Summer Reading for the Rest of Us

Posted on June 21, 2010 by Sean Wajert

Today is the official first day of Summer, and in that spirit, as our readers think about reading something fun (not that MassTortDefense is not fun) at the beach, lake, or pool, here is a suggestion.

New York Times bestselling author James W. Huston's novel, "Marine One" is out in paperback (St. Martin's Press). Huston is a practicing attorney in his spare time.

Finally, some reality to the legal thriller genre, as the hero of the story -- the good guy -- is a product liability defense lawyer!  Mike Nolan is retained to defend WorldCopter in a billion dollar civil lawsuit alleging a product defect caused Marine One (the President's helicopter) to crash on the way to Camp David, killing all aboard.

Was it an accident? pilot error? act of God? terrorists? a design or manufacturing defect? Our plucky defense counsel battles grandstanding Senators, a conspiracy-minded media, voracious plaintiff personal injury attorneys, and a seemingly "fixed" government investigation to try to get to the truth, and justice for his client, the besieged product seller.

For fans of Higgins and Clancy, with a twist on Grisham, a fun summer read.

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Dechert Receives Chambers USA Award for Excellence 2009 for Products Liability

Posted on June 12, 2009 by Sean Wajert

If the faithful readers will permit me a non-substantive note:  I was pleased to learn that the product liability practice group here at Dechert, which I co-chair, has been selected as the recipient of the Chambers USA Award for Excellence 2009 for Products Liability. These awards "honor outstanding lawyers and law firms across the USA, reflecting both pre-eminence in key practice areas, and achievements over the last 12 months."

The other nominees, all fine firms, included A&P, Bartlit Beck, Kaye Scholer, Shook Hardy, Sidley, and Williams & Connolly.  Dechert has had the privilege of working with lawyers from several of these firms in the "virtual law firm" model in mass torts.

Certainly, this recognition reflects the hard work and talents of all the partners, counsel, associates, staff attorneys, and paralegals in our group.  It also stems from the confidence and trust placed in us by the clients who come to us for advice and assistance on many of their most challenging product liability and mass tort issues. 

(Your humble blogger was again listed nationally among Product Liability lawyers, as well.)

 

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