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The Great Trials Podcast offers a series of laid-back, casual conversations with leading trial lawyers, taking listeners "behind the scenes" of America’s greatest trials. Hosted by acclaimed trial lawyers Steve Lowry and Yvonne Godfrey, each podcast episode focuses on one important trial and includes in-depth, insightful interviews with the attorneys who successfully argued the case in front of a judge and jury.
Episodes
Tuesday May 17, 2022
Tuesday May 17, 2022
This week, we’re replaying a classic episode where your hosts Steve Lowry and Yvonne Godfrey interview Chris Stewart of Stewart Miller Simmons Trial Attorneys - https://smstrial.com/
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Episode Details:
"Our client was staying at a local motel in a small rural county in Georgia when she was sexually assaulted by a total stranger who gained access to her room by handing a key card to the desk clerk and asking her to re-code it. Our client suffered severe mental and physical injuries. We were able to prove at trial the hotel was negligent and at fault for failing to have a written procedure in place regarding hotel keys and failure to train its employees."
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Guest Bio:
Chris Stewart
Chris handles a variety of cases including wrongful death, civil rights, premises liability, mass torts and sexual assaults. Chris has won numerous record-setting jury verdicts and made U.S history when he won the first billion-dollar jury verdict for a rape victim.
Chris is also recognized worldwide as one of the top civil rights lawyers of his generation. He has represented some of the most famous civil rights cases of this century including George Floyd, Ahmaud Arbery and Rayshard Brooks. He also represented Walter Scott, who was shot in the back on video by a police officer. The Walter Scott case settled for $6.5 million dollars – the highest in South Carolina history, and the officer received a twenty-year prison sentence. Chris also represented Alton Sterling who was held down and killed on video by police in Baton Rouge.
Other high profile cases include Gregory Towns of Georgia, which led to a record settlement and two prison sentences for the officers involved, Chase Sherman of Florida who was killed on video which led to a record settlement, and Deaundre Phillips who was shot on video by police which is still in court.
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Tuesday May 10, 2022
Tuesday May 10, 2022
This week your hosts Steve Lowry and Yvonne Godfrey interview Nathan Werksman of Merson Law PLLC (https://mersonlaw.com/) and Jon Davidi at Panish|Shea|Boyle|Ravipudi LLP (https://www.psbr.law/)
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Episode Details:
Trial lawyers Nathan Werksman of Merson Law PLLC and Jon Davidi at Panish|Shea|Boyle|Ravipudi LLP discuss how they secured justice for a woman who was viciously attacked by a dog as well as the challenges of conducting a jury trial held at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. On December 15, 2016, plaintiff Jennefer Jones took a walk around her neighborhood and attempted to pass neighbor Mathew Epstein, who was walking a 55-pound Rhodesian Ridgeback named Turkey on the sidewalk. Turkey lunged and attacked Jennefer, biting her right forearm, breaking the skin and dragging her to the ground, where she fell on her elbow. Jennefer was later diagnosed with two injuries: radial tunnel syndrome in her forearm and lateral epicondylitis in her elbow. Despite being put in a cast, injected with platelet-rich plasma and more than 80 physical therapy sessions, Jennefer continued to experience pain that greatly affected her ability to perform everyday tasks and to work as a golf instructor. The defense argued that Turkey didn't bite Jennefer but simply scratched her and asserted that any pain is from a pre-existing condition or an overuse injury related to her golf instruction career. Nathan Werksman and Jon Davidi called out the defense's tactic of referring to Jennefer's lateral epicondylitis by its more common name of "tennis elbow" to persuade the jury of the injury's true origin. In October 2020, an Orange County, California jury found in favor of Jennefer and awarded her $309,250 in damages.
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Guest Bios:
Nathan Werksman
As a trial attorney at Merson Law PLLC, lawyer Nathan Werksman fights for the injured and wronged in complex personal injury, medical malpractice, products liability, sexual abuse, and mass tort litigation.
Prior to joining Merson Law, Mr. Nathan Werksman recovered hundreds of millions of dollars for his clients through both settlement and trial at the distinguished California personal injury firm Panish, Shea & Boyle LLP.
Prior to that, Mr. Werksman clerked at internationally renowned law firm Kirkland & Ellis, plaintiffs’-side class-action giant Robbins Geller Rudman Down, and at the Office of the San Francisco Public Defender.
While at Robbins Geller, he worked on behalf of cities and counties across the U.S. suing the opioid manufacturers for the irreparable damage caused by their products. During his time at the San Francisco Public Defender, Mr. Werksman assisted in a trial resulting in an acquittal on all felony counts for his client.
Mr. Werksman obtained his law degree from Stanford Law School where he founded and served as president of the Stanford Plaintiffs’ Lawyers Association. While at Stanford, he also served as co-president of the American Constitution Society (ACS) and earned prizes for achieving the highest marks in several classes, including The Plaintiffs’ Lawyer: Institutional Constraints and Ethical Challenges. He also served as research assistant to Professor Nora Freeman Engstrom, a scholar on tort law and legal ethics. Mr. Werksman completed his undergraduate studies at the University of Pennsylvania, where he graduated summa cum laude double majoring in History and Spanish.
