Tuesday, April 25, 2006
THREE MAGNAS AT MORGENSTEIN JUBELIRER NAMED "SUPER LAWYERS"
Jean Bertrand,
Bruce Wagman and
John Worden have been named Northern California Super Lawyers by San Francisco Magazine. For Bertrand (2005) and Worden (2004) this is their second appearance on the list. "Super Lawyers" are selected by their peers.
Bertrand is a trial lawyer with extensive experience, including in the real estate and toxic tort fields. Bertrand is immediate past-Chair of the California State Bar Real Property Law Section, former chair of California State Bar Committees on Administration of Justice and Rules and Procedures of Court, a former Regent of the American College of Mortgage Attorneys, and a member of Commercial Real Estate Women. Bertrand is a 1978
magna cum laude graduate of the University of Michigan School of Law, where she served on the Michigan Law Review and was elected to the Order of the Coif. Ms. Bertrand received a bachelor of arts degree with high honors in history at the University of Michigan in 1975; she was elected to Phi Beta Kappa.
Wagman is a pioneer in the rapidly expanding field of animal law, as a litigator (winning the biggest civil animal cruelty case in the nation), educator (teaching animal law at four law schools), and author (responsible for the first casebook on the subject, now in its third edition); he also litigates in the areas of products liability defense, employment law, and insurance coverage. Mr. Wagman is a 1991
magna cum laude graduate of Hastings College of the Law, where he received American Jurisprudence Awards in torts, property, contracts, civil procedure and federal courts and was an articles editor on the Hastings Law Journal. He was elected to the Order of the Coif in 1991 and the Thurston Society in 1989. Mr. Wagman served as judicial clerk to the Honorable William H. Orrick of the United States District Court for the Northern District of California from 1991 to 1992 and as an extern to the Honorable James Browning of the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals in 1990.
Worden’s practice focuses on insurance coverage, securities litigation and other commercial trial work – with a current trial winning streak of 15 straight spanning the past five years. Worden graduated in 1989 at the top of his class (
magna cum laude) from the Seattle University School of Law, where he was editor of the law review. Worden has authored numerous articles (in the Santa Clara Law Review, the Idaho Law Review, SF Attorney Magazine, the ABTL Report, California Construction Law Reporter, The Recorder, and American Lawyer, among others).
Wednesday, April 19, 2006
DEFENSE VERDICT BY SANDBERG, PHOENIX & VON GONTARD
Mary Anne Mellow, a partner with Sandberg, Phoenix & von Gontard, the Network’s Missouri member, recently won a defense verdict on behalf of NCMIC Insurance Company after a 5 day jury trial with Sig Adler.
A chiropractic cervical adjustment allegedly performed on plaintiff resulted in a vertebral artery dissection, leading to several strokes 35 days later which resulted in permanent peripheral vision loss for this 56 year old truck driver.
In closing argument, plaintiff’s counsel asked for an award of $1.2 million. The jury returned a defense verdict in 4 hours, rejecting plaintiff’s arguments. Plaintiff has filed a Motion for New Trial which is pending before the court.
Tuesday, April 18, 2006
WHEELER TRIGG KENNEDY HELPS SILVERTON MOUNTAIN SKI AREA PREVAIL IN PROPERTY RIGHTS, TRESPASSING SUIT IN ORDER TO REMAIN OPEN
Hugh Gottschalk and Alissa Hecht of the Network's Colorado member, Wheeler Trigg Kennedy, recently defended its client, Silverton Mountain Ski Area, in a lawsuit which could have closed the fast-growing, four-year old ski area. Plaintiffs Jim Jackson and the Silverton Land and Cattle Co. had competitively sought to obtain the BLM lease to open their own ski area on the same land and had lost his bid to the Defendants. In the lawsuit, they claimed that the ski area was violating his mining-claim property rights by allowing it's skiers to trespass on their property, alleging that the avalanche control efforts that took place on his property. The State of Colorado filed an amicus brief prior to trial in support of Defendants right to conduct avalanche control on private property.
Judge Gregory Lyman upheld the county and ski area's rights to conduct avalanche control. While the Court issued a detailed opinion acknowledging that trespasses had occurred, it denied Plaintiffs request for an injunction and declined to award compensatory damages. Mr. Gottschalk, who was lead trial counsel, stated, "The Silverton Mountain Ski Area has boosted economic development in Silverton and the region , and we are pleased to have worked to keep it open."
