American Association for Justice Announces Waters, Kraus & Paul Partner as President-Elect

Gary M. Paul, a longtime champion of victims’ rights and a partner with one of the nation’s most prolific plaintiff’s firms, has risen through the ranks of the American Association for Justice (AAJ) to be named president-elect of the organization. Mr. Paul will take office as AAJ president in July 2011.

Mr. Paul is a partner in the Los Angeles office of Waters, Kraus & Paul—the West Coast practice of Waters & Kraus. Nationwide, Waters & Kraus has taken more asbestos-related trials to verdict than any other plaintiff’s firm. In addition, Mr. Paul has more than three decades of experience in complex civil cases ranging from product liability to medical malpractice. His extensive background in plaintiffs’ rights, combined with his dedication to AAJ’s mission to obtain justice for victims of misconduct or negligence, give Mr. Paul a broad frame of reference for the challenges and opportunities ahead.

“There have been many changes within our ranks, and I am sure next year will be no different,” Mr. Paul said. “Change is difficult. But, as the American abolitionist and statesman Frederick Douglass once said, ‘If there is no struggle, there is no progress.’ I am absolutely confident that AAJ will emerge more powerful, more united, and with more members.”

Mr. Paul has been a member of AAJ since 1981 and has served in progressively significant executive roles since 2006, when he was elected parliamentarian. In addition to his leadership with AAJ, he is a past president of both the Consumer Attorneys of California (CAOC) and Consumer Attorneys Association of Los Angeles (CAALA). He has also been twice named as CAALA Trial Lawyer of the Year, and has appeared on the Thomson Reuters Southern California Super Lawyers® list six times, from 2005 to 2010.

With more than 100 jury trials to his credit, Mr. Paul currently focuses on mesothelioma asbestos cases — two of which were named by The Recorder (published by ALM) on its Top California Verdicts of 2009 list. Together with the nationwide Waters & Kraus team, several asbestos cases have resulted in high-profile plaintiffs’ verdicts in the last five years — along with a number of qui tam/whistleblower settlements.

Mr. Paul was among several AAJ officers announced in July during the group’s annual convention in Vancouver. Other officers include President C. Gibson Vance of Beasley, Allen, Crow, Methvin, Portis & Miles, P.C., in Montgomery, Ala.; Vice-President Mary Alice McLarty of The McLarty Firm, P.C., Dallas, Texas; Secretary J. Burton LeBlanc of Baron and Budd, P.C., in Baton Rouge, La.; Treasurer Rhonda Hill Wilson of the Law Offices of Rhonda Hill Wilson, P.C., in Philadelphia, Pa.; and, Parliamentarian Larry A. Tawwater of the Tawwater Law Firm, P.L.L.C., in Oklahoma City, Okla.

About Gary M. Paul
Gary Paul is a partner in the firm’s West Coast practice — Waters, Kraus & Paul. With more than three decades of experience in complex civil matters ranging from consumer and medical product liability to commercial and insurance litigation, Mr. Paul is both a respected author and popular speaker in the field. He is a member of the State Bar of California, the International Academy of Trial Lawyers, the American Board of Trial Advocates, the American Association for Justice (AAJ), the Consumer Attorneys Association of Los Angeles (CAALA), and Consumer Attorneys of California (CAOC). Mr. Paul is also a former president of the Pound Civil Justice Institute, a think tank of accomplished trial attorneys working to strengthen the practice of trial law through educational programs, publications, and research grants.

Before graduating from Loyola Law School in Los Angeles in 1974, Mr. Paul worked as a missile and space engineer for a decade, and was involved in the design of spacecraft that orbited and landed on Mars. He holds a bachelor’s degree from Arizona State University and a master’s degree from the University of California, Los Angeles. Mr. Paul is a native of Springfield, Ohio.

About Waters, Kraus & Paul
Waters, Kraus & Paul is the West Coast practice of Waters & Kraus, LLP — a nationally recognized plaintiffs’ firm concentrating on complex product liability and personal injury/wrongful death cases. The firm's diverse practice includes toxic tort litigation (mesothelioma-asbestos), qui tam (whistleblower) cases, pharmaceutical and medical product liability litigation, and elder financial abuse cases, among others. With offices in California, Texas, and Maryland, Waters & Kraus, LLP, has litigated cases in jurisdictions across the United States on behalf of individuals from all 50 states, as well as foreign governments.