Nathan is very involved in the New York legal community and in making New York a more just place for the injured. He is on the Board of Directors of the New York State Trial Lawyers Association, is a member of the Products Liability Committee at the New York City Bar Association, and is on the Executive Committee of the UJA’s Young Lawyers Division.
Fluent in Spanish, Mr. Werksman is admitted to practice law in New York, California, and Nevada.
Jon Davidi
As a trial attorney at Panish | Shea | Boyle | Ravipudi LLP, Jon Davidi represents individuals in complex personal injury, wrongful death, and product defect cases. Passionate about trial work and representing people in their time of need, Mr. Davidi has obtained over $10 million in verdicts and settlements for his clients.
Most recently, he obtained two jury verdicts that were more than double the defense’s best offer. Notably, one of those verdicts was awarded during the first post-Covid, socially-distanced jury trial in Orange County, California.
Mr. Davidi received his J.D. from the University of California, Hastings College of the Law where he was a member of the Honor Society and graduated cum laude. He was also a member of the mock trial team and recognized as one of the nation’s top advocates after winning the National Championship in the American Association for Justice (AAJ) Trial Tournament. Throughout the competition, judges commented on his ability to be persuasive and to evoke compassion for his client.
Fluent in Farsi, Mr. Davidi is a member of the State Bar of California as well as an active member of both the Consumer Attorneys Association of California (CAALA) and the Consumer Attorneys of California (CAOC). Outside of work, he enjoys live music, new restaurants, and the Los Angeles Lakers. Ironically, he’s never seen an episode of Law & Order.
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Tuesday May 03, 2022
Tuesday May 03, 2022
This week your hosts Steve Lowry and Yvonne Godfrey interview Michael A. Kelly of Walkup, Melodia, Kelly & Schoenberger (https://dicellolevitt.com/)
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Episode Details:
Accomplished California personal injury lawyer Michael A. Kelly, a shareholder at Walkup, Melodia, Kelly & Schoenberger and recent Trial Lawyer Hall of Fame inductee, shares how he secured justice for the first of thousands of victims of a defectively designed medical device. On December 5, 2007, U.S. Air Force veteran Loren "Bill" Kransky underwent hip surgery in Montana, receiving a DePuy ASR Acetabular Hip System orthopaedic implant. DePuy, a subsidiary of Johnson & Johnson, first put the ASR Acetabular Hip System on the market in Europe in 2004, and soon after began receiving notifications from prominent surgeons that the device was flawed. Despite receiving these notifications, DePuy continued to market the metal implant as a low-wear product that required only one surgery and failed to report product issues to American doctors. On August 4, 2010, a recall was issued and the Depuy ASR Acetabular Hip System was labeled as defective, but the damage was already done for millions of patients, including Loren. Following the recall, Loren underwent revision surgery to have the implant removed because it was shedding metal debris into the tissue of his hip and bloodstream. In March 2013, a Los Angeles jury returned a verdict in favor of Loren, awarding $8,338,136.12 in damages for the pain caused by the defective design and ultimately helping to facilitate a $2.5 billion national settlement for all victims.
Click Here to Read/Download Trial Documents
Guest Bio:
Michael A. Kelly
Mike Kelly is one of the nation’s top personal injury attorneys. For four decades he has protected consumers from corporate greed, medical mistakes, dangerous household products, unsafe medical devices, and motor vehicle accidents of every kind. He has tried, settled, and arbitrated more than 200 cases where the recovery by his client exceeded $1 million. In 2020 he helped negotiate the multibillion-dollar resolution of the 2017 California wildfire lawsuits brought against utility giant PG&E. Before that, his $8.341 million verdict in the first DePuy ASR/Johnson & Johnson metal-on-metal artificial hip litigation helped produce a $2.5 billion national settlement for all victims.
In 2021 Mike was the number one vote-getter for the second year in a row on the 2021 list of Northern California “Super Lawyers”. A member of the prestigious Inner Circle of Advocates, Kelly was also included on the “Top 10” and “Top 100” list of lawyers in Northern California for the 18th time, as well as being selected by Best Lawyers to its prestigious roster for the 20th consecutive year. Recognized for his leadership in some of the most significant consumer protection cases in our state, Kelly made the list of the Los Angeles Daily Journal’s 2021 Top Plaintiff Lawyers and was inducted into Lawdragon’s Hall of Fame for his many years of pro-consumer successes, most recently demonstrated by his role in the litigation against the giant utility PG&E for the damage caused by the 2017-2018 Northern California wildfires and the devastating Butte County Camp Fire.
When resolution by mediation or settlement fails, Kelly is ready to take his clients’ cases before juries. Recent trials have produced a $4 million jury verdict against the Golden Gate Bridge Highway and Transportation District for the death of a pedestrian struck by one of its buses, a $5.6 million jury verdict against a Super Shuttle driver for the death of a retired restaurateur, a $12.75 million recovery against a domestic automaker(auto rollover), a $10.5 million settlement for the wrongful death of a single mother, and a major 8-figure confidential settlement against Kaiser Health Plan for a catastrophically injured infant. His $8.35 million verdict on behalf of a construction worker who lost an arm showed his skill in work-site injury cases. His $23.2 million jury verdict in a birth injury medical malpractice case in Minnesota ranks among that state’s largest verdicts for obstetrical injury.
