2014 Trial Lawyers Summit By Andrew Findley The 2014 Trial Lawyers Summit in South Beach, Florida this past January wasn t just the biggest, it was also considered by many to be the best yet. Over 750 attorneys, speakers, guests and exhibitors attended the four-day long event, which featured the top civil plaintiff and criminal defense attorneys in the country sharing advice not only on how to be a better lawyer, but also how to make law firms more successful and profitable. This year s Summit was held at the Loews Miami Beach Hotel January 19 22. The event began Sunday afternoon with a special session of the National Women Trial Lawyers Association featuring noted attorneys Gloria Allred and Lisa Blue talking about the lessons they ve learned that can help empower the future of women attorneys. That was followed by a session on Mindfulness and Stress Reduction with Scott Rogers. Later that evening, attendees were welcomed at a special reception at the Loews Americana Lawn and Pool, featuring Ghaleb, a Latin guitarist who has not only traveled the world performing, but has also competed on Fox s American Idol. 78 x The Trial Lawyer
Sessions began bright and early Monday morning with a 6:30 Early Bird session on Hot Topics: Jury Persuasion and Voir Dire, moderated by Doug Beam and hosted by National Trial Lawyers 2009 President John Romano. Sessions continued throughout the day, with a later morning session on Entrepreneurship of Trial Practice, and an afternoon session focusing on Criminal Defense: From the Trenches. The discussions featured noteworthy attorneys Troy Rafferty, Lisa Blue, Amy Singer, 2009 NTL President Michael Burg, Ed Hill, Robert Eglet, NTL 2011 President Howard Nations, NTL 2014 President Mark Geragos, Lance Swanner, NTL 2012 President Mike Papantonio, Kerry Jardine, Gabe Miller, Thomas Girardi, Michael Burg, Hezekiah Sistrunk, Eric Romano, Mark O Mara, Dorothy Clay Sims, and Bob Casale. Other speakers included Harlan Schillinger, Stephen Fairley, John Linss, Joe DiNardo, David Palmieri, Harvey Moore, and Dr. William Manion. The Trial Lawyer x 79
The Trial Lawyer magazine sponsored Monday s Awards & Recognition Luncheon. CNN senior legal analyst Jeffrey Toobin was the keynote speaker, and shared some of his experiences and observations covering the United States Supreme Court. Following Toobin s remarks, Gloria Allred became only the second recipient of the National Trial Lawyers Lifetime Achievement Award. Mark O Mara, National Trial Lawyers executive committee member, received the award for Criminal Defense Trial Lawyer of the Year. And Robert Eglet was honored as the Civil Plaintiff Trial Lawyer of the Year. Following the awards luncheon, Toobin signed copies of his latest book, The Oath: The Obama White House and The Supreme Court, as well as his previous bestseller, The Nine: Inside the Secret World of The Supreme Court. Monday evening featured another social opportunity to network at the President s Reception at the Loews St. Moritz Lawn & Pool, featuring the band Junior s. Tuesday began bright and early again, with an Early Bird session titled The Three Most Important Lessons I have Learned in the Last 24 Months About Trial and/or Discover an/or The Business of Practicing Law. The speakers were NTL 2013 President Ed Hershewe, Scott Leeds, Adam Levitt, Dan Ramsdell, Thomas Girardi, Gloria Allred Below: National Trial Lawyers Executive Committee member John Romano CNN senior legal analyst Jeffrey Toobin, and defense attorneys Nathan Goldberg, Gloria Allred and Mark Geragos. 80 x The Trial Lawyer Middle right: Mark O Mara, recipient of the Criminal Defense Trial Lawyer of the Year Award, with 2014 National Trial Lawyer President Mark Geragos. Above: The Trial Lawyer Awards and Recognition Luncheon. Middle Left: Morris Dees co-founder of the Southern Poverty Law Center. Right: The National Trial Lawyers Executive Director Michelle Swanner, 2014 National Trial Lawyers President Mark Geragos.