Wednesday, April 12, 2006
SMARTPROS AND THE NETWORK OF TRIAL LAW FIRMS LAUNCH ONLINE PROFESSIONAL EDUCATION CENTER FOR CONTINUING LEGAL EDUCATION
HAWTHORNE, N.Y. – April 12, 2006 – SmartPros Ltd. (AMEX:PED), a leader in the field of accredited professional education and corporate training, and The Network of Trial Law Firms, Inc. (TRIAL.com®), a not-for-profit association of 27 leading trial and litigation law firms, today announced the release of a new online Professional Education Center and Learning Management System (LMS) to support The Network’s Continuing Legal Education (CLE) efforts. The system is a prototype for state-of-the-art delivery of streaming video CLE in the broader legal industry.
The initial product launch includes six hours of multimedia CLE developed by The Network, and addresses management of high-risk litigation for in-house counsel. The content draws on the popularity of The Network’s unique 20-minute presentation concept. The Network has been producing litigation management CLE since 1993, and delivers several live seminars each year. Another eight hours of CLE content will be added in the near future and The Network is producing eight additional hours later this month which are expected to be available online later this spring.
The new courseware was developed using the SmartPros eLearning Player (eLP)™ platform and is delivered to viewers via the SmartPros Professional Education Center (PEC)™ Learning Management System. The multimedia content is produced using Adobe Flash® video synchronized with Microsoft® PowerPoint® presentations and demonstrative video clips. The result is an as-good-as-being-there multimedia CLE presentation that includes downloadable PDF files of course book materials and PowerPoint presentations and affords opportunities to have questions answered by course speakers.
“The Network’s leading-edge course content was a perfect fit for our latest developments in online continuing education delivery,” said SmartPros President, Jack Fingerhut. “Partnering with The Network on this project was a perfect and natural progression for SmartPros’ entry into the legal marketplace.”
The Network intends to use this new capability to reach tens of thousands of in-house counsel who are unable to attend any of The Network's capacity-limited live programs.
Founded in 1993, The Network is an approved CLE provider in the state of California and its programs have been approved for accreditation in numerous other states, including New York, Texas and Florida. Streaming video is an emerging form of CLE delivery and is not yet approved by every state for accreditation, although requirements are changing in recognition of the evolving technologies for delivering information to viewers at home and in their offices.
Founded in 1981, SmartPros is a leading provider of professional education products to Fortune 500 companies, as well as to major firms and associations in the accounting, finance and engineering markets. This new product is SmartPros' first private-labeled continuing education presence in the legal industry. With this tailored delivery platform, SmartPros expects to grow quickly in the market segment for law firms and associations desiring private-labeled CLE for client communication and in-house training purposes.
The new product can be seen at: http://www.trial.com/online/
About SmartPros Ltd.
Founded in 1981, SmartPros Ltd. is an industry leader in the field of accredited professional education and corporate training. Its products and services are primarily focused in the accredited professional areas of corporate accounting, financial management, public accounting, governmental and not-for-profit accounting, banking, engineering, and ethics and compliance. SmartPros is a leading provider of professional education products to Fortune 500 companies, as well as the major firms and associations in each of its professional markets. SmartPros provides education and content publishing and development services in a variety of media including Web, CD-ROM and video. Our subscription libraries feature hundreds of course titles and 1,000+ hours of accredited education. SmartPros' proprietary Professional Education Center (PEC) Learning Management System (LMS) offers enterprise distribution and administration of education content and information. In addition, SmartPros produces a popular news and information portal for accounting and finance professionals that services 300,000+ visitors and 100,000+ subscribers per month. Visit: www.smartpros.com
About The Network of Trial Law Firms (Trial.com)
Dedicated to continuing legal education (CLE) and focused on trial and litigation issues, The Network of Trial Law Firms, Inc. (Trial.com) is a non-profit association of 27 law firms with more than 6,000 attorneys practicing in 105 offices throughout the United States and Canada. The goal of The Network is to provide clients with high quality trial and litigation representation through advances in education, technology, business and science. The Network is engaged in a number of activities to assist its member law firms to accomplish that goal including research and study of advances in the state-of-the-art of legal representation, and sponsorship of seminars for continuing legal education of corporate and outside counsel and insurance professionals. Visit: www.trial.com
Safe Harbor Statement
This press release includes "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the safe harbor provisions of the United States Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements in this press release include expectations about the effect of the acquisition on SmartPros' business, operations, financial condition and results of operations. Actual results may differ materially from those contained in the forward-looking statements in this press release. SmartPros and The Network of Trial Law Firms, Inc. (Trial.com®) undertake no obligation and do not intend to update these forward-looking statements to reflect events or circumstances occurring after this press release. You are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date of this press release. All forward-looking statements are qualified in their entirety by this cautionary statement.
KELLY CORR AND BILL CRONIN NAMED TOP BUSINESS LITIGATION LAWYERS IN SEATTLE BUSINESS MONTHLY -- KELLY CORR FEATURED IN "LOCAL HERO" ARTICLE (TEXT BELOW)
By all Accounts, Kelly Corr was looking at a golden path to big-time legal success in New York City after his graduation from Columbia University. The native Seattleite had made the dean’s list, graduated with honors and won awards for his grasp of Constitutional law.
