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“.
Mark Mandell focuses his practice on catastrophic personal injury cases, wrongful death cases, liquor liability cases, and medical negligence cases. He has obtained many million dollar trial verdicts and settlements for his clients. Mark has obtained more verdicts of $1,000,000 and also of $10,000,000 or more than any other lawyer in Rhode Island history. Mark was the Chair of the Plaintiff’s Settlement committee in the Station Fire litigation, which resulted in a settlement of more than $176,000,000.
Attorney Mandell has also lectured on Medical/Academic topics at well respected establishments such as Brown University Medical School, Harvard Medical School, Women and Infants Hospital in Providence, Rhode Island, The Massachusetts Anesthesia Council on Education/Massachusetts, Society of Anesthesiologists, Rhode Island Hospital, The Miriam Hospital, and State of Rhode Island, Department of Health.
In 2018, Mark Mandell was honored as the recipient of the Howard Twiggs Award by the American Association for Justice. The Howard Twiggs Award recognizes an AAJ member of at least 10 years standing whose passion, civility, cordiality, and professionalism reflect the high standards set by Howard Twiggs; and whose courtroom advocacy and distinguished service to AAJ have brought honor to the trial bar and the legal profession. Howard Twiggs was selfless and a tireless worker who always put the welfare of his client and AAJ ahead of any personal glory or satisfaction.
Mark Mandell has previously been honored with many other awards as well, including:
2021- “Best Lawyers” for 2022 and Sept 2021
2003- “Harry M. Philo Award” in 2003 from the Association of Trial Lawyers of America
1999- “Lawyer of the Year Award” from the Melvin Belli National Society
1998- “Citizen of the Year Award” from the Rhode Island Trial Lawyers Association
1987- “Rhode Island Jewish Citizen of the Year Award” from the Jewish Community Center of Rhode Island
1984- “Merrill L. Hassenfeld Leadership in Community Service Award” from the Jewish Federation of Rhode Island
Attorney Mark Mandell is also an active member of the community as he was formerly on the Board of Directors of The Miriam Hospital, Board of Directors of the Jewish Federation of Rhode Island, Board of Directors of the Urban League of Rhode Island, Chair of the Executive Committee of the Holocaust Memorial Committee of Rhode Island, President of the Jewish Community Center of Rhode Island, member of the Executive-Finance Committee of The Wheeler School, Chair of the Education Committee of The Wheeler School, the Board of Trustees of the Wheeler School, the Board of Roger Williams University, and Chair of the Board of Directors of Roger Williams University School of Law.
About the Elawvate Podcast
The Elawvate Podcast – Where Trial Lawyers Learn, Share, and Grow is where the practice of trial law meets personal growth. To succeed as a trial lawyer and build a successful law firm requires practice skills, strategic thinking and some amount of business and entrepreneurial savvy. Elawvate is a place to learn and share skills and strategies for success.
But it is also a place to dig deeper and achieve personal growth.
Those who succeed as trial lawyers at the highest levels cultivate character, principle, integrity, leadership, courage, compassion and perseverance.
We learn and draw inspiration from those who have achieved this success.
For more about Elawvate, visit our website at www.elawvate.fm. You can also join our Facebook Group at Elawvate | Facebook
For more information or to contact the hosts, see:
(Rahul Ravipudi (psblaw.com)
(Ben Gideon | Gideon Asen LLC)
A Life In the Arena with Nick Rowley

Mon, 20 Dec 2021 08:00:00 -0400

For his 20 plus year career as a trial lawyer, Nick Rowley has lived in life in the arena. For most of his career, he has tried 10 jury trials each year. He has tried cases in 33 separate states and has numerous seven and eight figure verdicts. Nick discusses his journey to becoming a trial lawyer, his approach and philosophy of communicating with jurors and trying cases and how he balances his busy trial practice with the rest of his life.
About Nick Rowley
Many consider Nicholas C. 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 Trial Lawyer 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, our Denver injury lawyer, 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 Trial Lawyers 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 Attorneys 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 Attorneys of San Diego awarded Nick its “Outstanding Trial Lawyer”award. In 2013, Nick was honored with the organization’s top award – “Outstanding Trial Lawyer 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.
Nick has served as an instructor at Gerry Spence’s famed Trial Lawyers College and delivers keynote addresses nationwide on his revolutionary approach to voir dire and damages. Other lawyers, faced with low settlement offers from insurance companies, frequently bring Nick into their cases just before trial. Nick is a relentless warrior who has prevailed in the courtroom time and time again. He prides himself on his caring and empathic approach to working with his clients and their families, and his ability to help juries find the truth and deliver justice to the injured. Nick has lectured and taught trial skills and his trial by human method across the country in Iowa, Minnesota, South Dakota, Missouri, Louisiana, Colorado, Arkansas, Wyoming, Montana, Utah, Oregon, Washington, North Carolina, Idaho, California, and New York.
Nick is on the Board of Directors of the Imagination Workshop, which is a non-profit theater arts organization committed to using the unique power of the theater to provide life-changing artistic opportunities to the mentally ill, homeless veterans, senior citizens, and ‘at-risk’ young people. IW programs give troubled people, frequently alienated or overlooked by society, a safe way to express themselves and gain insight that often helps make their lives more successful.
Nick is also on the Honorary Board of Governors of TLC, Trial Lawyers’ Charities, a non-profit organization whose purpose is to make a positive difference in the quality of life for people within the greater Los Angeles area, focusing on issues related to education, children, battered women, persons with disabilities, and homelessness, by providing financial assistance to needy persons and groups in the greater Los Angeles area.
Nick is the author of the book Trial By Human, where he candidly shares his approach that brings brutal honesty and humanity into the courtroom.
Born in Iowa and raised between Iowa and Arizona, Nick moved out on his own at the age of 15. He worked full time from that point forward and at the age of 17 joined the United States Air Force where he was trained and served as a combat medic. It was through the military and G.I. Bill that Nick got his undergraduate education and was able to attend law school. By the age of 19, Nick completed his bachelor’s degree in social psychology. He also was trained and certified as a firefighter and during his service and college worked as a volunteer firefighter. Nick started law school at the age of 20 and continued his service in the Armed Forces taking special assignments for three more years. In total he served an honorable 6 years in the United States Armed Forces assigned to various units with the United States Air Force and United States Army.
He is a relentless warrior who has succeed and proven himself in the battles of litigation time and time again, however he prides himself on his caring, empathetic approach to working with the injured and their families. He believes in going the distance for each and every client, is not afraid to put any case in front of a jury, and makes insurance companies pay up when deserving injury victims come forward to seek justice.

Recent Verdicts, Settlements and Judgments
- $131 Million verdict for the victim of a car accident in which the driver was over-served at a restaurant/bar
- $74.525 million for the victim of a birth injury caused by medical malpractice in San Luis Obispo
- $45 Million verdict for the wrongful death of a mother killed by a drunk driver
- $40 million for the wrongful death of a 33 year old son
- $38.6 million for a young man who suffered a traumatic brain injury due to a fall from a hotel balcony while intoxicated
- $31.6 million for a young woman with a traumatic brain injury in Kern County, California
- $29.25 million win against State Farm for brain injury, after the policy was open
- $21.6 million jury verdict in a contested motorcycle collision case (2016)
- $18.6 million verdict on behalf of a child who was run over by a garbage truck and lost his leg
- $17 million for a woman with a traumatic brain injury where she appeared normal to those who did not know her
- $16.4 million awarded for medical malpractice
- Verdict for the family of a farmer who was killed in a vehicle crash caused by a commercial vehicle.
- $13.86 million for a professional fighter who suffered a mild traumatic brain injury after a car crash
- $12 million win against State of California for negligent road design
- $10.25 million policy limits for below the knee amputation
- $10.6 Million verdict on behalf of a student who suffered a mild traumatic brain injury because of the school district’s negligence
- $10 million win traumatic brain injury
- Verdict for a family in a wrongful death lawsuit
- $8.3 million judgment for a US Navy Veteran who suffered a penile injury in a San Diego motorcycle crash
- $7.6 million for a client when the defense offered only $300,000
- $6.9 million for a college football player with a traumatic brain injury when the insurance company offered only $30,000 to settle
- $6.5 million verdict for a victim of an assault in a nightclub resulting in facial and eye injuries
- $6.1 million for a victim of assault & battery which resulted in a mild traumatic brain injury with normal MRI scans and normal neuropsychological testing
- Settlement for the family of a man who was struck in broad daylight by a commercial vehicle while he was on the side of the road. He eventually died following the accident.
About the Elawvate Podcast
The Elawvate Podcast – Where Trial Lawyers Learn, Share, and Grow is where the practice of trial law meets personal growth. To succeed as a trial lawyer and build a successful law firm requires practice skills, strategic thinking and some amount of business and entrepreneurial savvy. Elawvate is a place to learn and share skills and strategies for success.
But it is also a place to dig deeper and achieve personal growth.
Those who succeed as trial lawyers at the highest levels cultivate character, principle, integrity, leadership, courage, compassion and perseverance.
We learn and draw inspiration from those who have achieved this success.
For more about Elawvate, visit our website at www.elawvate.fm. You can also join our Facebook Group at Elawvate | Facebook
For more information or to contact the hosts, see:
(Rahul Ravipudi (psblaw.com)
(Ben Gideon | Gideon Asen LLC)
The Principles Behind Winning Individual Case and Mass Tort Trials With Khaldoun Baghdadi