Beyond stellar results for his clients, Kelly is proud of his many contributions to the legal community. He is a speaker for 360 Advocacy for whom he chairs its annual Trucking Litigation program. He teaches regularly for NITA, The Rutter Group, ABOTA, the Consumer Attorneys of California, AAJ, SFTLA, and the Bar Association of San Francisco. He served for 10 years as the Director of Teacher Training programs for the National Institute of Trial Advocacy and remains a member of its Board of Governors. He has long been active in protecting the rights of the underrepresented, working for pedestrian and bicyclist safety, lobbying for compensation fairness for medical malpractice victims, and protecting the rights of the LGBT community.
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Tuesday Apr 26, 2022
Tuesday Apr 26, 2022
This week your hosts Steve Lowry and Yvonne Godfrey interview Christopher Stombaugh of DiCello Levitt Gutzler (https://dicellolevitt.com/)
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Episode Details:
Accomplished trial lawyer Christopher Stombaugh, a partner at DiCello Levitt Gutzler in Chicago, shares how he successfully represented Costa Rican native Adriana Guzman after she suffered PTSD following a sudden decompression incident on a commercial Boeing 757 flight. On October 26, 2010, Adriana boarded a Boeing 757 in Miami. During the flight, a two-foot hole developed in the fuselage of the Boeing plane, causing a sudden decompression and a rapid descent from 32,000 feet to 10,000 feet. Adriana recalls the frightful incident, saying it felt like "a kick in the stomach" and that she feared was going to die. Years later, Adriana continued to suffer a range of medical issues from the traumatic experiences of that day aboard the Boeing plane. In spite of the defense's attempts to claim that Adriana's injuries were pre-existing conditions related to her past psychological history or to draw attention to Adriana's leave of absence from her doctoral program at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, trial lawyer Christopher Stombaugh kept the jurors focused on Adriana's life-altering injuries. Christopher Stombaugh used a timeline of events, expert witnesses and a physical demonstration of the impact of altitude on the body via a shaken soda can to help the jury understand the nature of Adriana's injuries. On April 12, 2018, a Massachusetts District Court jury returned a $2.2 million verdict in favor of plaintiff Adriana Guzman with damages deducted and prejudgment interest added, resulting in a final verdict of $2,271,651. The Boeing Company's attorneys filed an appeal claiming that Christopher Stombaugh and the plaintiff's trial team utilized controversial reptile tactics at trial, but a U.S. Magistrate Judge denied the appeal.
Click Here to Read/Download Trial Documents
Guest Bio:
Christopher Stombaugh
For more than 30 years, Chris Stombaugh has been devoted to his true passion, advancing the art and science of trial advocacy. Chris focuses on trial. He has successfully tried to verdict cases for people around the country injured by hospitals, aircraft manufacturers, insurance companies, agribusiness, construction companies, truck companies and many other industries. His approach empowers people to tell their stories in a way that resonates with juries and has led to several record-setting, seven and eight figure jury verdicts.
Chris speaks regularly to state bar and trial lawyer associations nationwide on modern and effective trial advocacy and is a key member of DiCello Levitt’s Trial Practice Team. In addition to his own successful practice, Chris teaches trial lawyers cognitive neuroscience to benefit their clients.
Chris is the past president of the Wisconsin Association for Justice, having served as president of the WAJ 2014 term. He has been chosen as a Wisconsin Super Lawyer every year since 2010. He is an active member in a number of other trial lawyer associations.
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Tuesday Apr 12, 2022
Tuesday Apr 12, 2022
This week we’re replaying a classic GTP episode where your hosts Steve Lowry and Yvonne Godfrey interview Robin Frazer Clark of The Law Firm of Robin Frazer Clark, P.C. (https://www.gatriallawyers.net/)
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Episode Details:
Former State Bar of Georgia President Robin Frazer Clark explains how she secured justice for the only son of 75-year-old Jayne Fox, a woman who suffered a traumatic vocal cord injury during intubation for a lung biopsy, causing Jayne to suffer post-surgical aspiration pneumonia and leading to her death. Admitted to Emory University Hospital in Atlanta for a biopsy of a spot on her lung, Jayne was initially intubated with equipment that was much too large for her petite 97 lb., 5-foot frame. Following the surgery, nurses observed Jayne having difficulty clearing secretions, and an Ear, Nose and Throat (ENT) specialist found abnormalities indicating aspiration pneumonia. However, the ENT and nurses failed to report their observations to the attending physician, Dr. Roy Rajan, who also failed to properly supervise Jayne’s medical care or visit her in person. As a result, Jayne's treatment plan was not adjusted to treat her condition, and she passed away at Emory University Hospital nearly six weeks after her surgery. Despite the defense's attempts to blame Jayne's age, her son and the rarity of her post-operation condition, a Dekalb County, Georgia jury returned a verdict of $2,350,000 in damages against Emory Clinic and Dr. Rajan.
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Guest Bio:
Robin Frazer Clark
Robin Frazer Clark is the owner and founder of the law firm of Robin Frazer Clark, P.C., and has practiced law in Georgia for 31 years. Ms. Clark devotes her practice exclusively to plaintiff’s personal injury. Her motto is “A Rising Tide Lifts All Boats.” She is the Co-host of the podcast “See You In Court.”