But he decided to leave it all behind and come home instead. “Probably my only claim to fame is that I was the only one in my law class who didn’t interview with a Wall Street firm,” Corr says. “I grew up here. I went to Seattle Prep.”
Corr’s career path began with a stint as an assistant U.S. attorney in Seattle. “It was a great job. I loved it,” he says. “It’s the white hats against black hats. It was a fun, fun job, but I just didn’t think I wanted to be a career prosecutor forever.”
After several years in the position, Corr entered private practice with the then-major law firm of Bogle & Gates, where he worked as co-chair of the litigation department. That firm dissolved in 1999. Corr and some of his colleagues went on to form his current partnership, Corr Cronin Michelson Baumgardner & Preece.
Today, Corr is one of the best-known litigators in the city, taking on complex and often highly charged cases for both corporations and individuals. One prominent, ongoing case is his representation of the Seattle Post-Intelligencer newspaper in its struggle to preserve its 20-year joint operating agreement with the Seattle Times, claiming millions in losses over three years, wants to dissolve the JOA. Both papers share printing, circulation and advertising departments, run by the Times.
Corr also represented the rock group Nirvana in a highly publicized case with Courtney Love, widow of the band member Kurt Cobain. The band, wishing to release additional Nirvana music despite Love’s objections, sought to have Love declared incompetent and removed from control of Nirvana’s business affairs. The case was settled, and the music was released.
In another case that made national headlines, Corr represented Bushmaster Firearms, which manufactured the weapon that was used in the Washington, D.C., sniper attacks of 2002. The suit brought against Bushmaster by the families of seven of the sniper victims, eventually was settled.
Jeff Freimund, senior counsel for the state attorney general’s office, worked as a co-counsel with Corr on a complex, lengthy class action lawsuit challenging the adequacy of Washington’s foster care system. He says that trial attorneys don’t come much better than Corr.
“He’s a really nice person and a superb trial lawyer and a real pleasure to work with,” Freimund says. “I probably learned as much watching Kelly as I have [watching] any lawyer.”
KEN BEAN OF SANDBERG, PHOENIX & VON GONTARD INDUCTED TO AMERICAN COLLEGE OF TRIAL LAWYERS
Sandberg, Phoenix & von Gontard P.C. is pleased to announce Kenneth W. Bean was recently inducted into the American College of Trial Lawyers. This recognition is for those experienced trial lawyers who have mastered the art of advocacy and whose professional careers have been marked by the highest standards of ethical conduct, professionalism, civility and collegiality. Mr. Bean is a shareholder and founding member of SPvG. He focuses his practice in health law – medical malpractice, franchise law and employment law. Mr. Bean has significant experience in defending medical malpractice and medical products litigation.
Thursday, April 06, 2006
SNELL & WILMER WINS DEFENSE VERDICT IN WRONGFUL DEATH TRIAL
Barry Halpern and Libby Petersen of the Network's Arizona member, Snell & Wilmer, received a unanimous defense verdict on April 5 on behalf of Scottsdale Healthcare Corp., in a combined medical negligence and premises liability wrongful death trial. The defense of their hospital client was complicated by the court's unprecedented imposition of a non-delegable duty on the hospital for the conduct of an independent staff physician. Defending without access to the non-party physician whose conduct was at issue, the Snell & Wilmer team beat back the combined efforts of the plaintiff and co-defendant's allegations of an unrecognized risk of massive bleeding due to advanced liver disease.
Wednesday, April 05, 2006
MORGENSTEIN & JUBELIRER WINS DISMISSAL OF LAWSUIT CHALLENGING EVOLUTION WEBSITE
Morgenstein & Jubelirer's Will Carroll and Adrienne Leight have won a dismissal of a lawsuit challenging The University of California’s Museum of Paleontology's educational website, “Understanding Evolution”, designed to serve as a resource for primary and secondary school science teachers. The website was targeted by a California couple, who filed a lawsuit in federal court seeking to shut down portions of the site on First Amendment grounds. Plaintiff, the mother of three children attending public school in Northern California, argued that the University’s website offended her religious beliefs by “proselytizing” on behalf of those who take the position that evolution is compatible with religion.
Will Carroll, a partner at Morgenstein & Jubelirer, successfully argued that the plaintiff lacked standing, as a taxpayer or otherwise, to pursue her First Amendment claims. The case presented the novel question of whether an individual can claim Constitutional “injury” simply by clicking onto a website and reviewing its contents. The district court judge agreed that no injury was proven, and dismissed the case. Mr. Carroll was assisted by Morgenstein & Jubelirer associate Adrienne Leight, and by co-counsel from the University.