Mon, 06 Dec 2021 08:00:00 -0400

Join us for our conversation with preeminent trial lawyer, Khaldoun Baghdadi. Khaldoun talks about how his Palestinian background has influenced his perspective and approach to the law. He talks about the principles that have enabled him and his firm to obtain many record setting verdicts in both individual plaintiff and mass tort trials. Since 2009, Khaldoun has been named a Northern California Super Lawyer®. In addition, Khaldoun is AV – Pre-Eminent rated by Martindale Hubbell, signifying the highest peer review mark for ethics and standards of practice. His AVVO professional rating is 10.0 – Superb, reflecting the highest rank available.
Khaldoun served an adjunct instructor teaching trial advocacy at the University of California, Berkeley School of Law. He also served as an adjunct professor at the University of California, Hastings College of the Law. He has also served as an instructor on trial technique, deposition practice and lawyering skills for the National Institute of Trial Advocacy.
Active in the courtroom and the community, Khaldoun served the City of San Francisco by way of Mayoral appointment to the San Francisco Human Rights Commission. In 2006, he was elected chair of that body.
Khaldoun graduated cum laude from the University of California, Irvine, and obtained his law degree from UC Hastings College of the Law.
He lives in San Francisco with his wife and two children.
Noteworthy Verdicts and Settlements
- $1 billion dollar jury verdict for defective hip implant
- $ 9 million dollar medical negligence settlement
- $8.3 million dollar jury verdict for defective hip implant
- $7.8 million dollar personal injury settlement for defective medical device
- $7.3 million wrongful death jury verdict in an automobile collision
- $6.25 million wrongful death settlement in a vehicle/trailer rollover
- $4.5 million dollar personal injury settlement in an automobile collision
- $2.9 million wrongful death settlement for roof crush vehicle defect
- $2.6 million settlement for defective medical device
- $2.4 million medical negligence settlement
Published Works
- Apples and Oranges, the Supremacy Clause and the Determination of Self-Executing Treaties
Representative Cases
- Detoy v. City and County of San Francisco
- Ard v. Bi-Bett Corporation
- Bennett v. City of Visalia
- Gu v. BMW
Honors and Awards
- Northern California Super Lawyer®, 2009
- AV – Pre-Eminent rated by Martindale Hubbell
- AVVO Professional Rating is 10.0 – Superb
Professional Associations and Memberships
- San Francisco Human Rights Commission, Member and Chair
- Arab American Attorneys Association, Co-chair, Bay Area Chapter
- Consumer Attorneys of California, Member
- San Francisco Trial Lawyers Association, Member
- American Association for Justice, Member
About the Elawvate Podcast
The Elawvate Podcast – Where Trial Lawyers Learn, Share, and Grow is where the practice of trial law meets personal growth. To succeed as a trial lawyer and build a successful law firm requires practice skills, strategic thinking and some amount of business and entrepreneurial savvy. Elawvate is a place to learn and share skills and strategies for success.
But it is also a place to dig deeper and achieve personal growth.
Those who succeed as trial lawyers at the highest levels cultivate character, principle, integrity, leadership, courage, compassion and perseverance.
We learn and draw inspiration from those who have achieved this success.
For more about Elawvate, visit our website at www.elawvate.fm. You can also join our Facebook Group at Elawvate | Facebook
For more information or to contact the hosts, see:
(Rahul Ravipudi (psblaw.com)
(Ben Gideon | Gideon Asen LLC)
Pioneering a Data-Driven Approach to Trial with Sean Claggett

Mon, 22 Nov 2021 05:00:00 -0400

With multiple recent 8-figure jury verdicts in difficult cases, Sean Claggett is truly on a roll. But nothing Sean has accomplished is an accident. It is the culmination of his own personal journey to re-invent himself as a master trial lawyer and to pioneer the use of data-driven decision-making to maximize his results. Join us for our conversation with Sean as we explore his uniquely successful approach to winning at trial.
We begin with a discussion of Sean's background and journey to becoming a trial lawyer. He recounts how he gave up trying cases and moved on to other things, before deciding to recommit himself to trial practice. With his newfound commitment, Sean spent several years learning as much as he could about trial strategy and technique and rehearsing his approach with regular focus groups. Armed with newfound confidence, Sean re-entered the courtroom and has had unparalleled success.
Along the way, Sean explains how he adopted a data-driven approach to preparing for trial, using so-called "big data" metrics to identify his best trial cases, determine his likely win ratio and guide his approach to asking for money.
The results speak for themselves.
About Sean Claggett
Sean Claggett is an established Las Vegas personal injury attorney and handles difficult cases across the country. Sean founded Claggett & Sykes Law Firm in 2005, and is the firm’s lead trial lawyer.
In 2017, Sean was recognized by his fellow trial lawyers of the Nevada Justice Association as Nevada’s Trial Attorney of the Year.
PROVEN TRIAL SUCCESS
In 2016, Sean had the fourth most influential verdict in the United States according to Courtroom View Network, stemming from a slip and fall at Lowe’s in which his client suffered a TBI after she slipped, fell, and knocked down a three-foot yellow warning cone. Lowe’s top offer before the verdict was $1,400,000.00, and the referring plaintiff attorney offered to resolve the case for $1,749,999.99. The jury returned a verdict in the amount of $16,430,000.00.
Sean’s trial success continued with two verdicts in 2018 in the amounts of $20,000,000.00 and $3,382,000.00. Sean’s verdict of $20,000,000.00 was recognized as the fourth most influential verdict in the United States according to Courtroom View Network, stemming from a negligence case against an HOA for failing to maintain its swing set. The HOA’s top offer before trial was $400,000.00, and the referring plaintiff offered the HOA to resolve the case for $949,000.00. The plaintiff in the case suffered a TBI.
Sean’s trial success continued in 2019 as he obtained a verdict of $645,814.33 in which there was a 16-day gap in treatment after the initial wreck, and then, after eight months of physical therapy treatment, there was a three and a half year gap in treatment before the plaintiff obtained further treatment for his back injury. The top offer from the defense was $50,000.00, and the referring attorney agreed to accept $180,000.00 to resolve the case prior to trial.
Later that year, Sean received an honorable mention from Courtroom View Network as having one of the year’s most impressive trials for his work on a medical malpractice trial where his client suffered a TBI. Sean asked for $63,000,000.00 in closing arguments and the case settled before the jury returned a verdict.
In 2020, Courtroom View Network named Sean to its “Who We’re Watching” list. Courtroom View Network says that after more than a decade of capturing trials for its streaming network, the lawyers on this list are its best of the best of the decade and are the lawyers that other lawyers should watch if they’re looking to improve their craft.
In 2021, Sean obtained a $38,750,000 verdict on behalf the mother of an 11-year girl who was killed by a garbage truck while crossing the street in a marked crosswalk. The top defense offer before trial was $1,000,000.
EDUCATION
Sean is a proud graduate from the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. In 2000, he received a Bachelor or Arts in Political Science. Soon after, he graduated cum laude from UNLV’s William S. Boyd School of Law in 2003. During his time at the Boyd School of Law, he was a staff editor of the Nevada Law Journal as well as a member of the National Moot Court team. As a law student he won the Society of Advocates oral argument competition.
After graduating from Boyd School of Law, Sean was employed at a high-profile criminal defense law firm. After working for this firm for over two and a half years, Sean made the decision to start his own firm. On January 1, 2005, Sean opened his own law firm with a single client and one employee. Today Claggett & Sykes Law Firm has over 40 employees, including 15 attorneys.
AWARDS
In 2009, Sean was elected by his peers to serve on the board of the Boyd School of Law Alumni Association. Sean has served as both the Vice President and President of this board. In 2010, Sean was named Alumni of the Year for the Boyd School of Law, which is the highest and most prestigious alumni award given by the school.
Sean has also been recognized by Legal Aid of Southern Nevada for his Pro Bono work he has done over the year and also acts as an arbitrator for personal injury cases throughout the Las Vegas area. Additionally, in 2013, Sean became an adjunct professor at UNLV Boyd School of Law, where he currently teaches Law Practice Management.
Sean spent several years as a dean and as a faculty member of a trial college where he taught thousands of other trial lawyers from across the country. Sean has been recognized by many attorneys as one of the top trial attorneys in Nevada and was named Trial Lawyer of the Year in 2017 by his peers. It is no wonder that attorneys all over the country have requested him to consult or co-counsel on cases that are proceeding to trial.
Sean’s success as a trial lawyer has allowed him to expand his philanthropic passion. Sean and his firm have donated both time and money to charities such as the Challenged Athletes Foundation, HELP of Southern Nevada, Three Square, Child Seekers, March of Dimes, Greg Maddux Foundation, Boy Scouts of America, and Boys and Girls Clubs of Southern Nevada, just to name a few.
In his spare time, Sean enjoys cycling, playing and coaching baseball, traveling, and spending time with his wife and two kids.
About the Elawvate Podcast
The Elawvate Podcast – Where Trial Lawyers Learn, Share, and Grow is where the practice of trial law meets personal growth. To succeed as a trial lawyer and build a successful law firm requires practice skills, strategic thinking and some amount of business and entrepreneurial savvy. Elawvate is a place to learn and share skills and strategies for success.
But it is also a place to dig deeper and achieve personal growth.
Those who succeed as trial lawyers at the highest levels cultivate character, principle, integrity, leadership, courage, compassion and perseverance.
We learn and draw inspiration from those who have achieved this success.
For more about Elawvate, visit our website at www.elawvate.fm. You can also join our Facebook Group at Elawvate | Facebook
For more information or to contact the hosts, see:
(Rahul Ravipudi (psblaw.com)
(Ben Gideon | Gideon Asen LLC)

Mastering Cross Examination with Patricia Kuendig

Mon, 08 Nov 2021 05:00:00 -0400

Nationally-recognized trial lawyer Patricia Kuendig joins us to describe the approach to cross examination she and her partner Roger Dodd teach to trial lawyers across the country. Patricia explains the three rules of successful cross examination. She illustrates how the rules work in practice. She discusses strategies for sequencing cross, recovering from problems, dealing with un-crossable witness and preparing you own witnesses for the other side's cross.
About Patricia
Patricia Kuendig pursued law out of a desire to help people when they needed it most. For the first few years of her practice, Patricia worked on complex divorce and family law matters from her office in Miami, FL. She credits that experience with her comfort and confidence in the courtroom, as well as at the negotiating table.
Then, her mother passed away in a bus accident. Patricia filed the wrongful death lawsuit herself. She has been helping accident victims with their personal injury suits ever since.
Recognized Leader in Law
Through hard work and determination, Patricia has distinguished herself in the legal community. She is the youngest faculty member of the Houston Family Law Trial Institute. Along with several publications and awards to her name, she has given lectures on a variety of trial-related subjects for organizations such as the Utah Association for Criminal Defense Lawyers, The Georgia Bar, and the Oklahoma State Bar's Family Law Section.
In September 2014, Patricia was honored to present on “First Impressions and Voir Dire" for 360 Advocacy's program titled "Trial Skills from the Woman's Perspective" in New Orleans, LA.
Education
Patricia earned a B.S. from New York University’s Stern School of Business and a J.D. from George Washington University.
While working on her J.D. at George Washington University, Patricia interned for a U.S. District Court Judge and the U.S. Department of Justice. Her time in school may be done, but as a lifelong learner, she is always looking for new ways to help her clients.
About the Elawvate Podcast
The Elawvate Podcast – Where Trial Lawyers Learn, Share, and Grow is where the practice of trial law meets personal growth. To succeed as a trial lawyer and build a successful law firm requires practice skills, strategic thinking and some amount of business and entrepreneurial savvy. Elawvate is a place to learn and share skills and strategies for success.
But it is also a place to dig deeper and achieve personal growth.
Those who succeed as trial lawyers at the highest levels cultivate character, principle, integrity, leadership, courage, compassion and perseverance.
We learn and draw inspiration from those who have achieved this success.
For more about Elawvate, visit our website at www.elawvate.fm. You can also join our Facebook Group at Elawvate | Facebook
For more information or to contact the hosts, see:
(Rahul Ravipudi (psblaw.com)
(Ben Gideon | Gideon Asen LLC)