Ms. Clark was sworn in as the Fiftieth President of the State Bar of Georgia on June 2, 2012, only the second woman ever to serve as President of the State Bar of Georgia and served as President of the 45,000-member association in 2012-2013. One of Ms. Clark’s initiatives she created while President is the State Bar of Georgia’s Suicide Prevention Campaign, “How to Save a Life.” Ms. Clark is a Past President of the Georgia Trial Lawyers Association (GTLA), also only the second woman in the organization’s history to lead GTLA. Ms. Clark is a Past President of The Lawyers Club of Atlanta (LCA), in which she has been a member for over 25 years. Ms. Clark is the only person ever to have served as President of all three of those professional associations, the State Bar of Georgia, GTLA and Lawyers Club of Atlanta. Ms. Clark is a Fellow of the International Society of Barristers (ISOB) whose membership is by invitation only and which is dedicated to the preservation of trial by jury, the adversary system and an independent judiciary. ISOB founders conceived the organization to bring together the best of the trial bar in a setting devoid of partisan interests. Ms. Clark also serves on the Board of Directors of the ISOB Foundation. Ms. Clark is an Associate of the American Board of Trial Advocates (ABOTA), a National professional association dedicated to the preservation and promotion of the right to trial by jury as guaranteed by the 7th Amendment to the United States Constitution.
Ms. Clark is also a member of the Georgia Association for Women Lawyers (GAWL), and a Fellow of the Litigation Counsel of America (LCA), a trial lawyer honorary society composed of less than one-half of one percent of American lawyers. She is a Past Chair of the Atlanta Bar Association Litigation Section. Ms. Clark serves on the Board of Directors of the Georgia Civil Justice Foundation (GCJF) and previously served on the Board of Directors of the Commission on Continuing Lawyer Competency (CCLC). Ms. Clark previously served on the Board of Directors for the Commission on Dispute Resolution, on the Board of Directors of the Institute for Continuing Judicial Education (ICJE), the Board of Directors of the Institute for Continuing Legal Education (ICLE) and the Board of Directors for the Chief Justice’s Commission on Professionalism (CJCP). She is also a member of the American Association for Justice (AAJ) and a member of the American Bar Association (ABA). Ms. Clark has previously served on the State Bar of Georgia Office of General Counsel’s Investigative Panel and the Review Panel.
Ms. Clark has testified extensively before the Georgia General Assembly on issues as far ranging as the discriminatory effect of caps on damages, the detrimental impact of the proposed elimination of vicarious liability in Georgia, the Juvenile Justice Reform Legislation, signed into law in 2013 by Governor Deal, and the elimination of the assignability of legal malpractice claims. Ms. Clark served on the Georgia General Assembly Bicameral Evidence Code Committee that was responsible for drafting the Georgia Evidence Code that was passed and signed into law in 2011 and went into effect in January 2013. Through her advocacy on behalf of Georgia citizens with the Georgia Legislature, she has built strong relationships with numerous Legislators and has worked to promote the cause of justice and protect the constitutional rights of all Georgia citizens.
Ms. Clark received her Bachelor of Science in Biology from Vanderbilt University in 1985 and received her Juris Doctor from Emory University School of Law in 1988. Ms. Clark has been extensively published. As President of the State Bar of Georgia she had 162 articles published in 84 different publications, with a total circulation of 3,122,569. Clark is the author of “Who’s Your Neighbor? Our Moral Obligation to Discuss Mental Health with Our Peers,” Verdict Magazine, Winter 2018; “I’d Rather See a Sermon,” Verdict Magazine, Fall 2016; Building a Connection: Saving the Life of Your Fellow Lawyer, Daily Report, August 2016; “ARE YOU OKAY? ”The Most Important Conversation No One Wants to Have, Atlanta Bar Association Magazine, March 2015; “Realizing the Dream of Equality for All,” Georgia Bar Journal, Vol. 18, No. 7, June 2013; State Bar’s Suicide Prevention Campaign Tells ‘How to Save a Life,’ Daily Report, September 2013;“All I Really Know About Professionalism I Learned in Golf,” Georgia Bar Journal, Vol. 18, No. 6, April 2013; “Decisions Are Made By Those Who Show Up,” Georgia Bar Journal, Vol. 18, No. 5, February 2013; “How To Save a Life,” Georgia Bar Journal, Vol. 18, No. 4, December 2012; “Legal Trailblazers: Women in Leadership,” Georgia Bar Journal, Vol. 18, No. 2, October 2012; “Sharing the Abundance and Lifting All Boats,” Georgia Bar Journal, Vol. 18, No. 1, August 2012; There is No Me Without You~Don Keenan: The Road to Serendipity, a Passion for Children, Verdict Magazine, Winter 2011; There is No Me Without You~Pressing On for a Cure: Patrick Chance’s Story, Verdict Magazine, Winter 2009; Voir Dire: It’s Elementary, My Dear Watson, Verdict Magazine, Winter 2009; There You Go Again: Other Similar Incidents in Medical Malpractice Cases (A Case Study of Bean v. Northeast Georgia Medical Center), Verdict Magazine, Vol. 29, No. 3, Fall/Winter 2004, Essential Tools for Overcoming Trial Fear, Trial Excellence, Advanced Trial Tactics for Attorneys, May 2001 and Closing Argument Tips: Compensatory and Punitive Damages, Trial Excellence, Tactics, Legal Updates & Samples, September 2001.