About the American Association for Justice
The American Association for Justice (AAJ) promotes a fair and effective justice system and supports the work of attorneys to ensure that any person who is injured by the misconduct or negligence of others can obtain justice in America’s courtrooms, even when taking on the most powerful interests. Formerly known as the American Trial Lawyers Association (ATLA), AAJ was founded in 1946, and today represents the world’s largest trial bar as a broad-based, international coalition of attorneys, law professors, paralegals, and law students.

William L. Taylor, a Washington lawyer and civil rights activist who fought in courts and in government to desegregate schools, has died. He was 78.

His oldest daughter, Lauren Taylor, says he died Monday of complications from a fall.

Taylor began advocating for civil rights while working for the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund alongside Thurgood Marshall.

Taylor served as general counsel and staff director to the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights during the Kennedy and Johnson administrations. He led research that contributed to the 1964 Civil Rights Act, the 1965 Voting Rights Act and the 1968 Fair Housing Act.

In the 1980s, he led negotiations that established a voluntary school desegregation plan in St. Louis.

Medmal News

“Dr. William J. Erwin failed to comply with the appropriate standard of care for an OB/GYN in the year 2007, and as a result, Rebecca Gatti, a newborn baby girl, suffered severe brain damage which is lifelong and irreversible.” Those brutally frank words were from the Louisiana Medical Review Board to Ryan and Susan Gatti, the parents of their new baby girl Rebecca, explaining the irreversible brain damage Rebecca suffered due to the negiligence of Dr. Erwin. Rebecca now requires round-the-clock care for the rest of her life, with no chance whatsoever for improvement. Today, The Insider Exclusive will take you “Behind the Headlines” of this real life couple, Ryan and Susan Gatti, who entrusted their child’s health and welfare to this grossly incompetent doctor. We will meet not only the Gattis’ but also their lawyer, John Hammons of Nelson & Hammons, who for almost 30 YEARS has been one of Louisiana’s leading medical malpractice and nursing home negligence lawyers, “Standing Up for People Who Cannot Stand Up for Themselves.” The Insider Exclusive has also learned some hard cold facts that completely contradict all the myths that the insurance companies and their lobbyists have been feeding the public for years regarding medical malpractice cases like the Gattis’ and why they falsely claim that caps on medical malpractice verdicts are necessary. All of these myths are designed to protect the insurance companies’ and the doctors’ financial interests, while victimizing the healthcare interests of patients.

John Hammons is one of Louisiana’s leading medical malpractice and nursing home negligence lawyers, and is often called upon by individuals as well as by other lawyers to assist them in the most difficult of cases. He has served on the Governor’s Commission on Medical Malpractice, which provided him with significant insight in this area of developing law. John was also among the first lawyers in Louisiana emphasizing the handling of medical malpractice cases three decades ago. He has been at the forefront of precedent-setting cases, and is often invited to speak before legal and medical groups. John holds an undergraduate degree from Northeast Louisiana University and a law degree from Louisiana State University.

Nelson & Hammons has championed the rights of victims of medical malpractice since 1980, having successfully represented hundreds of such patients or their families. With its office in Shreveport, Nelson & Hammons remains committed to quality medical care for its clients and their families as well as obtaining just compensation for those patients who have been seriously injured as a result of substandard medical care. With two attorneys specializing in the handling of medical malpractice, nursing home negligence and related matters, Nelson & Hammons is uniquely positioned to effectively and thoroughly investigate and prosecute such cases.

You can contact John Hammons at 318-227-2401, or www.nelsonhammonslaw.com

Founding Partner Mathew B. Tully has been awarded the impressive Air Force Space Badge due to his completion of space training. Tully is among one of the few Army Officers awarded this prestigious badge, and among an even smaller number of National Guardsmen authorized to wear it. 

In late 2008, Tully attended the clandestine National Security Space Institute (NSSI), the Department of Defense’s premier institute for providing service members with the space education and training required to support military operations. Upon graduation, he became one of only 200 space operations officers in the Army and the only space professional in New York. 

“I am honored to be one of the few National Guardsmen authorized to wear the Air Force Space Badge and grateful that the Army has given me the opportunity to experience our country’s space systems technology and capabilities firsthand,” said Tully. “I look forward to my continued space training and service to our country in the Army National Guard.”

Tully is a Major in the New York Army National Guard, holding the position of Space Operations Officer. His military service and experiences have led him to dedicate his legal career to protecting and upholding the rights of veterans and service members across the country. Founded in 2003, Tully Rinckey PLLC has pioneered many landmark Veterans Preference and USERRA cases.                                                                                        

To speak with Tully or to learn more about Tully Rinckey PLLC, please contact Jessica Brociek at 202-787-1900 or via email at jbrociek@tullylegal.com.