Using the Domino Theory to Win at Trial with Edward Capozzi

Mon, 25 Oct 2021 04:00:00 -0400

Join us for a conversation with top New Jersey trial lawyer, Edward Capozzi, author of the best-selling Trial Guides book, The Domino Theory. Ed describes how his upbringing in a blue collar family and background as a front man for a rock band readied him for the world of trial law. Ed talks about how he began trying the most difficult "no offer" cases and honed his approach and skills by trying more than a dozen jury trial a year for more than decade. His insight led him to develop the "Domino Theory," and approach to litigating and trying a case that allows the lawyer to envision each building block of the case as a separate "domino," and culminating with a hands-on demonstration in which Ed uses individually crafted dominos tailored with the issues in each case and literally builds the case in front of the jury at the end of his closing argument--and then lets the dominos fall. The dominos show the jury the proximate cause and damages elements of the case and serve to rebut comparative fault defenses. Listen as Ed walks us through this unique and effective approach.
About Edward Capozzi
One of New Jersey’s most renowned and dynamic personal injury attorneys, Edward P. Capozzi exclusively handles auto, trucking, NJ Transit, products liability, and other catastrophic personal injury cases. He has successfully represented seriously injured clients in New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, North Carolina, Michigan, West Virginia, Florida, Massachusetts, Virginia, and Delaware. Edward is certified by the Supreme Court of New Jersey as a civil trial attorney. The New Jersey Supreme Court has designated this honor to attorneys who are able to demonstrate sufficient levels of experience, education, knowledge, and skill in civil trial practice.
Known for his fierce cross-examination of medical witnesses and artistic presentations of his cases, Edward lectures across the country on trial techniques and the concept of proximate cause.
Edward is the author of The Domino Theory, a Trial Guides publication in which he explains proximate cause and shows other attorneys how to successfully present any case to a jury. In his popular YouTube video, “Capozzi Causation Dominos,” Edward demonstrates, step-by-step, how to set up each element from discovery to settlement to opening statement to arguing damages in closing – when you knock down your dominos and demonstrate the inevitable logic of your case.
Edward is an active participant, advocate, and educator in the field of law. He is a published author and lectures nationally on trial techniques and cross-examination of defense medical experts. In 2014, Edward received the New Jersey Law Journal’s Personal Injury Hall of Fame Award for receiving the largest verdict in the state in a products liability case and from 2012-2018 received at least one, and as many as three, of the state’s top 20 verdicts or settlements. In 2018, Edward had one of the top 50 work accident settlements in the United States, according to TopVerdict. He is recognized by the New Jersey Law Journal as having the top personal injury settlement in an auto case for 2017. On June 11, 2020, Edward was installed as the 59th President of the New Jersey Association for Justice.

About the Elawvate Podcast
The Elawvate Podcast – Where Trial Lawyers Learn, Share, and Grow is where the practice of trial law meets personal growth. To succeed as a trial lawyer and build a successful law firm requires practice skills, strategic thinking and some amount of business and entrepreneurial savvy. Elawvate is a place to learn and share skills and strategies for success.
But it is also a place to dig deeper and achieve personal growth.
Those who succeed as trial lawyers at the highest levels cultivate character, principle, integrity, leadership, courage, compassion and perseverance.
We learn and draw inspiration from those who have achieved this success.
For more about Elawvate, visit our website at www.elawvate.fm. You can also join our Facebook Group at Elawvate | Facebook
For more information or to contact the hosts, see:
(Rahul Ravipudi (psblaw.com)
(Ben Gideon | Gideon Asen LLC)

Unpacking the Electronic Medical Record and Audit Trail with Saira Pasha

Mon, 11 Oct 2021 07:00:00 -0400

Saira Pasha is an attorney who used to work for major hospital corporations handling the defense side of medical malpractice cases. Now, she assists lawyers for patients and their families in medical malpractice cases. We spend time with Saira discussing how to better understand the information that is available through the electronic medical record and audit trail kept by hospitals and other medical providers. We learn that there is a lot of information that is available but will not be turned over unless you know how to ask for it. And once you get the information, we talk about how you can use it to help prove your case.
Ms. Saira Pasha is an attorney who has extensive experience managing complex medical malpractice litigation for a large Illinois healthcare system and a major multi-state malpractice insurance carrier. Now, her focus and passion have shifted towards advocating for victims of medical malpractice and their families in order to obtain answers and justice.
In her prior roles, Ms. Pasha handled hundreds of malpractice claims, from ones filed directly by patients to those litigated by the most successful plaintiff firms in Chicago. She was responsible for evaluating liability, causation, and damages to develop an overall defense strategy for each claim. This required detailed reviews of medical records (including with the electronic medical record system) interviewing defendant physicians, nurses, and other witnesses to the incident, obtaining expert reviews to obtain standard of care opinions, assisting with written discovery, and attending critical depositions.
Ms. Pasha has successfully negotiated the resolution of dozens of cases through mediation, pre-trial settlement conferences, direct discussions with plaintiff attorneys, and high-low agreements during trial. Many of these claims involved complex medical issues and catastrophic injuries, resulting in multi-million dollar settlements.
Ms. Pasha also has significant experience monitoring medical malpractice trials in Cook County, IL, a venue known for record-setting verdicts. During these high-stakes trials, her employers relied upon her daily evaluations and recommendations to determine whether cases should be taken to verdict or resolved through direct settlement or a high-low agreement.
As a claims professional, Ms. Pasha worked alongside top defense attorneys at the best defense firms in the city. These opportunities provided insight into how the most successful trial attorneys approach, analyze, and execute their cases. Similarly, Ms. Pasha learned a great deal about medicine and the complexities of malpractice cases directly from defendant doctors and nurses.
Through these professional experiences, Ms. Pasha gained significant insight and knowledge about the medical malpractice industry. Combined with her exceptional intuitive abilities and investigation skills, Ms. Pasha stands out as a uniquely qualified medical malpractice attorney and one who will maximize results for her clients.
About the Elawvate Podcast
The Elawvate Podcast – Where Trial Lawyers Learn, Share, and Grow is where the practice of trial law meets personal growth. To succeed as a trial lawyer and build a successful law firm requires practice skills, strategic thinking and some amount of business and entrepreneurial savvy. Elawvate is a place to learn and share skills and strategies for success.
But it is also a place to dig deeper and achieve personal growth.
Those who succeed as trial lawyers at the highest levels cultivate character, principle, integrity, leadership, courage, compassion and perseverance.
We learn and draw inspiration from those who have achieved this success.
For more about Elawvate, visit our website at www.elawvate.fm. You can also join our Facebook Group at Elawvate | Facebook
For more information or to contact the hosts, see:
(Rahul Ravipudi (psblaw.com)
(Ben Gideon | Gideon Asen LLC)

The Power the Comes with Trusting the Jury with Michael Cowen

Mon, 27 Sep 2021 07:00:00 -0400

Michael Cowen is a successful trial lawyer and host of the popular podcast, Trial Lawyer Nation. He joins us to talk about the power he has gained from learning to overcome his own insecurities and to place his trust in juries to do what is right. Michael talks about how working on his own mindset has produced better results in his trials and made him a happier person. He goes on to talk about systems he uses to prepare for trial, run his law firm and manage his employees. He talks about what got him into podcasting and how he built his show, Trial Lawyer Nation, into a great success.
As a graduate of Texas A&M University in 1991, Michael is a proud Aggie. After obtaining his degree, Michael attended law school at the University of Texas at Austin School of Law where he graduated in 1995 with high honors and earned the top score on the Texas Bar Exam. To this day, Michael is still asked about this achievement so early in his career.
After graduating, Michael clerked for Judge Reynaldo G. Garza on the Fifth Circuit.
In 1996 Michael moved to New York, where he joined Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft, the oldest law firm in the nation. It was his legal experience in New York representing a number of corporations, which led him to his passion to help people when they have been injured and are in need of help the most.
After returning to Texas, Michael spent his legal career handling a wide variety of injury cases. His experience gathering and interpreting evidence has helped him continue to be the most prepared attorney in the courtroom. As a Board Certified attorney in personal injury trial law, Michael has spoken at numerous CLE courses on a range of topics, which include pre-trial motions, roof crush litigation, trucking accidents, trial skills, oil field accidents, product liability and the preservation of evidence.
One of Michael’s notable accomplishments involves his work in a product liability case. Seven months after he requested a National Highway Traffic Safety Administration investigation into defective Chinese-made tires distributed by the Hercules Tire & Rubber Company, the tire importer announced it would recall seven sizes of certain All Trac A/T SUV tires. This recall was the result of hard work and dedication to not only the client’s Michael Cowen represents, but also the public who deserve to be safe on our roads.
In 2016, Michael celebrated 20 years of practicing law and is devoted to passing on his years of experience and lessons learned along the way, to his peers in the legal community. As a seasoned trial lawyer Michael has experience handling over 100 trials. Whether it is a CLE course hosted by TTLA, AAJ, AIEG, or a CLE event hosted by Cowen | Rodriguez | Peacock, Michael takes pride in continuing to give his time to not only his clients, but his colleagues as well. He also welcomes the opportunity to work on cases with fellow attorneys, especially in trucking, oil field accidents and product liability matters.
In 2018 Michael created the podcast Trial Lawyer Nation and hosts two episodes every month where he helps share industry knowledge for fellow plaintiff attorneys. The podcast has grown so quickly it has now been heard in every state in the United States, as well as other countries like Canada, the United Kingdom, Italy, Australia, Mexico, Sweden, and more.
About the Elawvate Podcast
The Elawvate Podcast – Where Trial Lawyers Learn, Share, and Grow is where the practice of trial law meets personal growth. To succeed as a trial lawyer and build a successful law firm requires practice skills, strategic thinking and some amount of business and entrepreneurial savvy. Elawvate is a place to learn and share skills and strategies for success.
But it is also a place to dig deeper and achieve personal growth.
Those who succeed as trial lawyers at the highest levels cultivate character, principle, integrity, leadership, courage, compassion and perseverance.
We learn and draw inspiration from those who have achieved this success.
For more about Elawvate, visit our website at www.elawvate.fm. You can also join our Facebook Group at Elawvate | Facebook
For more information or to contact the hosts, see:
(Rahul Ravipudi (psblaw.com)
(Ben Gideon | Gideon Asen LLC)