Ms. Clark is admitted to the State and Superior Courts of Georgia, the Georgia Court of Appeals, the Georgia Supreme Court, the United States District Court for the Northern and Middle Districts, the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit and the United States Supreme Court. Ms. Clark has tried over 70 jury trials and has argued before Georgia appellate courts over 40 times. Ms. Clark has given numerous speeches for the State Bar of Georgia, the Institute of Continuing Legal Education of Georgia and for the Georgia Trial Lawyers Association, has appeared on The Layman’s Lawyer on Atlanta Public Television on the issue of products liability and has appeared on Leyes Cotidianas or Everyday Law on Georgia Public Television on the issue of harmful change of Georgia Civil Justice System in 2005. Ms. Clark has served as volunteer counsel for The Carter Center program “Not Even One Child’s Death by a Firearm is Acceptable or Inevitable”, the Georgia Council for the Hearing Impaired and the Atlanta Bar Foundation’s Truancy Intervention Project. Ms. Clark is also a volunteer lawyer with Civil Lawyers Against World Sex Slavery (CLAWSS).
Ms. Clark is married to William T. Clark, Director of Political Affairs for Georgia Trial Lawyers Association. They have two children, Chastain “Chaz”, age 25, and Alexandria “Alex”, age 22. Chaz is a graduate of Georgia College and State University and is attending graduate school at Georgia Institute of Technology’s School of Architecture. Alex is a graduate of the University of Georgia, where she was Captain of the UGA Rowing Team and is now a 2L at the University of Georgia School of Law. Ms. Clark is a member of Glenn Memorial United Methodist Church on the beautiful Emory University Campus. Ms. Clark is an avid golfer, carrying a 19 handicap.
You may read more about Ms. Clark on her website, www.gatriallawyers.net, or her blog, www.atlantainjurylawyerblog.com. You may reach Ms. Clark also at robinclark@gatriallawyers.net and follow her on Twitter @robinfclark.
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Tuesday Apr 05, 2022
Tuesday Apr 05, 2022
This week your hosts Steve Lowry and Yvonne Godfrey interview Doris Cheng of Walkup, Melodia, Kelly & Schoenberger (https://www.walkuplawoffice.com/)
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Episode Details:
Acclaimed California trial lawyer and former San Francisco Bar Association president Doris Cheng of Walkup, Melodia, Kelly & Schoenberger shares how she successfully represented a grieving mother after her son was fatally struck by a city bus while riding his bike. On May 15, 2017, Maria Renteria's son, Luis Alvarez, Jr., rode his bike in the right lane of a Los Angeles street until he came upon a stopped Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority (LACMTA) bus and, adhering to the rules of the road, moved to the left lane to pass the bus. In an attempt to return to the right lane and travel in front of the bus, Luis was struck by the bus, dragged 70 feet and killed on impact. Trial lawyer Doris Cheng argued that the bus driver failed to be aware of her surroundings and did not adhere to her training, while defense counsel countered that the bus driver should not be held to a higher standard of care than Luis or any bicyclist. In spite of the defense's tactics, which included revealing the estrangement between Luis and his mother due to Luis's father's chronic abuse, a Los Angeles County jury assigned a percentage of negligence to both LACMTA and Luis, awarding Maria $1,400,000 in damages for the tragic loss of her son. In this in-depth discussion, Doris Cheng discusses everything from dealing with bad facts in voir dire to when to abandon the conventional "rules of the road" formula, instead focusing on the fundamental rules of persuasion: ethos, pathos and logos.
Click Here to Read/Download the Complete Trial Documents
Guest Bio:
Doris Cheng
A frequent guest lecturer and adjunct professor, Ms. Cheng has trained lawyers and judges nationally and internationally. As part of the Rule of Law Initiative, she has had the privilege of training trial lawyers and judges in Mexico, Kosovo, and Macedonia. She has also collaborated and trained with civil practitioners in Singapore and Belfast. This past year, she led trial skills training for criminal prosecution offices in Glasgow, Scotland and multiple Caribbean countries.
Ms. Cheng is also the Program Director of the National Institute for Trial Advocacy’s Western Region Advocacy Teacher Training Program. In 2012, she was awarded the Robert E. Keeton Award for outstanding service by the National Institute for Trial Advocacy. She is the 2015 recipient of the University of San Francisco Professional Achievement Award.
Ms. Cheng is involved in local bar associations and community organizations. She is the current President (former Secretary) of the San Francisco Bar Association and immediate Past President of the San Francisco Trial Lawyers Association. She is a former Chair of the Civility Matters! Program and current national representative for the American Board of Trial Advocates (San Francisco Chapter). She is a member of the American College of Trial Lawyers. She serves on the Kaiser Arbitration Oversight Board.
She is a co-author of the eminent Rutter Group California Practice Guide on Personal Injury, and the trial practice guide, Mastering the Mechanics of Civil Jury Trials.
Following the induction of new Fellows of The American College of Trial Lawyers, Doris Cheng gave a speech to all the new inductees about being awarded such an elite honor.
