Ethical Issues for Trial Practice in These Times

Punitive Damages and Federal Judicial Activism

Collyn A. Peddie, Houston, TX

Paul Bland, Public Justice, Washington, DC

Constitutional Challenges to Tort Reform and How Federal Rules Proposals May Affect Access to Justice

John Vail, Center for Constitutional Litigation,
Washington, DC

Issues for the Trial Lawyer: The Judicial Perspective

Moderators: David R. Paoli and William A. Rossbach

Hon. Keith Strong

Issues for the Trial Lawyer: The Judicial Perspective
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Bill Gaylord is a shareholder in the Portland law firm of Gaylord Eyerman Bradley. For more than 30 years, his practice has focused on trials of complex product liability and medical negligence cases, winning numerous multi-million dollar verdicts. Most notably Bill was lead trial counsel in Williams v. Philip Morris ($80 million) and Oberg v. Honda ($5.7 million) – the only two punitive damages verdicts arising in personal injury cases which have been decided by the US Supreme Court during the modern era of Supreme Court activism against punitive damages. In Oberg, the Oregon Supreme Court abolished the tort reform cap on non-economic damages and eventually the U.S. Supreme Court affirmed. Bill has direct and current knowledge of how the current Supreme Court activism is affecting punitive damages litigation as Williams is now back to the Supreme Court for argument on December 3, 2008 – a third time after the Oregon Supreme Court affirmed the verdict once again on remand and the Supreme Court granted cert a third time.

Hon. Kurt Krueger earned his law degree from George Mason University Law School and is a former member of the Montana House of Representatives. He served on Judiciary and Natural Resources committees and was a member of the conference committee that established the Montana Stream Access Bill. Judge Krueger was sworn in as District Court Judge in Butte in January 2001. Before that he was in sole civil practice specializing in complex litigation, personal injuries, brain injuries, wrongful deaths, estates, business & commercial litigation and workers' compensation. In 2004 Judge Krueger established the Butte Family Drug Court to assist parents in remaining substance-free while providing a positive atmosphere in raising their children. He is married to the former Kim Short, and they have two children.

Hon. Thomas M. McKittrick was appointed to the bench in 1983 by then Governor Ted Schwinden. He has been re-elected five times since his appointment. He attended Carroll College and Gonzaga University School of Law. He has served as Assistant Commonwealth Attorney in Virginia and Chief Deputy County Attorney in Cascade County. The Montana Supreme Court has appointed Judge McKittrick to the Civil Jury Instruction Guidelines Commission and the Sentence Review Board of the Montana Supreme Court. Judge McKittrick is a member of the Court Assessment Committee and a past President of the Montana Judges Association. He is also the founder of an Adult Treatment Court in Cascade County.Tom and his wife, Lisa, have been married for 38 years and have two grown children.

David R. Paoli earned a Bachelor degree with honors from the University of Montana in 1983. During law school, David was a member of the Board of Regents of the Montana University System. After graduating with honors in 1986 from the University of Montana School of Law, he was a law clerk to Judge Jack D. Shanstrom from 1986-1988. While working for Judge Shanstrom, he served on the Montana Human Rights Commission. He has represented individuals and small businesses from across the state of Montana in cases involving FELA and railroad liability, personal injuries, insurance bad faith, products liability (automobile manufacturer, medical devices, prescription drugs, etc.), medical negligence, wrongful death, nursing home negligence, and bank bad faith.

Collyn Peddie is a member of the Williams Kherker firm from Houston a union of civil trial lawyers and staff members dedicated to the protection and defense of the rights of individuals. As one of the largest firms of its kind in the country, it has been doing mass-tort litigation for a quarter-century and has recovered hundreds of millions of dollars for victims of industrial injuries, occupational disease, defective pharmaceuticals and consumer products. A successful trial lawyer for more than a dozen years, Collyn has utilized those skills in the last decade to develop a unique appellate advocacy practice that maximizes the chances of winning both at trial and on appeal by integrating appellate principles at trial to prepare the case for a successful appeal. A reformed pharmaceutical lawyer, she is a widely regarded expert on preemption, having testified on the matter before Congress, spoken widely on the issue, argued major preemption cases, and authored numerous briefs in courts around the country, most recently as amicus counsel in Wyeth v. Levine, now pending before the United States Supreme Court.

Hon. Keith Strong was sworn in as U.S. Magistrate Judge for the District of Montana, Great Falls, in January 2007. Previously, Judge Strong practiced with Dorsey & Whitney and Church, Harris, Johnson& Williams. He belongs as a fellow to American College of Trial Lawyers, American Academy of Appellate Lawyers and American Law Institute. Judge Strong is a past president of ABOTA and was listed in Best Lawyers in America, 1995 - 2006. He earned his law degree from UM School of Law in 1974.

Hon. Gregory R. Todd graduated from the University of Montana School of Law in 1977 and spent three years as a Deputy Gallatin County Attorney in Bozeman. He then moved to Billings and had a twenty year litigation practice that emphasized personal injury, domestic relations and criminal defense. He was appointed as a District Court Judge in Billings in December 2000. He is married with two grown daughters and is a "grandpa wannabe."

John Vail is Senior Litigation Counsel and Vice President of the Center for Constitutional Litigation the law firm that devolved from the legal department of American Association for Justice. In that capacity John has dedicated himself to keep courts open to ordinary citizens. He has appeared as counsel, written and successfully argued in countless state and federal courts around the country against state tort reform statutes, efforts to eliminate the right to jury trial, attempts to make experts unavailable and other efforts to prevent access to justice. He writes regularly about the civil justice system. Before coming to work for AAJ, John spent two decades working for legal aid organizations across rural America. Mr. Vail received the Denison Ray Award for "inspired vision and outstanding leadership" in his legal aid work and the Public Justice Achievement Award from Trial Lawyers for Public Justice for his work in preserving the right of access to justice.