Driven to Learn, Share and Grow with Rahul Ravipudi

Mon, 13 Sep 2021 07:00:00 -0400

About Rahul Ravipudi
Rahul Ravipudi is a partner at Panish Shea & Boyle LLP and has spent his legal career handling catastrophic injury and wrongful death cases involving commercial vehicles, pedestrians, industrial or construction accidents, utility negligence, dangerous conditions of public and private property as well as cases of sexual abuse and sexual assault. Mr. Ravipudi also represents consumers in class actions against businesses who engage in unfair/illegal business practices and public entities in cases where corporations have endangered the safety, health, property or comfort of the public.
Mr. Ravipudi currently serves as Public Entity Plaintiffs’ Co-Lead Counsel in the JUUL Labs Product Cases, representing school districts and other public entities in California involved in litigation against the electronic cigarette manufacturer. Has also serves as Plaintiffs Co-Lead Counsel in the Southern California Fire Cases litigation arising out of the 2017 Thomas Fire and subsequent debris flows in Montecito, California as well as on the Plaintiffs Executive Committee in the California North Bay Fires litigation. Mr. Ravipudi previously served on the Steering Committee in the Blythe bus crash litigation.
Named 2017 Trial Lawyer of the Year by Consumer Attorneys Association of Los Angeles, Mr. Ravipudi has obtained numerous landmark verdicts and settlements including a $160.5 million jury verdict for a man who suffered a traumatic brain injury as a result of a vicious beating by security personnel for a nightclub, a $28,500,000+ settlement for a special needs student who was catastrophically injured after being struck by a vehicle while under the care and supervision of Victor Elementary School District (VESD) personnel, as well as a $23,500,000 settlement on behalf of the family of Paul Lee, a 19-year-old non-verbal autistic student who tragically died aboard a Whittier school bus after the driver left him behind to engage in a sexual tryst with a coworker. The Lee case was a catalyst for significant change in school transportation with Governor Jerry Brown signing the “Paul Lee School Bus Safety Law” in September 2016, requiring all school buses in the state of California to be equipped with a child safety alarm system that must be deactivated by the bus driver before departing the bus. The new law will go into effect at the start of the 2018-19 school year and requires bus drivers to receive training in child-safety check procedures.
Committed to serving as an advocate for his clients, Mr. Ravipudi has obtained numerous eight-figure awards including a $20,500,000 jury verdict for the mother of a high school student who was killed while walking to a bus stop, a $19,786,818 jury verdict for a man who suffered severe burn and traumatic brain injuries when his rental home exploded as a result of Southern California Gas Company negligence, a $13,935,550 jury verdict for 19-year-old pedestrian who suffered extensive injuries as a result of being struck on the sidewalk by a vehicle driven by a Los Angeles County employee, a $13,000,000 settlement for the children and parents of a woman who was killed when her car was hit by a Hawthorne, California police officer, a $11,000,000 settlement for the family of a middle school student who drowned during a school-sponsored swim party, and $10 million for the family of an independent truck driver killed by an intoxicated heavy lift operator at a stevedoring terminal in Long Beach. Mr. Ravipudi shared his insight into successfully litigating cases against the stevedoring companies in an article entitled, “Danger on the Docks – Where there is an injury or death on the waterfront, drugs or alcohol are too often involved” published in the February 2011 edition of Advocate, journal of the Consumer Attorneys Association of Los Angeles.

Additional recoveries obtained by Mr. Ravipudi include an $8,000,000 settlement for an 81-year-old woman who suffered severe spinal cord injuries after falling at a hotel, a $6,500,000 settlement for the two minor children and friend of a Southern California man who was killed after being struck on the highway by a freight truck whose driver had fallen asleep behind the wheel, a $6,000,ooo settlement for a woman who suffered severe burn injuries when a faucet in the bathtub of her apartment detached and sprayed scalding hot water onto her body, a $5 million for an HVAC worker who suffered serious injuries when he fell through a skylight while working on a customer’s roof, a $3.3 million gross jury verdict arising out of the death of a pest control person crushed and killed when a semi-truck reversed into him at a warehousing facility, and $9 million from the State of California (Caltrans) when a 16-year-old girl on a restricted license lost control of her vehicle and collided into a guardrail damaged two days earlier resulting in a bilateral traumatic below knee amputations. This case involved significant appellate issues which led to Mr. Ravipudi’s article, “Dealing with the state of California’s first line of defense – stonewalling any meaningful discovery” published in Advocate, Journal of Consumer Attorneys Association of Los Angeles in February 2009.

About the Elawvate Podcast
The Elawvate Podcast – Where Trial Lawyers Learn, Share, and Grow is where the practice of trial law meets personal growth. To succeed as a trial lawyer and build a successful law firm requires practice skills, strategic thinking and some amount of business and entrepreneurial savvy. Elawvate is a place to learn and share skills and strategies for success.
But it is also a place to dig deeper and achieve personal growth.
Those who succeed as trial lawyers at the highest levels cultivate character, principle, integrity, leadership, courage, compassion and perseverance.
We learn and draw inspiration from those who have achieved this success.
For more about Elawvate, visit our website at www.elawvate.fm. You can also join our Facebook Group at Elawvate | Facebook
For more information or to contact the hosts, see:
(Rahul Ravipudi (psblaw.com)
(Ben Gideon | Gideon Asen LLC)

Mastering the Art of Trial Presentation with Dan Ambrose

Mon, 30 Aug 2021 07:00:00 -0400

About Dan Ambrose
Daniel Ambrose started out in Detroit, Michigan as a criminal defense lawyer. Dan has attended programs such as the National Criminal Defense College, Western Trial Advocacy Institute and Gerry Spence’s Trial Lawyer’s College, tried over 150 jury trials, and has studied trial advocacy for 20 years.
Dan is known for his exceptional skills advocating for his clients. Through 20 years of practice, he has found a unique method to help trial lawyers efficiently master their skills. THE METHOD, was developed by meeting weekly with five trial lawyers over an eighteen month period. They presented, video recorded, and discussed their strengths and weaknesses.
Dan currently lives in Los Angeles, California and now focuses on civil trial work, consulting, trial coaching and teaching.

About the Elawvate Podcast
The Elawvate Podcast – Where Trial Lawyers Learn, Share, and Grow is where the practice of trial law meets personal growth. To succeed as a trial lawyer and build a successful law firm requires practice skills, strategic thinking and some amount of business and entrepreneurial savvy. Elawvate is a place to learn and share skills and strategies for success.
But it is also a place to dig deeper and achieve personal growth.
Those who succeed as trial lawyers at the highest levels cultivate character, principle, integrity, leadership, courage, compassion and perseverance.
We learn and draw inspiration from those who have achieved this success.
For more about Elawvate, visit our website at www.elawvate.fm. You can also join our Facebook Group at Elawvate | Facebook
For more information or to contact the hosts, see:
(Rahul Ravipudi (psblaw.com)
(Ben Gideon | Gideon Asen LLC)

Use Authenticity and Technology to Win at Trial with Lloyd Bell

Mon, 16 Aug 2021 10:26:38 -0400

We begin by discussing Lloyd's unique journey to become a trial lawyer, which was shaped by his military education at the Virginia Military Institute and years prosecuting and defending case in the Army JAG Corps. Lloyd explains how he learned the importance of meeting your audience where they are while defending enlisted soldiers before juries of officers. One of the most important lessons he learned was that officers wanted to carry out their "noblesse oblige" mission of showing generosity and nobility toward those they lead, and this key insight provided an opportunity to get his clients a second chance.
Lloyd moves on discussing how he applied lessons learned in the JAG Corps to his plaintiff trial practice. He began representing plaintiffs in personal injury cases, and over time developed a specialization in medical negligence. Lloyd explains how he meets juries where they are in medical cases by developing his cases around accessible themes, like one of the Seven Deadly Sins, as opposed to focusing the case on the medicine.
We then move on to discussing Lloyd approach to his opening statement and use of trial technology. Lloyd explains how he models his openings on popular television shows, which always begin with a dramatic hook. He then uses technology to show the jury the key medical concepts before telling the story of his particular case. Lloyd provides tips on what makes effective use of technology in the courtroom, such as limiting the number of words on a slide, careful choice of images, single-concept slides and a clean, appealing layout and color scheme. Lloyd prefers a multi-media approach including blowups, models and other aids to involve the jury in the evidence to the maximum extent possible.
About Lloyd Bell (Lloyd Bell | Bell Law Firm)
With more than 25 years of legal experience, Lloyd Bell has built a sterling courtroom record and recovered millions of dollars for medical malpractice victims. A veteran of the U.S. Army JAG Corps, Bell founded his own law firm in 1999 and is consistently recognized as one of the top attorneys in his field. In 2018, Bell Law Firm was recognized as Personal Injury Litigation Team of the Year by Daily Report, the leading source of legal news in Atlanta. Lloyd Bell has been included in Atlanta Magazine’s prestigious Super Lawyers list every year since 2005, and more recently the Super Lawyers “Top 100 Lawyers in Georgia” list in 2018. Bell has also been named as one of the few personal injury lawyers in Georgia on the prestigious list of “Legal Elite” by Georgia Trend Magazine, an honor he has received every year since 2015. In 2019 Bell was named as the second ever Georgia attorney to join the Inner Circle of Advocates, an elite, invitation only group of the nation’s top plaintiff lawyers. His firm differentiates itself with deep legal expertise, a mastery of technology in the courtroom, and compelling storytelling. Over the past five years, Bell won more seven- and eight-figure verdicts for his clients in medical malpractice cases than any other attorney in the state of Georgia, including a $15 million verdict against a large Atlanta hospital group in 2016 and a record-breaking $26 million verdict against a Columbus hospital in 2017. Bell is a member of the Melvin M. Belli Society, a group of distinguished trial lawyers dedicated to the principles of education. Bell is also board certified by the American Board of Professional Liability Attorneys in the field of medical malpractice.
About the Elawvate Podcast
The Elawvate Podcast – Where Trial Lawyers Learn, Share, and Grow is where the practice of trial law meets personal growth. To succeed as a trial lawyer and build a successful law firm requires practice skills, strategic thinking and some amount of business and entrepreneurial savvy. Elawvate is a place to learn and share skills and strategies for success.
But it is also a place to dig deeper and achieve personal growth.
Those who succeed as trial lawyers at the highest levels cultivate character, principle, integrity, leadership, courage, compassion and perseverance.
We learn and draw inspiration from those who have achieved this success.
For more about Elawvate, visit our website at www.elawvate.fm. You can also join our Facebook Group at Elawvate | Facebook
For more information or to contact the hosts, see:
(Rahul Ravipudi (psblaw.com)
(Ben Gideon | Gideon Asen LLC)