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Tuesday Mar 29, 2022
Tuesday Mar 29, 2022
This week we're replaying a classic episode where your hosts Steve Lowry and Yvonne Godfrey interview Chrysta Castañeda of The Castañeda Firm (https://castaneda-firm.com/)
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Episode Details:
Accomplished Dallas oil and gas litigator Chrysta Castañeda of The Castañeda Firm discusses how she secured justice for oil tycoon T. Boone Pickens, the owner of Mesa Petroleum Partners, in a landmark breach of contract case against three Texas oil companies, securing the nation's 12th largest verdict in 2016. In January 2007, Mesa Petroleum Partners signed a participation agreement with J. Cleo Thompson and Baytech, affording Mesa 15% ownership in oil wells and other assets in Texas over a five-year period. Mesa Petroleum elected to participate in all offered deals, but unbeknownst to Pickens, Mesa Petroleum's 15% interest was being used to purchase assets and to drill more than 160 wells under the auspices of two newly formed companies: Patriot Resources and Delaware Basin Resources. In 2009, Delaware Basin Resources attempted to buy out Mesa Petroleum from the original agreement and recruited Baytech to initiate an offer that Mesa Petroleum ultimately rejected. Despite the defense's claims that Pickens stated in a phone call that he wanted out of the agreement, except for his initial investment in a Lyda Well, and assertions that Pickens did not pay his fair share and was looking to repair his reputation after making poor business decisions during the 2008-2009 financial crisis, Chrysta Castañeda secured justice for her client. In November 2016, after a five-week trial, a Reeves County, Texas jury returned a verdict in favor of the plaintiff, awarding more than $140 million in damages plus legal fees. This groundbreaking case is also featured in the book The Last Trial of T. Boone Pickens, written by Chrysta Castañeda and Loren Steffy.
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Guest Bio:
Chrysta Castañeda
Chrysta Castañeda is a go-to lawyer for high-stakes litigation in the energy industry and beyond. Practicing for over twenty-five years, she has built a solid reputation for adeptly handling technical litigation, often serving as lead trial counsel in high-profile disputes of media interest. Her win for T. Boone Pickens’ Mesa Petroleum Partners was recognized as the 12th largest verdict in 2016 in the nation by The National Law Journal and earned her a spot as one of the NLJ’s Elite Trial Lawyers of 2018, as well as induction into Texas Lawyer‘s Texas Verdicts Hall of Fame. Following this series of high-profile recognitions, Chrysta was inducted as a fellow of the Texas Bar Foundation in the beginning of 2020.
Chrysta developed her reputation and commitment to excellence from practicing for more than two decades at top firms worldwide. Since founding the Castañeda Firm, Chrysta has prioritized delivering the quality of representation found in large law firms in a personalized way. Chrysta and her team strive to out-prepare the opposition, from investigation through trial.
Chrysta not only has more than two decades of experience litigating energy and oil and gas matters but also holds a degree in engineering. Her technical training in combination with her experience in crisis communications frequently proves invaluable to clients, enabling her to effectively explain complex scientific concepts to judges and juries.
Clients value Chrysta’s strength and tenacity. As Chrysta puts it, “We take pride in having both the knowledge and experience clients require, as well as the necessary tenacity and creativity to craft winning strategies. We aim to prepare so thoroughly that we can adapt without hesitation to changing dynamics at trial or in discovery. I want our clients to feel confident and assured when The Castañeda Firm is on their case.”
Outside of the oil and gas and energy industries, Chrysta has extensive experience in commercial litigation, trade secrets, products liability, pharmaceutical, medical device, and toxic tort litigation.
Book Link:
The Last Trial of T. Boone Pickens
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Tuesday Mar 22, 2022
Tuesday Mar 22, 2022
This week we’re replaying a classic episode where your hosts Steve Lowry and Yvonne Godfrey interview Victor Vital of Barnes & Thornburg LLP (https://btlaw.com/)
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Episode Details:
Texas Lawyer Verdicts Hall of Fame inductee Victor Vital, a partner at Barnes & Thornburg LLP, shares how he secured a take-nothing defense verdict in a business fraud claim against his clients, CAT Seattle and Ascend Health Corporation. Both companies countersued Jim Graham, a Dallas oil magnate, and his company, Duffy, for illegally wiretapping a conversation that resulted in a $2 million purchase agreement. Jim Graham secretly and without consent recorded a critical conversation with a "spy pen" during business negotiations. A Dallas County, Texas jury sided with Victor's clients regarding the wiretapping claim, resulting in the recovery of attorneys' fees.
Click Here to Read/Download the Complete Trial Documents
Guest Bio:
Victor Vital
Victor’s trial experience ranges from patent litigation, unfair competition, contract disputes, business tort cases, and high net worth divorce cases to trade secret and non-compete litigation, real estate disputes, products liability matters, catastrophic injury and death cases, consumer fraud matters, and white-collar criminal matters. Because of his broad trial experience, clients and lawyers turn to Victor regardless of subject matter when they need a trial lawyer for their important cases. Beyond his trial experience, Victor has successfully resolved through settlement and dismissal all types of complex civil litigation matters. Moreover, Victor has secured favorable plea deals and indictment declinations in a range of white-collar criminal matters, including wire fraud and mail fraud, tax evasion, securities fraud, Ponzi cases, and money laundering.
