The Great Trials Podcast The Great Trials Podcast

This week, Steve and Yvonne interviewed Lee Hunt of Hunt Law Firm (https://huntlaw.com/).
 
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View/Download Trial Documents
 
Case Details:
James Razo, age 55, suffered a spinal cord injury while working on Only the Brave, a movie about a group of elite hotshot firefighters filmed in 2016. Mr. Razo was transporting camera equipment, which tipped over, crushing him. He suffered a spinal cord injury, internal injuries, and brain damage. 
 
Guest Bio:
Lee Hunt
You want to know more about your lawyer than whether he is capable of handling your case. By the end of the case, you and your lawyer better trust each other, know each and honestly care about each other. My belief is that to help a person in a legal crisis, I must know you as a person – not just another case.That means you should know more about me than where I went to school.
I am a husband. My wife Kristi is a native New Mexican who grew up on a cattle ranch in Roy, New Mexico. Her family settled the ranch back in the early 1940s and have raised cattle and kids there ever since.
I am a father. I have three wonderfully full of life children.
I am also a Christian. My faith and my belief in redemption is what drives me to do this work. I don’t think that you have to be a trial attorney to make the world better and to live in the likeness of Jesus, but it is what makes sense to me. If I can help people in crisis and be a calm witness in the midst of the storm, then maybe God can use that to His Glory.
I am also an athlete. I love to get away from everything with a hard run in early morning hours or a solitary bike ride.
I have raced the Hawaii Ironman twice and ran 100 miles at the Leadville Trail 100. I think balance in life is difficult to find, but even harder to get back aligned when out of whack. Trust me when I say, that I work as hard as anyone I know, but I will always find time for my family and for myself. In the end that time away makes me a better lawyer.
As a lawyer, I have always wanted to try difficult cases to juries. To be respected by the other side, they must know that we are willing to fight all the way to the end and get results in Court. Our track record at trial speaks to who we are and how far we are willing to go to make things right.
Read Full Bio
 
Show Sponsors:
Legal Technology Services - LegalTechService.com
Digital Law Marketing - DigitalLawMarketing.com
Harris Lowry Manton LLP - hlmlawfirm.com
 
Free Resources:
Stages Of A Jury Trial - Part 1
Stages Of A Jury Trial - Part 2

This week, we're replaying a classic episode where Steve and Yvonne interviewed Kyle Farrar and Wesley Ball of Farrar and Ball, LLP (http://fbtrial.com/).
 
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View/Download Trial Documents
 
Case Details:
Farrar & Ball trial attorneys Kyle Farrar and Wesley Ball share how they secured justice for Shanika Brown and her infant daughter, who underwent arm and leg amputations, respectively, after being ejected from a car that hit a blown truck tire from a concrete mixer owned by Silvi Concrete on I-295 in New Jersey. The failed Bridgestone L315 tire, which was poorly retreaded by McCarthy Tire and negligently maintained by Silvi Concrete, was left in the roadway and caused the car Brown and her daughter were riding in to swerve and crash. Bridgestone, the original manufacturer of the tire, settled pre-trial. McCarthy Tire settled early in the trial and Silvi Concrete settled with the infant daughter before the case was presented to the jury. A Philadelphia, Pennsylvania jury ultimately assigned 85 percent of the blame to Silvi Concrete. It returned a verdict of $10.6 million to Shanika Brown and $65,000 to Shanika's mother, who was driving the vehicle. Combined with delay damages, the verdict totaled $11.7 million.
 
