In today's edition of Speaking of Justice, Scott Drake is joined by one of the nations leading experts in the area of HRT ( Hormone Replacement Therapy ) litigation, Attorney Zoe Littlepage of the firm, Littlepage Booth in Houston, TX. 

Zoe has been in the headlines for well over a year in this intriguing area of pharmaceutical litigation, first with her appointment in 2003 as the lead counsel in Prempro litigation and more recently as a result of the  landmark verdict last year in Reno, NV  where she obtained a verdict of $134 million for three plaintiffs. This case was recently reduced by the trial judge to just over $50 million, but coupled with another major verdict that another legal team recently brought home in Arkansas that was also in excess of $25 million, it is readily apparent that when HRT or Prempro cases reach a jury or get a full trial that the evidence is not only compelling but that record punitive awards are being brought in as well.

Zoe Littlepage, a frequent guest and commentator here on LBN,  spends a few minutes with Scott Drake to update our listeners and readers on the status of HRT litigation, what cases are pending and the events of the last few months.

You can listen to the entire podcast by clicking here and get up todate on HRT litigation with the nations leading expert, Attorney Zoe Littlepage.

Late last week the Dean of the Washington and Lee University Law School announced a revolutionary change in how the highly esteemed law school would approach the third year of law school. Today on Speaking of Justice the man charged with developing this innovative new approach to legal education work, Dean Rodney A. Smolla, joins host Scott Drake to discuss just how this decision was made and what this highly regarded law school hopes to provide it's students through this intriguing change in 3L.

Click here to listen to the podcast of Dean Smolla on Speaking of Justice. 

The new third-year curriculum, approved unanimously by the Law School faculty, will be entirely experiential in nature. Traditional classroom instruction will be replaced by practice simulations, real-client interactions and the development of law practice skills. These project simulations will span the array of traditional legal subject matter, including transactional areas such as banking and corporate finance that have often been overlooked in the hands-on offerings of traditional law school curriculums. Also, the Law School's existing clinics and externship programs will be modestly expanded. All third-year students will be required to obtain a Virginia practice certificate and participate in at least one real-client experience during the year.

Legal education has been immersed in tradition and methodology that has remained largely unchanged for decades, if not hundreds of years, so this innovative departure is currently the talk of the legal world. Washington and Lee is considered one of the nation's finest law firms with a star studded list of alumni. Additionally Dean Smolla is regarded by many in the world of legal education as one of its leading innovators, with a reputation as a scholar, teacher, advocate and writer. His wide ranging scholarship includes a case book on the First Amendment, four legal treatises and many article in the nations top law reviews, in fact winning the ABA Silver Gavel Award and the William O. Douglass Award. Rodney Smolla is one of the nations leading legal scholars on first amendment issues and with this recent move now sure to be viewed nationally as one of the innovators in legal education, LBN is pleased to offer this podcast to it's listeners who want to know more about Washington and Lee, or who wish to learn more about Dean Smolla.

Listen to the entire podcast interview of Dean Rodney Smolla of Washington and Lee by clicking here.  

In today's Speaking of Justice, Attorney Jan Schlichtmann and host Scott Drake discuss the provocative article of March 16th, 2008 in the Sunday New York Times entitled "Supreme Court, Inc. ".  This article is available for you read and review by clicking here.

Authored by noted George Washington University law professor Jeffrey Rosen, this is a fascinating analysis and review of the shifting role of the U.S. Supreme Court over the last ten years as it has become decidedly  pro-business in it's tilt as more and more conservative justices have been confirmed during the last 24 years. In the latest term 13 of 15 cases involving business issues the court sided with business, a stunning turn around in results and rulings.  If you haven't read this article yet we strongly urge you to take the time to do so today.

For a full review and analysis on the conclusions of this thoughtful article you can click here to listen to Jan Schlichtmann look at the root causes of the pro-business tilt and the prospects for change any time soon.  