From Trial Law to Facebook and Cryptocurrency with Paul Grewal

Mon, 02 Aug 2021 07:00:00 -0400

We begin the episode discussing Paul's early career as a trial lawyer where he had to find ways to explain complex concepts, often involving technology, to ordinary jurors. Paul describes how he learned to do this, particularly with argument by analogies that were accessible to jurors.
We then move to discuss Paul's years as a Judge in the Northern District of California, where he presided over many civil jury trials. As a judge, Paul was in a good position to observe and comment on the quality of the lawyering. He saw what worked and what did not work in front of juries. He also developed views about how to improve civil jury trials to produce fairer and better results.
Following Paul's time on the bench, we became of the senior attorneys at Facebook, responsible for managing Facebook's litigation across the globe. Paul shares what he learned about digital media from that experience and provides his take on the current debate between first amendment open media and the role of social media platforms, like Facebook, in the dissemination of propaganda, conspiracy theory and false and misleading information.
Finally, we move on to discuss Paul's current position as general counsel at Coinbase, an online cryptocurrency trading platform. Paul explains the concept behind cryptocurrency and provides his thoughts on the future of this type of digital currency.
About Paul Grewal (Taken from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_Grewal)
Paul Grewal (full name: Paul Singh Grewal) is currently Chief Legal Officer at Coinbase. Previously Grewal was Vice President and Deputy General Counsel at Facebook, and is also a former U.S. Magistrate Judge for the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California.
Education
Grewal received his Bachelor of Science in Civil and Environmental Engineering in 1993 from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, where he was elected to Tau Beta Pi and Sigma Xi Grewal then obtained his Juris Doctor (J.D.) degree from the University of Chicago in 1996.
Career
Upon graduation from law school, Grewal served as a judicial law clerk to the Honorable Sam H. Bell of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Ohio. After his clerkship, he joined the law firm of Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman LLP (then known as Pillsbury, Madison & Sutro LLP), primarily practicing complex commercial litigation. After working at Pillsbury, Grewal then served as a judicial law clerk to the Honorable Arthur Gajarsa of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit.
After his clerkship with Judge Gajarsa, Grewal joined the law firm of Day Casebeer Madrid & Batchelder (which later merged with and became Howrey LLP, which he was a part of), where he became a partner and served on the firm's management committee, and where his practice focused on intellectual property litigation and patent litigation, with an emphasis on federal patent trials in district courts across the country and appellate work at a variety of federal appellate courts, including the Federal Circuit. In private practice, Grewal was also a registered patent attorney admitted to practice before the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office, and he performed re-examinations for his clients, which included independent inventors and companies in the high-technology, biotechnology, medical device, and financial firm/service spaces
Grewal was a former president of the South Asian Bar of Northern California and the Northern American South Asian Bar Association. In 2010, Grewal was named as a "Best Lawyer Under 40" by the National Asian Pacific American Bar Association (NAPABA).
Magistrate Judge Service
On December 1, 2010, Grewal was sworn in as a U.S. Magistrate Judge for the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California. At that time, he was only the second sitting South Asian Federal Magistrate Judge in the United States. While a judge on that court, Grewal sat on the Northern District's Technology Practice and Patent Instructions and Rules Committees. Judge Grewal was also appointed by U.S. Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts to the Federal Judicial Center’s Magistrate Judge Education Committee and served as a co-chair of the Federal Circuit Bar Association’s Judges Committee.
Facebook
On May 12, 2016, The Recorder reported that Judge Grewal would leave the bench in June 2016 to join Facebook as their Vice President and Deputy General Counsel. Judge Grewal retired from the bench on June 3, 2016.
He joined Facebook as the company's Vice President and Deputy General Counsel in June 2016.
Coinbase
On July 9, 2020, it was announced that Grewal would replace Brian Brooks as Chief Legal Officer at Coinbase, a cryptocurrency exchange.
About the Elawvate Podcast
The Elawvate Podcast – Where Trial Lawyers Learn, Share, and Grow is where the practice of trial law meets personal growth. To succeed as a trial lawyer and build a successful law firm requires practice skills, strategic thinking and some amount of business and entrepreneurial savvy. Elawvate is a place to learn and share skills and strategies for success.
But it is also a place to dig deeper and achieve personal growth.
Those who succeed as trial lawyers at the highest levels cultivate character, principle, integrity, leadership, courage, compassion and perseverance.
We learn and draw inspiration from those who have achieved this success.
For more about Elawvate, visit our website at www.elawvate.fm. You can also join our Facebook Group at Elawvate | Facebook
For more information or to contact the hosts, see:
(Rahul Ravipudi (psblaw.com)
(Ben Gideon | Gideon Asen LLC)
Digital Marketing for Trial Lawyers with Seth Price

Mon, 19 Jul 2021 07:00:00 -0400

Join us for a discussion of digital marketing for trial lawyers with attorney and digital marketing guru, Seth Price. Learn how Seth used his experience building a successful law firm using digital marketing, and then started a digital marketing firm to help other law firms do the same. In this episode, we discuss what works and doesn't work for trial lawyer marketing, pitfalls that lawyers fall into and how to maximize return on investment for marketing dollars spent. In the process, we discuss a number of topics, including
- search engine optimization (SEO)
- Google Pay Per Click Ads
- Google Local Service Ads
- Facebook Marketing
- Referral Marketing
- Television and Billboard Ads
About Seth Price
An accomplished attorney and transformational thought leader, Seth Price is a founding partner and the business backbone of Price Benowitz LLP as well as the founder and CEO of BluShark Digital. Seth took a two person law firm and scaled it to 36 lawyers in less than a decade. Now Seth has taken the same digital power that built the firm to create a best in class digital agency focused on the legal sector in BluShark Digital.
Seth has been a frequent lecturer and moderator at some of the largest and most influential law conferences in the United States, speaking on the tools and strategies law firms can use to align their business development with changing consumer habits. He has spoken on topics including but not limited to, how to build a firm, ethics, best practices for firm operations, search engine optimization (SEO), and digital marketing as a whole.
About the Elawvate Podcast
The Elawvate Podcast – Where Trial Lawyers Learn, Share, and Grow is where the practice of trial law meets personal growth. To succeed as a trial lawyer and build a successful law firm requires practice skills, strategic thinking and some amount of business and entrepreneurial savvy. Elawvate is a place to learn and share skills and strategies for success.
But it is also a place to dig deeper and achieve personal growth.
Those who succeed as trial lawyers at the highest levels cultivate character, principle, integrity, leadership, courage, compassion and perseverance.
We learn and draw inspiration from those who have achieved this success.
For more about Elawvate, visit our website at www.elawvate.fm. You can also join our Facebook Group at Elawvate | Facebook
For more information or to contact the hosts, see:
(Rahul Ravipudi (psblaw.com)
(Ben Gideon | Gideon Asen LLC)
Discovering the Trial Lawyer Within with Josh Koskoff

Tue, 06 Jul 2021 07:00:00 -0400

What you Will Learn
In this episode, Josh begins by discussing how his legacy growing up in a family of prominent trial lawyers shaped his outlook on the role of a lawyer and his own personal journey to becoming a successful trial lawyer. Josh discusses what he learned from his father and grandfather, and what he needed to unlearn to find his own unique style. Josh describes how he struggled early in his career to find his own clear voice in the courtroom, to the point where he came close to changing directions in his career. Josh tells us about the case that served as a turning point--a case in which he discovered his authentic self in the courtroom and achieved an incredible result for a client in what was considered to be an unwinnable case.
Josh talks about how we as lawyers sometimes fail to predict how a case will play out in a courtroom, because a trial is a human drama "not played on paper." As a result, a case does not look good on paper can sometimes be very powerful in a courtroom, as Josh proved in this "turning point" case.
Josh then goes on to discuss the status of a high-profile case, in which he represents the victims of the shooting at the Sandy Hook School in Newtown, Connecticut against the Remington firearms company, manufacturer of the AR-15 weapon used by the shooter. Josh explains how he was able to avoid Federal immunity for firearms manufacturers by pleading the case under a Connecticut statute proscribing false and misleading advertising. Josh talks about the legal challenges he has been able to overcome in the lawsuit and the current status of this important, landmark, case.
About Josh Koskoff
Josh represents the third generation of Koskoffs at Koskoff Koskoff & Bieder (https://www.koskoff.com) Known for his dedication, compassion, and creativity, Josh brings a fresh and unique perspective to all his cases. Like his father and grandfather, Josh believes strongly in the role of the lawyer as a fighter whose sole purpose is to improve his clients’ lives through the legal system. He views the law as working only when it works for the people and not just the powerful. His personal concern for the welfare of each of his clients has won their trust and devotion.
Josh has won substantial, record-setting medical malpractice verdicts throughout Connecticut, and has taken on powerful interests in cases with national implications. He currently represents 10 families of victims of the 2012 Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting in a landmark case against the Remington Arms Company – the manufacturer of the assault rifle used to carry out the attack. He also represents Sandy Hook families in a suit against the controversial “conspiracy theorist” Alex Jones for his false claims that the Sandy Hook shooting was a “hoax” and that it was staged by actors. Recently Josh filed suit against eight manufacturers of assault weapons on behalf of the family of a victim of the Las Vegas shooting – the deadliest mass shooting in American history.
In March, 2019, Josh filed another groundbreaking lawsuit against a powerful defendant – Harvard University -- on behalf of the Connecticut descendant of an enslaved man named Renty and his enslaved daughter named Delhia.
Regardless of the nature of the case, Josh feels most rewarded fighting for his clients, and knowing he has helped his clients to have better and more satisfying lives.
REPRESENTATIVE CASES
- $25 Million for and 18-year-old woman who suffered a foot amputation as a result of a delayed diagnosis of decreased circulation
- $22.5 Million, a Connecticut wrongful death verdict, for the widow of a man who died of undiagnosed coronary artery disease
- $12 Million for the death of a 55-year-old man who was not treated properly for a dependence on an anxiety medication, which resulted in his suicide
- $12 Million, a Danbury record verdict, for a 60-year-old woman whose surgery was botched by a resident at Danbury Hospital, resulting in severe permanent damage
- $8 Million for the family of a 45-year-old father of two girls who had untreated and unrecognized depression that led to his suicide
- Confidential Settlement for the family of a man who died during surgery at a surgical center
- Currently representing families of the Sandy Hook shooting in a case against the gun manufacturer
- Currently representing a Connecticut descendant of an enslaved man named Renty and his enslaved daughter named Delhia, over images used to perpetuate his racist theories. Harvard has refused to acknowledge the origins of the images and relinquish the images of her ancestors to the family.
- Currently representing families of Sandy Hook victims in a case against conspiracy theorist Alex Jones
- Currently representing families of victims of the Las Vegas shooting in a case against the manufacturers of weapons used in the attack
About the Elawvate Podcast
The Elawvate Podcast – Where Trial Lawyers Learn, Share, and Grow is where the practice of trial law meets personal growth. To succeed as a trial lawyer and build a successful law firm requires practice skills, strategic thinking and some amount of business and entrepreneurial savvy. Elawvate is a place to learn and share skills and strategies for success.
But it is also a place to dig deeper and achieve personal growth.
Those who succeed as trial lawyers at the highest levels cultivate character, principle, integrity, leadership, courage, compassion and perseverance.
We learn and draw inspiration from those who have achieved this success.
For more about Elawvate, visit our website at www.elawvate.fm. You can also join our Facebook Group at Elawvate | Facebook
For more information or to contact the hosts, see:
(Rahul Ravipudi (psblaw.com)
(Ben Gideon | Gideon Asen LLC)
Beyond the Reptile with Don Keenan