Notably, Victor was inducted into the Texas Lawyer Verdicts Hall of Fame for securing a No. 1 verdict -- the largest employment verdict in Texas in 2012 – for a corporate plaintiff in a complicated noncompete/trade secrets matter. In 2016, Victor secured the largest (No. 1) verdict in the fraud category in the Texas Lawyer Top Texas Verdicts & Settlements of 2016, with a jury verdict of nearly $34 million (including $16 million in punitive damages) in a partnership dispute involving claims of fraud and breach of fiduciary duty. This top 2016 jury verdict also made the National Law Journal Top 100 list.
Victor is often brought onboard on the eve of trial – in the final months or weeks leading up to trial – because of his deep trial experience. Moreover, Victor is a prolific author and invited lecturer/educator on trial issues. He also teaches trial practice techniques and provides commentary on major trials and cases in the media.
Victor previously served as a partner in national and international law firms and has prosecuted cases in a prominent district attorney’s office.
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Tuesday Mar 15, 2022
Tuesday Mar 15, 2022
This week, your hosts Steve Lowry and Yvonne Godfrey interview Randall Sorrels and Alexandra Farias-Sorrels of Sorrels Law (https://sorrelllawfirm.com/)
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Case Details:
Husband-and-wife trial team Randall Sorrels and Alexandra Farias-Sorrels of Sorrels Law share how they secured justice for an airline wing walker who was struck by a fueling truck and catastrophically injured. On September 7, 2019, Ulysses Cruz donned his yellow vest and held bright orange wands to guide a United Airlines plane when Allied Aviation Fueling Company truck driver Reginald Willis struck Ulysses with the vehicle. Ulysses was paralyzed on impact, underwent spine stabilization surgery and suffered an accident-related stroke that affected the right side of his body and the left side of his brain. In the courtroom, award-winning trial lawyers Randall and Alexandra Sorrels sparred against the defense attorney, who attempted to place blame on United Airlines and to label Ulysses as a wing walker with a lack of "situational awareness." The Sorrels Law duo countered with proof that Reginald Willis violated Allied Aviation Fueling Company's policies by continuing to drive while blinded by the sun. On October 25, 2021, a Harris County, Texas jury found Allied Aviation Fueling Company 70% responsible and driver Reginald Willis 30% responsible for the accident and awarded Ulysses Cruz and his family a $352.77 million verdict, which is believed to be the largest actual damages verdict in U.S. history for an injured worker.
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Guest Bios:
Randy Sorrel
Randy Sorrels holds the unique distinction of being the only Texas board-certified plaintiffs’ lawyer ever to have been elected to serve as President of the State Bar of Texas and selected as one of the Top 100 lawyers in the state by Texas Super Lawyers magazine. His passionate representation of clients and lawyers has garnered statewide recognition and numerous prestigious awards. Randy and his partner/wife obtained what is believed to be the largest actual damages verdict in United States’ history for an injured worker — $352.7 million – in a fully contested jury trial. In short, whether it is in the courtroom or in the boardroom, Randy has an unparalleled track record of success for his clients and the organizations he leads.
As a leader, Randy was voted by Texas lawyers to become the 2019-2020 State Bar President by the widest margin of victory in State Bar history. During his presidential service, he traveled Texas solidifying his reputation for helping not only those who hire him, but also helping fellow lawyers. His network of friends and relationships throughout the state is vast, and he is often hired by lawyers who are in need of representation. As a zealot advocate for his clients, Randy holds four board certifications including in Personal Injury Trial Law, Civil Trial Law and Civil Trial Advocacy from the Texas Board of Legal Specialization and the National Board of Trial Advocacy. And in a peer selection process, for the last 14 years he has been named one of the Top 100 lawyers in the state. He is sought after by the nationwide and local media for legal analysis, commentary and perspective.
Randy’s success in the courtroom is also well-known throughout Texas and the nation. He has taken dozens of cases to trial, securing multi-million-dollar verdicts in personal injury cases, medical malpractice cases, plant explosion cases and business lawsuits. During the time of Covid, Randy and the Sorrels Law team secured two of the largest personal injury jury verdicts in the country in high-profile cases that received media attention worldwide. In one of the cases, the jury returned an actual damages verdict of $352.7 million for an injured worker who suffered catastrophic injuries, while in the other the jury awarded two minor league baseball players $3.24 million. For 2022, Randy has been named the Best Lawyers® Personal Injury – Plaintiffs “Lawyer of the Year” in Houston, and has been named the Best Lawyers’ Medical Malpractice Law – Plaintiffs “Lawyer of the Year” in Houston on three separate occasions. He has received some of the highest legal honors in the state, including being awarded the State Bar of Texas President’s Award (recognizing the one Texas Lawyer who provided the most outstanding contributions through distinguished service to the lawyers of Texas), the Judge Sam Williams Award (recognizing the Texas lawyer who provides the greatest contribution to both local bars and the State Bar of Texas), and the Houston Bar Association President’s Award (recognizing significant contributions to an HBA program). Early in his career, Randy was honored with the Woodrow B. Seals Outstanding Young Lawyer of Houston Award (recognizing the one young Houston lawyer who exemplified significant professional traits both inside and outside the practice of law). He started his career as a lawyer at the internationally acclaimed Fulbright & Jaworski (now Norton Rose Fulbright).