 

In today's edition of Speaking of Justice, host Scott Drake is joined by the Executive Director of the Wyoming Trial Lawyers Association, Marcia Shanor to discuss the organizations up coming "Ski CLE" to be held in the breathtaking location of Jackson Hole, WY. This is the third annual ski event and each year it's popularity grows as more and more attorney's from around the country who love to ski participate in this unique event.

You can find out all you need to know about the CLE, which is being held from March 26th to the 28th in Jackson Hole and registration is available right up to the last minute by contacting the Wyoming Trial Lawyers Association at 307-635-0820, or by going to their web site at www.wytla.org. This is a great event, there is over 300 inches of base snow in Jackson this winter and if you love to ski and want some top quality CLE this event is for you!

The headline speaker, Attorney Richard Friedman is the author of two highly regarded books for trial lawyers,   " Rules of the Road" and " Polarizing the Case".        

Rick Friedman is one of the nation's top civil trial attorneys representing individuals and small businesses injured by large corporate and government interests. He has established a reputation for obtaining large verdicts in cases other law firms have been unable or unwilling to take on in the fields of personal injury, defamation, insurance bad faith and business torts.

Rick Friedman's successful career has been distinguished by multi-million dollar verdicts and precedent-setting case law. Among many of his landmark cases are the $150 million awarded to a State Farm agent in Bellott v. State Farm, $84 million awarded to a disabled doctor in Ceimo v. Paul Revere, $17.3 million awarded for improper denial of disability benefits in McKendry v. General American, $16.5 million awarded to a disabled worker in Ace v. Aetna Life Insurance Company, and $12.7 million awarded to a disabled businessman in - Merrick v. Paul Revere. Rick handles all types of cases, including personal injury, wrongful death, medical malpractice, insurance bad faith and business torts. Rick is a member of the Inner Circle of Advocates, an invitation-only group that limits its membership to 100 of the leading trial lawyers in the country. He is also a member of the International Academy of Trial Lawyers.

This week in the law, one of the ongoing stories we have followed here at The Legal Broadcast Network is the turmoil in Pakistan that was precipitated by the arrest and jailing of key judges and lawyers protesting the implementation of martial law and suppression of a free and independent judiciary.

You can link to our original story by clicking here.   It's entitled " First kill all the lawyers, it is not an abstraction in Pakistan."  

In todays Sunday New York Times a follow up article about the release this week of Aitzaz Ahsan, pictured above  and the leader of the lawyers movement in Pakistan, discusses the continued protests and how the lawyers and judges in this nation continue to fight for the rule of law and an independent judiciary. Specifically  they are battling for the release of Supreme Court Justice Ifikhar Muhammad Chaudhry, who along with 8 other justices was "fired" by the government and jailed under house arrest. The fear was that an independent judiciary would rule on the illegality of elections and throw the nation into turmoil.

LBN doesn't have a political stake in this fight other then to feel that any government that attempts to stay in power by the intimidation or suppression of an independent judiciary is ultimately doomed to failure and anarchy. A free and independent judicial branch is a foundational principal of the United States and our support of the same in a country of the importance of Pakistan should be unconditional and unwavering.

You can read the NY Times story by clicking here.  

One of the new weekly features on The Legal Broadcast Network is our " This week in the Law" podcast that is hosted by Scott Drake and covers the podcasts, blog posts and new items of key interest to trial lawyers nationwide.

The first weekly podcast is available by clicking here and features Mark Wahlstrom and Jan Schlichtmann doing a wrap up of the recent CLE event in Scottsdale.  

Each week a different set of guests, podcasts and shows will be featured in a concise summary form that allows trial lawyers and others to get up to speed on cases and decisions of importance to them.  In this weeks show we cover the wide range of guests we had in Scottsdale, among them Zoe Littlepage and Rainey Booth, Angel Reyes and Jim Orr, Rex Burch, Rick Kuykendall, Rob Wood, Matt Bracy, Christina Fountain and others. We will be posting our first videos early next week of this event as well as starting to finish the CLE DVD's that will be available through the offices of WTLA.

Be sure to subscribe to our feed through Itunes, Yahoo or other podcast directories and don't miss a show.