Mon, 21 Jun 2021 04:00:00 -0400

Perhaps no individual plaintiff’s lawyer can claim to have had a larger impact on the trial bar than Don Keenan ((https://www.keenanlawfirm.com/). Not only has Keenan been involved in hundreds of successful jury trials and handled cases in 47 states, but with his book, The Reptile (co-authored with jury consultant, David Ball), Reptile organization (now the Edge and Keenan Trial Institute), Keenan has mentored thousands of trial lawyers in his techniques and revolutionized the way plaintiff attorneys approach trials. Keenan’s approaches have become so widespread and successful that organizations of defense attorneys routinely hold seminars to teach defense lawyers how to combat Keenan’s systems and the Reptile strategies have become the subjects of routine defense motions and numerous reported judicial opinions.
In this episode, we have a wide-ranging discussion with Keenan in which Keenan talks about his use of foreseeability, focus groups, statistics, power words, repetition, and lighthouse phrases to win jury trials. Keenan explains the original philosophy behind the Reptile approach and how that has evolved into something different—and better—over the years. Keenan talks about how changes brought on by Covid have impacted focus group results and changed his approach to jury trials.
About Don Keenan
Children’s Lawyer
During his forty years specializing in catastrophic injury and wrongful death cases, Mr. Keenan has secured over 381 verdicts and settlements over $1,000,000, including 15 over $10,000,000 and one over $100,000,000. Mr. Keenan has dedicated his practice to child injury and wrongful death cases arising from medical negligence, products liability, and premise liability, with the goal of making our society safer for children. He has handled cases in 47 states and on three continents.
Child Advocate
Mr. Keenan strongly believes that our duty does not end when we secure justice for the child and family. Equally important is learning from the prevention lessons of the case and formulating a public awareness campaign to help prevent future injuries and deaths and when necessary, push for legislation and regulations. He calls this unique approach to law the One-Third Solution: one-third litigating the case, one-third public awareness on the prevention and one-third pushing for regulations and legislation. Examples of his One-Third Solution are the Playground Safety Project being featured on the Today Show for the past three years, The Toy Safety Campaign profiled in USA Today and Good Morning America. The Imagine Magazine Summer 2005 issue featured Don Keenan and his One-ThirdSolution as did Mercedes Momentum Magazine in winter of 2004.
Awards / Distinctions
Selected by Oprah Winfrey as one of the “People Who Have Courage” noting that Don has been fighting for the rights of abused children for 25 years
EmoryUniversity bestowed the “Career Achievement Award for Public Policy and Child Advocacy”
Named by the National Law Journal as one of the top three medical malpractice lawyers in the United States
Called “The Voice of the Voiceless” by The Atlanta Globe
“Internationally renowned child advocacy lawyer” by Points North Magazine
“A famous advocate for children”,Business Chronicle
Seven time recipient of “Top 100 Irish Americans” presented by Irish America Magazine
2007 Ellis Island Medal of Honor (only 100 awarded each year)
2008 Tradition of Excellence Award – State Bar of Georgia
Don has appeared on every major national news program including: 60 Minutes, 20/20, Larry King Live, The Oprah Winfrey Show, Montel, The O’Reilly Factor, the Today Show, Good Morning America, CNN and National Public Radio (NPR) addressing children’s issues.
Professional Accomplishments
In 1992, he became the youngest National President of the American Board of Trial Advocates and during his tenure, led a delegation of lawyers to Czechoslovakia and later was invited to Russia to produce the first civil trial in the history of those two emerging democracies. In 1997, he became National President of the Inner Circle of Advocates, the most exclusive group of trial lawyers in the country. In 1999, he was given the prestigious Chief Justice Award for Civility and Professionalism, the highest award possible for a lawyer in Georgia. He now serves on the Advisory Committee for the National Judicial College in Reno, Nevada, which trains the majority of new judges in the United States. In 1990 and again in 1992, he was named Trial Lawyer of the Year.
Significant Cases
Don successfully handled the 1980’s U.S. Supreme Court case of Kathy Jo Taylor which was the first case in United States history to establish due process rights for foster children. Again in late 1999 he handled the nationally publicized case of Terrell Peterson, an abused foster child, who was on the cover of Time Magazine (11/2000) and was the subject of the highest rated 60 Minute story of the year. Both cases resulted in significant changes in the rights of children in state custody. In 2006 he obtained the largest US jury verdict on behalf of an abused child.
About Elawvate
The Elawvate Podcast – Where Trial Lawyers Learn, Share, and Grow is where the practice of trial law meets personal growth. To succeed as a trial lawyer and build a successful law firm requires practice skills, strategic thinking and some amount of business and entrepreneurial savvy. Elawvate is a place to learn and share skills and strategies for success.
But it is also a place to dig deeper and achieve personal growth.
Those who succeed as trial lawyers at the highest levels cultivate character, principle, integrity, leadership, courage, compassion and perseverance.
We learn and draw inspiration from those who have achieved this success.
For more about Elawvate, visit our website at www.elawvate.fm. You can also join our Facebook Group at Elawvate | Facebook
For more information or to contact the hosts, see:
(Rahul Ravipudi (psblaw.com)
(Ben Gideon | Gideon Asen LLC)

Fearless Cross Examination with Pat Malone

Mon, 07 Jun 2021 10:34:36 -0400

The episode begins with a discussion of how Pat went from graduating Yale Law School to becoming one of the nation's leading medical malpractice plaintiff's trial lawyers. Pat talks about how he started as a newspaper reporter covering malpractice trials, and was drawn to this field even before attending law school. Pat talks about what drew him to medical malpractice cases, why these cases are hard for plaintiffs to win and strategies he has used for success, including lessons he has applied from his groundbreaking work co-authored with Rick Friedman, Rules of the Road. (https://www.trialguides.com/products/rules-of-the-road-trade). Pat later adapted the "rules" approach to medical malpractice cases in his book, Winning Medical Malpractice Cases with the Rules of the Road Technique (https://www.trialguides.com/products/winning-medical-malpractice-cases ).
Pat discusses how his own personal journey raising an autistic son brought him face to face with the medical establishment and helped him to develop his own sense of empathy--a trait which has helped him relate to clients with similar struggles.
Pat discussed his latest book, The Fearless Cross Examiner (https://www.trialguides.com/products/the-fearless-cross-examiner). He explains why some of the commonly-taught techniques for cross examination are wrong and how he has developed some better approaches. He explores both the technical and human aspects of cross examination.
About Patrick Malone
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.
For more, visit https://www.patrickmalonelaw.com/
About Elawvate
The Elawvate Podcast – Where Trial Lawyers Learn, Share, and Grow is where the practice of trial law meets personal growth. To succeed as a trial lawyer and build a successful law firm requires practice skills, strategic thinking and some amount of business and entrepreneurial savvy. Elawvate is a place to learn and share skills and strategies for success.
But it is also a place to dig deeper and achieve personal growth.
Those who succeed as trial lawyers at the highest levels cultivate character, principle, integrity, leadership, courage, compassion and perseverance.
We learn and draw inspiration from those who have achieved this success.
For more about Elawvate, visit our website at www.elawvate.fm. You can also join our Facebook Group at Elawvate | Facebook
For more information or to contact the hosts, see:
(Rahul Ravipudi (psblaw.com)
(Ben Gideon | Gideon Asen LLC)

Picking a Winning Jury with Sonia Chopra

Mon, 24 May 2021 07:00:00 -0400

Sonia discusses the evolution of jury consulting to trial consultants and, finally, to litigation consulting. Part of that evolution is the constant balancing of the science and the art of human psychology and social psychology. The science is through training -- Sonia's training is as a Ph.D psychologist with an emphasis in litigation. The art is the constant exposure to prospective jurors through focus groups and voir dires. Unlike trial lawyers who, even the best of them on high exposure trials, get to trial four to ten times a year, Sonia has the capacity to accomplish the same volume in a month. As a result, she has interacted with more people than almost any trial lawyer. That type of real life exposure -- data -- helps to minimize the subjectivity to her methods.
An essential aspect of jury selection is identifying jurors with biases that warrant the Court excusing them from presiding over the trial. Sonia discusses the impediments that lawyers face in overcoming their own biases to be effecting in communicating with and exposing prospective juror's biases.
Like any other person, lawyer's biases are innate and potentially translate into their personal lives. The irony of that is not something that is lost on Rahul and Ben. We spend our careers trying to eliminate bias, like many trial lawyers, but in order to effectively do so, we need to make sure we have done so in our own lives.
Rahul has been working with Sonia for many years and is a firm believer in the benefit of an effective litigating consultant. Ben has utilized litigation consultants in focus groups but his time with Sonia may have expanded his interest in using litigation consultants more broadly.
About Sonia
Sonia Chopra, Ph.D. is co-founder and president of Chopra Koonan Litigation Consulting. Dr. Chopra has 20 years of experience and has been involved in over 400 cases, ranging from multi-million-dollar civil litigation to high stakes criminal trials. She provides clients with assistance in litigation and settlement strategy, storytelling and theme development, damages valuation, opening statements and closing arguments, focus group and trial simulation research, witness preparation, and jury selection. Her practice specialties include plaintiff side personal injury, employment and civil rights litigation, commercial litigation and criminal defense. She has served on the Board of Directors of the American Society of Trial Consultants and is the former General Editor of the trial manual, Jurywork:® Systematic Techniques. To learn more about Sonia, visit her website at www.ChopraKoonan.com.