Alex Farias-Sorrels
Alex Farias-Sorrels is a passionate litigator, who left “Big-Law” to pursue her desire to help people who have been wrongly injured. She treats her clients like family and handles every aspect of her cases as if she were handling them for her own mother, father, sister, or brother. A Latina, native Houstonian, and bilingual lawyer, Alex is proud to bring a woman’s touch to personal injury law.
Alex attended both undergrad (2007) and law school (2010) at the University of Miami in Coral Gables, graduating with honors. While graduating in the top 10% of her law school class, Alex also interned for the appellate division of the U.S. Attorney’s office in Houston and for Legal Services of Greater Miami.
After law school, as part of a fellowship program, Alex served as a full-time law clerk for U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Jeff Bohm for a year. At the same time, and on a part-time basis, she received her first exposure to plaintiffs’ work at a respected personal injury law firm in Houston where she handled personal injury cases and business disputes. In her second year of practice, she worked as a briefing attorney for the Supreme Court of Texas, clerking for Justice David Medina. There, she assisted the Court in assessing complex state law issues and also helped draft the Court’s opinions.
After her term at the Court, Alex joined the international law firm Morgan, Lewis & Bockius, a Philadelphia-based firm with over 2,200 lawyers worldwide. Alex practiced in the firm’s Houston litigation section and focused mostly on complex commercial cases and insurance recovery cases. She also handled products liability and personal injury cases, including aircraft crashes. She served as first-chair counsel in more than ten trials, and was often called on to assist on thorny appellate issues. Alex’s largest victory came in an arbitration award, as she was instrumental in securing an almost $300 million arbitration award on behalf of a major Fortune 500 company on a fraudulent transfer claim.
Alex and her husband Randy Sorrels have a young son, Houston Alexander, who is bilingual, and keeps them busy when they are not working. They also have two rescue dogs – Gio and Luna. Alex is active in the bar, currently serving as a board member on both the Texas Bar Foundation and the Houston Young Lawyers Foundation.
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Tuesday Mar 08, 2022
Tuesday Mar 08, 2022
This week we're replaying a classic episode where your hosts Steve Lowry and Yvonne Godfrey interview Micha Star Liberty of Liberty Law Office, Inc. (https://libertylaw.com/).
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Episode Details:
Award-winning California trial attorney Micha Star Liberty discusses how she successfully advocated for the grieving parents of 24-year-old Amelie Le Moullac after she was fatally struck by a commercial vehicle while riding in a San Francisco bike lane in 2013. A responsible bicyclist, Amelie wore her helmet and stayed in the designated bicycle lane, but neither action prevented her from being run over by a 13,000-ton Daylight Foods, Inc. box truck, which illegally crossed the bike lane to make a sudden right turn. Amelie died from her injuries, including a fractured skull and crushed torso. Micha Star Liberty helped secure key video footage of the crash from a nearby business security camera after the San Francisco Police Department failed to conduct a thorough investigation, which was later revealed to be part of a larger bias against bicyclists. Despite the defense's attempts to blame Amelie and to depict her as a reckless bicyclist, Micha Star Liberty invoked a California Vehicle Code statute, which underscored the fact that Amelie had the right to remain in her bike lane and treat it as a safety zone in the event of a turning vehicle, which trumped the defense's use of a more general statute. In January 2015, a San Francisco jury ruled that Amelie shared no responsibility in her tragic death, found the driver to be at fault and awarded Amelie's parents a total of $4 million in damages.
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Guest Bio:
Micha Star Liberty
Micha Star Liberty is the owner of Liberty Law Office, Inc. — a diverse legal practice primarily representing individuals who have suffered a serious injury or abuse, including child sexual abuse. The firm also represents employees who have been discriminated against or harassed in the workplace, and Micha has assisted businesses with finding a common ground when releasing an employee on best terms.
Ms. Liberty is a graduate of the University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA) and the University of California, Hastings College of the Law. She has held the title of President and Vice President of multiple legal and political organizations, expanding her network of associates and resources, which often helps to expedite the legal process for the greater benefit of her clients.
“My clients come to me during a time of tremendous pain, anguish, and often confusion. They need help and a specialized kind of help. Someone to talk to who will listen; someone who can offer confidential protection under the law; someone with trial knowledge who has worked with similar experiences so they know they are not alone. Everyone needs help and compassion during hard times. My calling in life is to be that advocate for my clients, and I’m never one to back down from a fight for what is right.”
Ms. Liberty is a frequent lecturer and published author, focusing much of her public speaking on trial practice, discovery techniques, the importance of mentoring, and best practices for opening a law office and law office management.
In 2015, the Consumer Attorneys of California — an organization made up of more than 3000 lawyers in California alone — presented her with the Street Fighter of the Year award at their 54th annual convention held at The Palace in San Francisco. Ms. Liberty was granted the award after holding the Contra Costa County School District accountable for a child sexual molestation case in which school officials were aware of the abuse and took no action. Every year since 2005, she’s been given the Presidential Award of Merit. In 2005 and 2006 she was presented the Defender of Justice Award and the Outstanding Service Award, respectively. In 2018, she was awarded the Women’s Advocate of the Year Award for her hard work on legislation and for prosecuting numerous cases dealing with the #me too era.
Ms. Liberty was a contributing author and editor for the following practice guides: California Client Communications Manual, and California Basic Practice Handbook, both published by Continuing Education of the Bar.
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