Guest Bios:
Kyle Farrar
Kyle Farrar is a veteran litigator with an active trial caseload in state and federal courts across the country. He has secured record jury verdicts and settlements on behalf of individuals injured by dangerous products and reckless and negligent parties. In addition, he has taken leading roles in high-profile multidistrict litigation (MDL) in cases involving dangerous and defective medical products.
Kyle began his career at one of the nation’s largest law firms, representing Fortune 500 companies in multimillion-dollar lawsuits. He founded his firm to focus on representing individuals who have suffered catastrophic injuries caused by tire blowouts, tread separation, and tire failure linked to defective tires and automotive products.
Kyle is a national thought leader regarding tire and vehicle safety, and his work has helped spur manufacturers to improve safety and recall defective products. In this capacity, Kyle routinely assists peers and helps educate lawyers at product liability litigation conferences nationwide. He is often asked to assist as trial counsel in cases and trials, having appeared in Courts in over twenty different states and trying cases to a successful outcome in ten different states.
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Wesley Ball
In 2005 – three years after graduating from Baylor Law School – Wesley Todd Ball co-founded Farrar & Ball, LLP, and built it brick by brick to what it has become today. In 2013, the firm joined forces with Kaster & Lynch, LLP to create Kaster Lynch Farrar & Ball, LLP, one of the top product liability law firms in the nation.
Mr. Ball’s work is concentrated on automotive defect cases, including tire failures, rollover incidents, airbag failures, seat failures, fuel-fed fire cases, and related design and manufacturing defects.  In addition, he has extensive experience handling major multiparty products liability litigation against virtually every major domestic and international vehicle manufacturer, tire company, and automotive component manufacturer in both state and federal court.  As such, Mr. Ball has tried cases to successful outcomes in eight different states, including Texas, Kentucky, Florida, Pennsylvania, Iowa, Minnesota, California, and New Mexico.
Mr. Ball has earned some of the highest honors in the legal profession, including being selected by peer attorneys to Texas Super Lawyers every year since 2014. From 2009 to 2014, he was one of a very small number of Texas lawyers to be recognized by Texas Super Lawyers and its companion Rising Stars publication simultaneously.  The National Trial Lawyers organization has named him to its 40 under 40 and, most re

This week, Steve and Yvonne interviewed Matt Cook of Cook Law Group LLC (www.cook-lawgroup.com) and Shane Lazenby of Lazenby Law Group (lazlawgroup.com).
 
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Case Details:
On April 23, 2016, a fatal crash resulted in the loss of Taliah Freeman, a 32-year-old resident of Gainesville, GA, who lost her life in a devastating collision along Interstate 85 in Gwinnett County. Sandra Gallo, Freeman's mother, brought the case on behalf of her six-year-old son. The defendants in the case were C&T Durham Trucking Company of Greensboro, North Carolina, and ACE American Insurance Company. The case ended nearly eight years later, with a settlement totaling $10 million between the parties, with approximately 95% of the settlement amount going to Freeman's family. Source 
 
Guest Bios:
Matt Cook
Matt grew up in Northeast Georgia, the son of a single mom. While he and his mother had very little worldly means, they had grit, determination and a commitment to decency and fairness. Matt’s upbringing gave him a healthy respect for hard work and for standing up for the underdog. Matt spent three years working in cotton mills and other manual labor jobs before graduating college and attending law school. After graduating law school, Matt joined a nationally renowned trial lawyer firm where he spent six years as an associate and five years as a partner handling a broad range of complex, catastrophic injury and death cases across the United States ranging from trucking collisions to product liability claims and everything in between. Matt is a frequent speaker at trial lawyer seminars, has published numerous articles, and has served as an expert witness in several cases. Matt is an aviation enthusiast and has his private pilot’s license. Matt’s unique style, genuine empathy, ability to relate to juries, and fearlessness have led to hundreds of millions of dollars of recoveries for clients. Matt has secured more than $225 million for clients in just the past 10 years.
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Shane Lazenby
Shane Lazenby is the founder and managing member of Lazenby Law Group. After more than a decade of defending those accused of negligence in personal injury cases, Shane decided to reverse course and help the victims of serious injuries. With unparalleled compassion and limitless commitment, Shane quickly learned how much more rewarding and uplifting service as a victim’s advocate can be. Shane now focuses his practice on helping the victims of catastrophic personal injury and the families whose loved ones have passed as a result of the negligence of another.
Read Full Bio
 
Show Sponsors:
Legal Technology Services - LegalTechService.com
Digital Law Marketing - DigitalLawMarketing.com
Harris Lowry Manton LLP - hlmlawfirm.com
 
Free Resources:
Stages Of A Jury Trial - Part 1
Stages Of A Jury Trial - Part 2

This week Steve and Yvonne interview Jude Basile of The Basile Law Firm (https://www.basilelaw.com/).
 