About Elawvate
The Elawvate Podcast – Where Trial Lawyers Learn, Share, and Grow is where the practice of trial law meets personal growth. To succeed as a trial lawyer and build a successful law firm requires practice skills, strategic thinking and some amount of business and entrepreneurial savvy. Elawvate is a place to learn and share skills and strategies for success.
But it is also a place to dig deeper and achieve personal growth.
Those who succeed as trial lawyers at the highest levels cultivate character, principle, integrity, leadership, courage, compassion and perseverance.
We learn and draw inspiration from those who have achieved this success.
For more about Elawvate, visit our website at www.elawvate.fm. You can also join our Facebook Group at Elawvate | Facebook
For more information or to contact the hosts, see:
(Rahul Ravipudi (psblaw.com)
(Ben Gideon | Gideon Asen LLC)

Taking on Goliath with Bob Kelley

Mon, 10 May 2021 07:00:00 -0400

What you will learn from this episode.
Bob talks about the importance of the trial culture in Southern Florida during his time as a young lawyer. After working a brief time as an insurance defense lawyer, Bob met the famous trial lawyer Sheldon ("Shelly") Schlesinger and went to work at Shelly's firm. There, Bob observed Shelly's unmatched trial skills and unique domineering style. Bob talks about how he had the opportunity early in his career to try a lot of jury trials and to develop his own unique style which relied more upon a human connection with the jury. Bob explains the importance of presenting the case in a way that keeps the jurors entertained and avoids boredom.
At age forty-nine, after much success as a trial lawyer, Bob decided to leave the Schlesinger firm and to start a new law firm with attorney John Uustal (https://kelleyuustal.com/) Bob talks about the challenges of starting his own firm and offers his advice to lawyers seeking to go out on their own.
Bob discusses how he structured his law practice to enable him to take on expensive and lengthy battles against major corporations, like tobacco companies and auto manufacturers. He talks about his approach to jury selection and techniques to ensure that he has a fair jury that will give him a chance to win his case.
The Memorandum
Bob's new book, The Memorandum: A True Story of Justice Forged from Fire Sutton Hart Press | Boutique Publisher of Non Fiction Titles by Notable Authors tells the story of a case Bob litigated for a decade arising out of a post-collision fuel-fed fire in an GM Oldsmobile station wagon. The story centers on the great lengths GM and its attorneys went to cover up and hide key documents and witnesses, and how Bob and John were able to find and force production of the evidence to show how GM failed to protect consumers from post-collision fuel-fed fires. Bob explains why he wanted to write this book and provides a behind-the-scenes look into the epic battle he fought--and won--on behalf of his clients. Bob explains how the evidence he uncovered in his case led to billions of dollars in additional verdicts against GM in the years following his landmark verdict.
About Robert Kelley, Esq.   Robert W. Kelley | American Trial Lawyer & Author
Robert W. Kelley is an award-winning American trial lawyer, author and co-founder of one of Florida’s premier catastrophic injury and wrongful death law firms. His professional life and passion are focused on high stakes difficult trials where he battles for justice on behalf of people seriously injured by the negligence or misconduct of people and corporations.
Bob rose to national prominence with a string of high profile eight and nine figure jury verdicts for families facing malevolent and uncaring companies concealing their executives’ outrageous misconduct. From his $60 million jury verdict against GM for knowingly allowing a defectively designed product to kill to his precedent setting $300 million tobacco verdict on behalf of one smoker – Bob’s theme of Justice for All shows through as he holds corporations accountable on behalf of individual victims.
Born and raised in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida, Bob is the son of a preacher and prominent civic leader, who instilled in him the “service for the greater good” mentality evident in his law practice, environmental and philanthropic activities.
blogger
A noted master at connecting with juries, Bob Kelley is a well-known blogger on the topic. His Jury Selection Blog is followed by lawyers, students, jurists, journalists and other interested readers across the United States. Separately he blogs on legal topics of general interest including medical malpractice, defective product laws and litigation, and other subjects related to personal injury and wrongful death.
dive bar
Bob is the founder and current chairman of the DiveBar, a non-profit bar association with attorney and jurist members focused on education and raising awareness of threats to coral reefs and the marine ecosphere through SCUBA diving activities, philanthropy and active learning.
platform
Robert W. Kelley is a frequent expert legal commentator for national news outlets (60 Minutes, Anderson Cooper…), a highly rated speaker (including a recent national Mensa keynote), and author of the #1 bestseller, The Memorandum (Sutton Hart 2019).
About Elawvate
The Elawvate Podcast – Where Trial Lawyers Learn, Share, and Grow is where the practice of trial law meets personal growth. To succeed as a trial lawyer and build a successful law firm requires practice skills, strategic thinking and some amount of business and entrepreneurial savvy. Elawvate is a place to learn and share skills and strategies for success.
But it is also a place to dig deeper and achieve personal growth.
Those who succeed as trial lawyers at the highest levels cultivate character, principle, integrity, leadership, courage, compassion and perseverance.
We learn and draw inspiration from those who have achieved this success.
For more about Elawvate, visit our website at www.elawvate.fm. You can also join our Facebook Group at Elawvate | Facebook
For more information or to contact the hosts, see:
(Rahul Ravipudi (psblaw.com)
(Ben Gideon | Gideon Asen LLC)

Channeling your Inner Performing Artist with Karen Smolar

Mon, 26 Apr 2021 13:08:13 -0400

What you will learn. Our show begins with Karen discussing the breaking news of the verdict in the Chauvin murder trial (we taped the show the morning after the jury reached its guilty verdict). Karen discusses the cognitive dissonance she feels as a criminal defense attorney, believing that the jury reached a correct and just verdict but describing the awkward tension being a defense attorney but routing for the prosecution. Karen discusses her views on what the defense attorney did well and where she believes mistakes were made. She talks about the decision not to put Chauvin on the witness stand.
After discussing the Chauvin trial, Karen goes on to describe her background and pathway to becoming a successful criminal defense trial lawyer. She joined the New York Legal Aid Society directly out of law school.Karen married a fellow trial lawyer, who she describes as her mentor and the best courtroom lawyer she has ever seen.Karen talks about how she initially tried to model herself on her husband’s courtroom style, but later became a better lawyer when she was able to find her own voice.
After trying cases for a number of years, Karen was invited to attend the National Criminal Defense College, which, at the time, was located in Macon, Georgia. Karen describes how the curriculum in Macon was eye opening for her and taught her new a new vocabulary and approach to trying cases. When Karen returned to the Bronx she established a trial skills program based in part on what she had learned in Macon.
In her trial skills program, Karen began to develop innovative approaches to both trying cases herself and teaching trial skills. She brought in improv actors to help lawyers improve their ability to improvise and think quickly on their feet, which is particularly important during cross examination. She brought in storytellers to teach lawyers to become better at constructing and weaving compelling narratives. She even trained with a voice coach to improve how she used her voice in the courtroom.
More recently, Karen became the Dean of the National Criminal Defense College, which has now moved its headquarters to Karen’s home state of Rhode Island. Karen also works as the Legal Training Director of the Criminal Practice at the Committee for Public Counsel Services in Massachusetts, where she trains lawyers in trying cases.
About Karen Smolar https://www.publiccounsel.net/dir/bos-train/karen-smolar/
Karen Smolar is the Legal Training Director of the Criminal Practice at the Committee for Public Counsel Services in Massachusetts. Before coming to the Commonwealth, she worked as a criminal defense attorney since graduating from law school in 1992. For the last 19 years, Karen was the Trial Chief at the Bronx Defenders in New York City. At CPCS, she works with the Training Unit developing and conducting legal and skills trainings for the public defenders and bar advocates across the state. She also works with other practice areas at CPCS as they conceptualize training across all practice areas. While at The Bronx Defenders, in 2007, Karen created Defenders’ Academy , an national, innovative trial skills program for public and private attorneys across the nation. The program continues to this day and is the only one of its kind in the country that focuses on the intersection between trial skills and performance work and welcomes attorneys from criminal, family and civil practices.
In August of 2017, Karen was appointed to become the Dean of the National Criminal Defense College after serving as a committed faculty member for over ten years. She has also taught Trial Advocacy as an adjunct professor at St. John’s School of Law and Seton Hall Law School. She has lectured on various topics for the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers and the New York State Defenders Association and other defenders offices, nationally. She has also been a guest trainer at various state-wide public defender training programs across the nation.
About Elawvate
The Elawvate Podcast – Where Trial Lawyers Learn, Share, and Grow is where the practice of trial law meets personal growth. To succeed as a trial lawyer and build a successful law firm requires practice skills, strategic thinking and some amount of business and entrepreneurial savvy. Elawvate is a place to learn and share skills and strategies for success.
But it is also a place to dig deeper and achieve personal growth.
Those who succeed as trial lawyers at the highest levels cultivate character, principle, integrity, leadership, courage, compassion and perseverance.
We learn and draw inspiration from those who have achieved this success.
For more about Elawvate, visit our website at www.elawvate.fm. You can also join our Facebook Group at https://www.facebook.com/groups/398030871291513
For more information or to contact the hosts, see:
(Rahul Ravipudi (https://www.psblaw.com/ravipudi.html )
(Ben Gideon |
https://gideonasen.com/attorney-benjamin-gideon/

Breaking Glass Ceilings and Verdict Records with Kalpana Srinivasan

Mon, 12 Apr 2021 07:00:00 -0400

In this Second Episode of the Elawvate Podcast, Rahul (Rahul Ravipudi (psblaw.com) and Ben (Ben Gideon | Gideon Asen LLC) spend time with a trailblazer, Kalpana Srinivasan. Part of being a successful trial lawyer is consistently making the right decisions. While that is easier said than done, Kalpana has done that her whole career. After graduating from Stanford Law School and receiving offers from all of the "big" firms, Kalpana accepted a job at the then four lawyer Los Angeles office of Susman Godfrey. She did that because she was impressed with the attorneys at the firm from top to bottom and saw them as people who would give her the opportunities to thrive and succeed. And that she did. Kalpana tried cases all over the country and consistently won -- including a $700 million verdict in Texas. Kalpana helped the firm grow its Los Angeles office and helped recruit the best of the best -- which included a significant number of female attorneys and minority attorneys. She is well liked both inside and outside the office and has become a leader in all professional aspects of law. Kalpana discusses her path, her vision for equality and unity in the practice of law, and shares her methods of succeeding without sacrificing happiness.

