Orange County has dozens of law firms that specialize in corporate work. But the county’s also a hotbed for their rivals,plaintiffs’ lawyers. The county counts a number of nationally prestigious plaintiffs’ lawyers. The names and faces in this story won’t surprise you,chances are many law firms have gone toe to toe with these guys before. Here’s a look at some of the big guns who take on Corporate America and the government.
Mark P. Robinson Jr.,
Senior partner
Robinson, Calcagnie & Robinson,
Newport Beach
Robinson has taken on some of the biggest names in Corporate America, including drug makers, two of the Big Three automakers and one of the biggest medical device makers.
He spearheaded the product liability case against New Jersey’s Merck & Co. over its Vioxx drug, an arthritis medication that has been linked to increased risk of heart attacks.
Merck faces more than 20,000 lawsuits over Vioxx, which was pulled from the market in 2004. Robinson, who represented Gerald Barnett,a retired FBI agent who suffered a heart attack after taking Vioxx for more than two years,in 2006 won a $51 million verdict from a federal judge in New Orleans.
Late last year, U.S. District Judge Eldon Fallon upheld the verdict but lowered the award to $1.6 million in damages. The original award was excessive, Fallon said. Barnett accepted.
“I was working every night … until 2 or 3 (in the morning),” Robinson told Lawyers USA. “It was very intense and it really is a heavy battle.”
Robinson also is spearheading lawsuits against New York’s Pfizer Inc. for its Bextra and Celebrex drugs. He’s also led a case against medical device maker Boston Scientific Corp. over its cardiac defibrillators and pacemakers.
His other big wins include a $4.9 billion verdict against General Motors Corp. and a $3.3 billion Los Angeles County tobacco settlement. Robinson also won a $128 million verdict against Ford Motor Co. over a Pinto that caught on fire.
Daniel Callahan,
Founding partner
Callahan & Blaine,
Santa Ana
He’s called a “bull dog litigator” in many legal circles.
“My practice is a little different from most in that I handle complex business litigation and personal injury,” Callahan said.
Callahan is best known in OC for representing Fullerton medical diagnostic test maker Beckman Coulter Inc. in a lawsuit against Singapore’s Flextronics International Ltd. over a breach of contract that resulted in a $934 million verdict, the largest in county history. The companies settled in late 2003 for $23 million.
“Being a part of a historical verdict was really something,” Callahan said.
Callahan recently represented Stacy Neria and Carol Daniel in a lawsuit against the city of Dana Point after a driver struck them in April while jogging in a bike lane on Pacific Coast Highway. Callahan argued that the bike lane they were running in was poorly marked and too wide, leading motorists to believe it was another driving lane.
The case resulted in a $50 million settlement in November for the now quadriplegic women, the highest ever reported in California for a personal injury case, according to Todd A. Wolfe of Trials Digest, a San Francisco-based publisher of nationwide verdicts and settlements.
Callahan also represented Philip Dorhman in a lawsuit against a trucking company, which resulted in a $28 million settlement, the third largest personal injury settlement in California.
A good chunk of lawsuits are settled before they go to trial, Callahan said. He likes to prepare for trial no matter what, he said.
“We go into every case aggressively and we prepare every case for trial, not for settlement,” Callahan said.
Wylie Aitken,
Founding partner
Aitken Aitken Cohn,
Santa Ana
Catastrophic personal injury and wrongful death cases have catapulted Aitken into the spotlight.
Aitken likes to take on cases that deal with the government and corporate misconduct, he said.
“I like to represent people who really need the help but aren’t in a position to take on the government,” Aitken said.
In 2005, he was lead plaintiff in Vuong v. Disneyland, a wrongful death lawsuit for a 34-year-old man and the severe disfigurement of his wife due to the dislodgment of a metal cleat on Disney’s Sailing Ship Columbia.
This high-profile case sparked a national debate and implemented changes in California law to ensure the safety of theme parks. The case resulted in a confidential settlement that the Los Angeles Times estimated to be worth $25 million.
Aitken recently represented Leilani Gutierrez in a lawsuit against the U.S. government after a traffic accident with a federal employee left Gutierrez a quadriplegic. The case resulted in a $55 million verdict.
Handling catastrophic personal injury cases can get stressful and emotional at times, Aitken said.
“The hardest part is the burden that’s on your shoulders because you really do have someone’s life in your hands if you don’t win,” he said. “They’re in a very difficult financial and emotional position. Their future depends on your ability to be successful.”
Brian Chase, Partner
Bisnar Chase LLP,
Newport Beach
Large automakers know Chase, who’s made a name for himself by spearheading product liability suits.
Chase has gone after big names including the Big Three automakers: General Motors, Ford and what’s now Chrysler LLC. A good chunk of his cases have resulted in confidential settlements.
Chase won settlements in an auto products liability suit against Ford and a rental car agency that rented a 15-passenger van to a family traveling from California to Kansas.
The 15-passenger van’s roof crushed and seat belts failed after the vehicle rolled over in an accident.
Another product liability case involved General Motors after the roof of a Chevy Tahoe crushed and killed the driver and passenger after rolling over.
Proving product liability cases have become increasingly difficult during the years.
“Jurors have become more skeptical of injury cases because of frivolous lawsuits, which makes it more difficult to prove serious cases,” he said.
Filings for personal injury cases have decreased over the years as a result, Chase said.
Thomas Cifarelli, Partner,
Cifarelli Law Firm
Santa Ana
Child abuse victims turn to Cifarelli.
About 70% of Cifarelli’s practice is dedicated to litigating cases on behalf of children who were neglected, abused or sexually abused. A good chunk of Cifarelli’s clients are also adults who were victimized as children.
Cifarelli’s claim to fame was a 2001 privacy rights lawsuit against Time Warner Inc. In the case, he represented a group of former Little League players, whose team photograph was used without permission in a Sports Illustrated article and on an episode of HBO’s “Real Sports.” The photo was used in a segment that talked about coaches who sexually molest kids.
Cifarelli also has represented a number of children and adults who’ve alleged that clergy members of the Los Angeles archdiocese have sexually abused them.
A lot of people ask Cifarelli if it ever gets emotionally difficult for him to represent abused children.
Cifarelli doesn’t let the cases get to him, he said.
“These cases are serious and emotionally devastating for my clients, but I’m energized and honored to work for these kids. It’s so great to work on a case where there’s such a clear right and wrong,” he said.
Other Notables
There’s a few other prominent plaintiff lawyers here.
One is John Manly of Newport Beach-based Manly, McGuire & Stewart, which represents more than 100 children who were abused by priests and other adults.
Manly represented 25 of the 87 plaintiffs who won a $100 million settlement in 2005 against the Orange County Diocese.
Other notables include: Ramon Rossi Lopez of Newport Beach-based Lopez, Hodes, Restaino, Milman & Skikos; Federico Castelan Sayre of Santa Ana; Ronald B. Schwartz of Newport Beach; Cornelius “Neil” Bahan of Newport Beach’s Cornelius P. Bahan Inc.; Marshall Silberberg of Newport Beach, Sean M. Burke of Newport Beach; Frank P. Barbaro of Santa Ana’s Barbaro & Valentine; Gary Chambers of Santa Ana’s Chambers, Noronha & Kubota; and John Adams of Santa Ana-based Hunt & Adams.