captions:... Top left: American Association for Justice President-Elect Lisa Blue Baron, Lifetime Achievement Award winner Gloria Allred, and Lauren Antonino speak to members of the National Women Trial Lawyers Association. Above: Past President, Mike Papintonio. Left: Jacoby & Meyers CEO and General Counsel Gabe Miller speaks during a panel discussion. CNN senior legal analyst Jeffrey Toobin, National Trial Lawyers Executive Director Michelle Swanner, and National Trial Lawyers Past President Howard Nations. Top 100 member and Top 40 under 40 Executive Committee member Lance Swanner, National Trial Lawyers Executive Committee member Fernando Chavez, and Top 40 Under 40 member Gantt Pierce. The Trial Lawyer x 81
82 x The Trial Lawyer and Nathan Goldberg. Tuesday morning s later session featured Words of Wisdom from The Trial Lawyer Hall of Fame, with speakers Bob Josefsberg, Howard Nations, Joseph Cotchett, Morris Dees, and Sheldon Schlesinger. The session concluded with an interactive panel discussion with the speakers. After lunch on Tuesday, Geragos signed copies of his book, Mistrial: An Inside Look at How the Criminal Justice System Works and Sometimes Doesn t. Geragos also spoke at the afternoon session on Criminal Defense: Tricks of the Prosecution, which included observations from Jack Zimmermann, Jennifer Keller, Jose Baez and Mark O Mara. They joined Morris Dees for a late afternoon interactive panel discussion titled Courtroom 5.0. Tuesday evening featured an opportunity to watch an exciting NBA game with the Miami Heat playing the Boston Celtics. Members of The National Trial Lawyers 40 Under 40 organization attended a pre-game party and reception in the Hyde nightclub inside the Heat s American Airlines Arena. The event wrapped up on Wednesday with a Mass Tort update: A Summary Discussion on What s Hot and What s Not, hosted by Troy Rafferty. The Association of Plaintiff Interstate Trucking Lawyer of America (APITLA) sponsored a special program hosted by Dan Ramsdell and Ed Hershewe. Speakers included John Romano, John Glennon, Jr., Marianne Howanitz and Howard Nations. While the 2014 Trial Lawyers Summit has been hailed as the biggest and best yet, plans are already underway for an even greater event in 2015. The 2015 Trial Lawyers Summit will be held January 18 21, 2015, at the Loews Miami Beach Hotel. We hope you ll make plans to join us and take advantage of this outstanding opportunity to meet and learn from some of the best lawyers in America. Registration information will be available soon at http://ntlsummit.com. After the seemingly endless winter that many of us have weathered this year, spending some time in the sun and sand in South Beach next January sounds simply irresistible!
Mark O Mara of Orlando, Florida, was honored as the Criminal Defense Trial Lawyer of the Year. Robert Eglet of Las Vegas, Nevada was honored as the Civil Plaintiff Trial Lawyer of the Year. Gloria Allred received only the second Lifetime Achievement Award ever given by The National Trial Lawyers. 2014 Awards By Andrew Findley As part of the 2014 Trial Lawyers Summit in South Beach, Florida, The Trial Lawyer was proud to honor some outstanding criminal defense and civil plaintiff attorneys for their exceptional achievements. Mark O Mara of Orlando, Florida, who led the high-profile defense of George Zimmerman, was honored as the Criminal Defense Trial Lawyer of the Year. O Mara is also serving as the president of The Criminal Defense Trial Lawyers Association, one of The National Trial Lawyers Specialty Associations. O Mara also serves as a legal analyst for CNN. He is also AV rated by Martindale-Hubbell, and has served as president of the Seminole County, Florida Bar Association and the Central Florida Family Law American Inn of Court. Since the Zimmerman verdict, O Mara has started a non-profit organization called Justice Outreach, with the aim of identifying and fixing problems with the justice system. Robert Eglet of Las Vegas, Nevada was honored as the Civil Plaintiff Trial Lawyer of the Year. Eglet has represented victims of the largest Hepatitis C outbreak in US history, which was centered in Las Vegas in early 2008. He obtained the largest personal injury verdict in America in the spring of 2010 against pharmaceutical companies with a $505 million verdict. The following year, Eglet won a product liability case against the pharmaceutical companies and achieved a $186 million verdict, the fourth largest in the nation for 2011. That fall, Eglet settled a case against the pharmaceutical companies for $280 million. That was surpassed in 2013 with a case against an HMO and its parent company for a $524 million verdict that is the largest personal injury verdict in America for 2013. Finally, Gloria Allred received only the second Lifetime Achievement Award ever given by The National Trial Lawyers. The celebrated Los Angeles attorney has played an integral role in combating injustices and winning new rights especially for women and minorities. Voted by her peers as one of the best lawyers in America, and described by Time magazine as one of the nation s most effective advocates of family rights and feminist causes, Allred has devoted her career to fighting for civil rights across boundaries of gender, race, age, sexual orientation, and social class. All three honorees are also members of The National Trial Lawyers Executive Committee. The Trial Lawyer x 83