About Kalpana Srinivasan.
Ms. Srinivasan tries high-stakes cases for plaintiffs and defendants in courtrooms across the country. Susman Godfrey’s co-managing partner and a member of the firm’s Executive Committee, she has secured significant victories for her clients in trade secret, antitrust, patent, copyright, class action and other complex disputes.
Ms. Srinivasan’s recent representations include serving as lead trial counsel in an entertainment insurance coverage dispute; acting as Court-appointed co-lead counsel for a certified class of hundreds of millions of consumers impacted by anticompetitive conduct in mobile chipset sales; securing a court approved class action settlement for music copyright holders valued at over $100 million with music streaming service Spotify; and prosecuting telecommunications patents against the three major wireless carriers.
In a groundbreaking misappropriation of trade secret, fraud and breach of contract case, Ms. Srinivasan won a $706.2 million jury verdict for real estate analytics company, HouseCanary. Ms. Srinivasan also argued the appeal of the jury verdict in 2020. Read more on the HouseCanary trial – deemed by Benchmark Litigation to be an Impact Case of the Year – here, as featured in Lawdragon’s, “Revenge of the Hatchlings: How Susman Godfrey Won Almost a Billion Dollars for HouseCanary,” or in Law360‘s “How They Won It” series. Hear Ms. Srinivasan discuss this landmark case on The Great Trials Podcast.
Ms. Srinivasan has been described as an “engaging, exceptionally smart and approachable lawyer” by Chambers USA; deemed a Titan of the Plaintiffs Bar by Law360; and recognized by Benchmark Litigation as one of the Top 100 Trial Lawyers in America, its California Intellectual Property Litigation Attorney of the Year, Plaintiff Attorney of the Year, Trial Lawyer of the Year in California and one of the Top 10 Women Litigators. The Legal 500, in its Tier 1 rankings, described her work at “the intersection of intellectual property and unfair competition, all while displaying strong know-how of the technology industry.” She was also featured in Lawdragon’sPlaintiff Issue.
“She’s incredibly brilliant, but also down to earth, relatable and personable…. [S]he has great courtroom presence and is developing the trust of judges, which is critical to success,” says IAM Patent 1000, in its 2020 ranking of Ms. Srinivasan. Ms. Srinivasan has also been deemed one of the leading 500 lawyers in America by Lawdragon and a Winning Litigator by the National Law Journal (ALM). Law360 has called Ms. Srinivasan an Intellectual Property MVP and the National Law Journal (ALM) recognized her as an Intellectual Property Trailblazer. Ms. Srinivasan has also been named a Power Lawyer by The Hollywood Reporter.
Ms. Srinivasan and her co-counsel received a California Lawyer Attorneys of the Year (CLAY) award for their work in Flo & Eddie Inc. v. Sirius XM Radio Inc., a copyright class action involving pre-1972 sound recordings. Ms. Srinivasan argued the appeal of the underlying issue to the 9th Circuit in 2021.
In California, Ms. Srinivasan also has been recognized as one of the state’s Top 100 Lawyers and repeatedly as one of its Top IP Lawyers and Top Women Lawyers by the Daily Journal. The Recorder has included her among the Women Leaders in Tech Law. She also been named a California Trailblazer by The Recorder (ALM).
Ms. Srinivasan is also a leader in her passionate support for diversity in the profession. She has received the Cornerstone Award from the South Asian Bar Association of North America and been recognized as a Trailblazer by The South Asian Bar Association of Southern California for her dedication to furthering the professional development of the South Asian legal community. The National Law Journal (ALM) has named Ms. Srinivasan an Elite Woman of the Plaintiff’s Bar and called Ms. Srinivasan one of the nation’s 75 Outstanding Women Lawyers.
Ms. Srinivasan’s many significant class action and intellectual property achievements helped secure Susman Godfrey’s recognition as Law360’sClass Action Group of the Year in 2018 and Intellectual Property Group of the Year in 2019.
Ms. Srinivasan previously served on the Judicial Nominees Evaluation Commission of the California State Bar, which vets the governor’s potential judicial candidates. She has taught a course on Class Actions at UCLA Law School. Ms. Srinivasan serves as vice-president for the Western Justice Center and has previously served on the executive committee of the South Asian Bar Association of North America. Before becoming a lawyer, Ms. Srinivasan reported for The Associated Press in Washington D.C., covering national media and telecommunications policy. Read about her prior career in Super Lawyers’ 2017 profile, “From AP to IP” (Thomson Reuters).
About Elawvate
The Elawvate Podcast – Where Trial Lawyers Learn, Share, and Grow is where the practice of trial law meets personal growth. To succeed as a trial lawyer and build a successful law firm requires practice skills, strategic thinking and some amount of business and entrepreneurial savvy. Elawvate is a place to learn and share skills and strategies for success.
But it is also a place to dig deeper and achieve personal growth.
Those who succeed as trial lawyers at the highest levels cultivate character, principle, integrity, leadership, courage, compassion and perseverance.
We learn and draw inspiration from those who have achieved this success.
For more about Elawvate, visit our website at www.elawvate.fm. You can also join our Facebook Group at Elawvate | Facebook
For more information or to contact the hosts, see:
(Rahul Ravipudi (psblaw.com)
(Ben Gideon | Gideon Asen LLC)

Success Starts from Within with Rick Friedman

Mon, 15 Feb 2021 23:12:27 -0400

Episode 01 - Success Starts from Within with Rick Friedman
You don’t want to miss the Elawvate interview of Rick Friedman, one of America’s pre-eminent plaintiff trial lawyers and teachers. In this episode Ben (Ben Gideon | Gideon Asen LLC) and Rahul ((Rahul Ravipudi (psblaw.com) )talk to Rick about his latest book, The Way of the Trial Lawyer: Beyond Technique (published by TrialGuides and available here: The Way of the Trial Lawyer – Trial Guides).
What Will You Learn From Listening to this Episode?
               The Power of Moral Advocacy. In this episode, you will learn about the power the comes from developing what Rick calls ethos, or the authenticity and credibility that stems from advocacy tied to core more principles and beliefs. Rick explains that lawyers are trained to become skilled technicians in logical argument (logos) and to harness the power of emotion (pathos), but few develop the ability to “run on all cylinders” by adding the power of moral advocacy (ethos).
               Personal Understanding and Growth. Rick provides a roadmap that lawyers can follow to develop the strength that comes with moral advocacy. The first step involves looking inward—to resolve any cognitive dissonance or moral conflict you may have, and to achieve clarity of mission. Rick explains how the “zealous advocacy,” “win at all costs” model lacks is a cynical model built on corporate values, and deprives the civil trial lawyer of moral model built on human values. Instead, Rick advocates for an approach in which the cause must include something more than just winning—there must be some larger (moral) principle at stake.
               Rick explains that to harness the power of moral advocacy, the lawyer must “enter the dark alley” and confront honestly and overcome personal demons that may be stunting growth. These demons include over-emphasis on personal ego, a knee-jerk resort to self-pity or macho “tough guy” image to avoid truly confronting the hardest aspects of trial law, like fear of losing, performance anxiety, or loss of a carefully cultivated image. Rick explains how therapy has helped him and many successful trial lawyers achieve the kind of growth necessary for self-awareness and authenticity.
               Moral Energy and Steadiness. Once a lawyer has done the hard work to grow as a person and to commit to a moral advocacy model, Rick explains that the lawyer can then marshal these powerful forces as a means of persuasion. To do so requires identifying the core moral issues and forces that bear on a dispute, and to understand which of those will reasonable more strongly with the decision maker (in the case of a trial, the jury).
About Rick Friedman
Rick started his career in a small town in Alaska as a lawyer with no staff, where he developed a love for studying the books and transcripts of great trial lawyers. He built his career representing the poor, injured, and mistreated, sharing with jurors the truth about his clients’ injuries and what caused them. His trial method is to present the truth to the jury, and effectively counter defense tactics to distort the truth. He has developed methods for clearly showing jurors how defendants have broken the rules that protect all of us. Lawyers all over the country now ask him for help in trying their cases.
Among Rick’s landmark cases are Bellott v. State Farm, a $152,000,000 jury verdict on behalf of a client whose insurance agency agreement was terminated in retaliation for his refusal to engage in dishonest marketing practices; Washington v. Endoscopy Center of Southern Nevada LLC, a $104,000,000 jury verdict for the infection of his client with Hepatitis C due to the defendant’s multi-dose vials of Propofol; Myrick v. Mastagni, a jury verdict believed to be the first case in California holding a building owner liable for injuries sustained in an earthquake; and Robinson v. State Farm, which exposed State Farm’s use of false doctor’s reports to deny claims. He has obtained four verdicts that ranked in the top ten verdicts of the year in the United States. He is a member and past president of the Inner Circle of Advocates as well as a member of the International Academy of Trial Lawyers and the American College of Trial Lawyers.
Rick is a graduate of Harvard Law School and in addition to
The Way of the Trial Lawyer: Beyond Technique
is the author or co-author of four other bestselling legal books:
Rules of the Road: A Plaintiff Lawyer’s Guide to Proving Liability
, Polarizing the Case, Becoming a Trial Lawyer
, The Elements of Trial
. These books have revolutionized how thousands of lawyers try their cases. Rick is licensed to practice in Alaska, Washington, Nevada, Kentucky and California, but also regularly appears pro hac vice in other state and federal courts around the country.
About Elawvate
The Elawvate Podcast – Where Trial Lawyers Learn, Share, and Grow is where the practice of trial law meets personal growth. To succeed as a trial lawyer and build a successful law firm requires practice skills, strategic thinking and some amount of business and entrepreneurial savvy. Elawvate is a place to learn and share skills and strategies for success.
But it is also a place to dig deeper and achieve personal growth.
Those who succeed as trial lawyers at the highest levels cultivate character, principle, integrity, leadership, courage, compassion and perseverance.
We learn and draw inspiration from those who have achieved this success.
For more about Elawvate, visit our website at www.elawvate.fm. You can also join our Facebook Group at Elawvate | Facebook
For more information or to contact the hosts, see:
(Rahul Ravipudi (psblaw.com)
(Ben Gideon | Gideon Asen LLC)

Introductions and Expectations

Mon, 15 Feb 2021 05:11:00 -0400

In this brief trailer, Ben Gideon and Rahul Ravipudi talk about what motivated them to launch this podcast and their goals and expectations for the show.