Asbestos Litigation Plaintiff Strategy Session
Wednesday, October 12, 2011, 2:00 – 5:00 PM
Moderator: Rob Gordon, Weitz & Luxenberg, New York
Program Agenda
What’s a Good Asbestos Case Look Like in 2011?
- New information on asbestos-related injuries
- Workers and occupations most likely to be exposed
- Unusual cases – what you would not expect
- Who is left to sue in 2011?
- Advice on making bankruptcy claims
Frank Ortiz, Weitz & Luxenberg
Lisa Busch, Weitz & Luxenberg
Deposing the Corporate Witness with the Reptile Watching from Oz
- Preparing the map for the yellow brick road
- Prospecting for gold
- Handling the bad witch
Chris Placitella, Cohen Placitella & Roth
Litigating Asbestos Cases in the Various States
- The hot jurisdictions: California, Pennsylvania, New York, Illinois, Delaware
- Everywhere else: what’s happening in other jurisdictions around the country – Florida, Georgia, Mississippi, Alabama, and elsewhere
- New judges – are they changing the game?
- What is the defense doing that is working?
- What can be learned from recent settlements or verdicts?
Kevin Conway, Cooney & Conway
Crysatal Foley, Simmons Browder Gianaris Angelides & Barnerd
Randy Gori, Gori & Julian
Rob Gordon, Weitz & Luxenberg
Scott Barnes, Levin Papantonio Thomas Mitchell Rafferty & Proctor
Tearing Apart the Defense Expert – a “How To” Session
- Who are the worst defense experts, and what do you need to know about them
- How to dismantle and take apart a defense expert’s testimony
- Effective use of depositions to cross
- Mistakes to avoid in cross-examination
Rick Nemeroff, DeLuca & Nemeroff
Trends in Causation Law and Standards
- The longstanding substantial contributing factor standard
- The emerging “Lorhmann” frequency-proximity-regularity standard
- Texas’ extreme Borg-Warner standard – transforming strict liability into strict causation burden
- Background on the three elements of causation: specific, general, legal
- Background on the “heeding” presumption’s relaxation of the legal causation burden
Alani Golanski, Weitz & Luxenberg
Settling Cases in 2011
- How to prevail over your opponent and win at the settlement table
- Recent settlements and what you can learn from them
- Deciding when to settle – key concepts
- Ethical issues with group settlements
Steve Baron, Baron & Budd
Lisa Busch, Weitz & Luxenberg