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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.

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.

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

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

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

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

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.

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.

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.”

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.”

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

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.

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.  
• Obtained $5.35 million in retrospective relief and an estimated $3.1 million in savings over the next three years in Risto v. AFM & SAG-AFTRA (C.D. Cal.) for non-featured performers who receive royalties from the AFM & SAG-AFTRA Intellectual Property Rights Distribution Fund.
• Obtained a seven-figure settlement as lead counsel in a major talent management dispute for actress Karrueche Tran after successfully freezing all her manager's assets in Tran v. Muhammad (C.D. Cal.)
• Currently representing the leading production music company in North America on a variety of copyright matters both in and out of litigation-see, e.g., Associated Production Music v. The Vail Corp. (C.D. Cal.)
• Co-counsel in class actions against major Hollywood studios alleging endemic underpayment on home video and new digital media for pre-1982 movies for writers, producers, actors, and directors.  In those cases, Mr. Johnson handled the settlement with Universal for $25 million, the settlement with Fox for $12.6 million, and the settlements with Sony and Paramount.
• Mr. Johnson was co-counsel in three class actions against the record industry companies over digital download royalties of underpayments to artists (Temptations/Motels/Ronee Blakely), resulting in eight-figure settlements.  The cases dealt head-on with unresolved points of law as to the classification of digital downloads, and the rights of artists to receive royalties in the face of changing technology. 
• Mr. Johnson has litigated several high-profile libel actions against large media companies, resulting in several mid-seven-figure settlements.  Recently he represented Richard Simmons against In-Touch Magazine. In May 2020, he argued and won an Anti-SLAPP appeal for Mr. Simmons.
• With his partner, Neville L. Johnson, he settled three class actions against the Directors Guild of America, Writers Guild of America, and Screen Actors Guild of America for tens of millions of dollars of unpaid foreign levies.  
• Defended blues icon B.B. King in a case seeking declaratory relief regarding the right to produce a film about his life, resulting in dismissal of the lawsuit.
• Obtained a seven-figure jury verdict in Oregon U.S. District Court on behalf of a music artist and record company in a copyright infringement case.
• Represented business owner in arbitration in a partnership dispute resulting in a seven-figure award for the client.
• Wrongful death and civil rights case resulting in reorganization of staffing and training at a county jail. The matter was featured on the cover of the Sacramento News & Review and constituted the largest settlement in the nation at the time for such a case.

Thought Leadership:

• Panelist, CalCPA: Entertainment Industry Conference (June 21, 2022)
• Panelist, Beverly Hills Bar Association, Entertainment Law Year in Review, Ethics (January 13, 2020)
• Adjunct Professor, Entertainment and Media Litigation, Southwestern School of Law, (2012 to Present)
• Panelist, “Backend Optics: Profit Participations Through Different Lenses,” Beverly Hills Bar Association, Entertainment Law Section, (2018)
• Panelist, “I'm a Celebrity, You Can't Do That, (Can You?), California Society of Entertainment Lawyers, (2018)
• Panelist, “Entertainment Year in Review: Entertainment Litigation With Stars Of The Bar,” Beverly Hills Bar Association, Entertainment Law Section, (2017)
• Panelist, “The Right of Publicity: The State of The Current Law,” Beverly Hills Bar Association, Entertainment Law Section, (2014)
• The Ever-Evolving Courtroom Drama of Net Profits, Donald L. Stone's Inn of St. Ives, (2012)
• Panelist, Right of Publicity: How Much Is Your Client Really Worth?, Beverly Hills Bar Association, Entertainment Law Section, (2012)
• Panelist, Current Issues in Right of Likeness, Defamation and Privacy, Beverly Hills Bar Association, Entertainment Law Section, (2011)
• Panelist, Injuries Without Remedies, Loyola Law School's Legal Symposium, (2011)

Sample Publications:

• The Troubling Trend of Online Exceptionalism to Copyright's Separate Accrual Rule, New York State Bar Association, Entertainment, Arts and Sports Law Journal, Vol. 34, No. 2, (Summer 2023)
• Florida sides with California on delayed discovery in copyright cases, Daily Journal (March 3, 2023)
• The Second and Ninth Circuits Diverge on Copyright Law's Discovery Rule, New York State Bar Association, Arts and Sports Law Journal, Vol 33, No. 2 (Fall 2022)
• The Top 3 Copyright Law Developments of 2022 (So Far), New York State Bar Association, Arts and Sports Law Journal, Vol. 33, No. 2, (Spring 2022)
• Say Goodbye to Back-End Deals, New York State Bar Association, Arts and Sports Law Journal, Vol. 32, No. 3 (Fall 2021)
• 3 Music Litigation Developments in 2020-2021, Daily Journal (October 23, 2021)
• Contract, Fraud, and Libel Damages, Journal of Consumer Attorneys Associations for Southern California, Advocate Magazine (October 2021).  
• 3 Music Litigation Developments in 2020-2021, Daily Journal (September 16, 2021)
• Recent Developments In Entertainment Law: Defamation Jurisdiction, Copyright, and Talent Contest Agreements (Summer 2021)
• Black Windows: Scarlett Jo vs Disney, Daily Journal, (July 6, 2021)
• Recent Right of Privacy Developments, Daily Journal, (July 22, 2021)
• Developments In Libel, Social Media, Privacy and The Right of Publicity, (Spring 2021)
• Copyright Developments in 2020, New York State Bar Association, Arts and Sports Journal, Vol. 32, No. 1 (Sring 2021)
• Pandemic-era Appellate Rulings Take on Arbitration, Los Angeles Daily Journal (April 22, 2021)
• Recent Interesting Cases, New York State Bar Association, Arts and Sports Law Journal, Vol. 31, No. 2, (Spring 2020)
• Hollywood Docket: Trending: Data Privacy, Copyright Trolling, And A Clause To Keep In Mind, New York State Bar Association, (June 6, 2020)
• Recent Development In Copyright Law, Daily Journal, (August 2, 2020)
• COVID-19 And The Return To Film Production In California, Los Angeles Daily Journal, (July 13, 2020)
• Interesting New Developments About Which All Practitioners Should Be Aware Of, New York State Bar Association, Arts and Sports Law Journal, Vol. 31, No. 1, (Winter 2020)
• My Big Mouth, Journal of Consumer Attorneys Association for Southern California, Advocate Magzine, (December 2019)
• Entertainment Contracts With Minors in New York and California, New York State Bar Association, Arts and Sports Law Journal, Vol. 30, No. 1, (Spring 2019)
• Defamation and Invasion of Privacy in the Internet Age, Southwestern Journal of International Law, Volume XXV (2019)
• When Will Legal Communication Result In Liability? Los Angeles Daily Journal, (Mar 29, 2019)
• Entertainment Contracts With Minors: Clarification Needed, Los Angeles Daily Journal, (Nov. 27, 2018)
• Tales and Lessons Regarding the Right of Publicity, USC Entertainment Law Spotlight, Issue 2, (2018)
• Hollywood Docket: Tales and Lessons Regarding the Right of Publicity, New York State Bar Association, Arts and Sports Law Journal, No. 2, (Summer 2018)
• Hollywood Docket: Essential Clauses for Drafting an Ironclad Release and Consent Agreement, New York State Bar Association, Arts and Sports Law Journal, Vol. 29, No. 1, (Spring, 2018)
• Before You Sign That Deal At Cannes…Produced By, Producers Guild of America, (April/May 2017)
• Hollywood Docket: Making the Perfect Pitch, New York State Bar Association, Arts and Sports Law Journal, Vol. 27, No.3, (Fall/Winter 2017)
• Hollywood Docket: One-Sided World, New York State Bar Association, Entertainment, Arts and Sports Law Journal, Vol 27, No. 2., (Summer, 2016)
• A New Way to Revive a Corporation, Los Angeles Daily Journal, (Oct 26, 2016)
• Hollywood Docket: Social Media, the Law, and You, New York State Bar Association, Arts and Sports Law Journal, Vol. 27, No. 3 (Fall 2016)
• What Happened to Unjust Enrichment in California? The Deterioration of Equity in the California Courts, Loyola of Los Angeles Law Review, Vol. 44:277 (Fall 2010)

Published Cases:

• Gerbosi v. Gaims, Weil, West & Epstein, LLP (2011) 193 Cal.App.4th 435
• Walker v. Geico General Ins. Co. (9th Cir. 2009) 558 F.3d 1025
• Simmons v. Bauer Media Group USA, LLC (2020) 50 Cal App.5th 1037
• Education:
• J.D., University of the Pacific, McGeorge School of Law, 2000, Dean's List
• B.A., University of Southern California, 1996, Dean's List

Practice Areas:

• Entertainment Litigation
• Complex Business Litigation
• Class Action Litigation
• Intellectual Property Litigation
• Defamation, Media, and First Amendment Law
• Rights of Privacy and Publicity

Admissions:

• California