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View/Download Trial Documents
 
Guest Bio:
Jude Basille
Jude first began practicing law in 1982. Over the years, he has earned numerous awards as a result of his fierce dedication to protecting families and people. Jude has been named Trial Lawyer of the Year four times, and Outstanding Trial Lawyer nine times by various trial lawyer organizations. He is the only lawyer between Los Angeles and San Francisco to be part of the prestigious Inner Circle of Advocates, a national invitation-only organization that includes only the 100 top plaintiff trial lawyers in the United States. In addition, he has earned the highest rating among his peers in the legal community while enjoying the friendship and gratitude of his clients. 
Nothing gives him more satisfaction, however, than finding out and overcoming injustice in the form of abuse of power and corporate greed - a mission he began in childhood. Those who know Jude best will tell you he demonstrates a depth of intensity that even those who oppose him in the courtroom cannot deny. He is simply the very best at what he does, and believes in quality over quantity when it comes to caseload, spending time with his clients in order to better understand each unique situation.
Jude is an invited speaker and presenter at numerous State Bar Associations and invited to teach at various Trial Lawyer programs. 
EDUCATION
University of Notre Dame
Edinboro University of Pennsylvania B.A. Social Science
Indiana University of Pennsylvania M.S. Business
Thomas Jefferson School of Law J.D. with honors
BAR ADMISSIONS 
US Supreme Court
California 1982
Georgia 1982 (inactive)
US Federal Court
Read Full Bio
 
Show Sponsors:
Legal Technology Services - LegalTechService.com
Digital Law Marketing - DigitalLawMarketing.com
Harris Lowry Manton LLP - hlmlawfirm.com
 
Free Resources:
Stages Of A Jury Trial - Part 1
Stages Of A Jury Trial - Part 2

This week, we’re replaying a classic episode where Steve and Yvonne interview Lee Hunt of The Hunt Law Firm (https://huntlaw.com/).
 
Remember to rate and review GTP in iTunes: Click Here to Rate and Review
 
View/Download Trial Documents
 
Case Details:
Top 25 New Mexico Super Lawyers honoree Lee Hunt discusses how he secured justice for Eric and Luke Armstrong, two brothers who were hit by bullet fragments fired from neighboring hunters on Express Ranches, LLC’s Atmore Ranch. Their guide mistakenly told the hunters that their targets were between 240 and 250 yards away, causing them to aim high at the elk, which were actually only 160 yards away. While walking on the main road between Atmore Ranch and neighboring Ute Creek Ranch, Luke was hit in the mouth with a bullet fragment, which left him with permanent facial nerve damage and a numb limp. Eric had a bullet fragment lodged in his abdomen. A New Mexico jury found Express Ranches, LLC negligent for failing to adhere to safe hunting practices and awarded $5,256,000 in damages to the Armstrong brothers.
 
Guest Bio:
Lee Hunt
You want to know more about your lawyer than whether he is capable of handling your case. By the end of the case, you and your lawyer better trust each other, know each and honestly care about each other. I believe that to help a person in a legal crisis, I must know you as a person – not just another case. That means you should know more about me than where I went to school.
I am a husband. My wife Kristi is a native New Mexican who grew up on a cattle ranch in Roy, New Mexico. Her family settled on the ranch in the early 1940s and have raised cattle and kids there ever since.
I am a father. I have three wonderfully full-of-life children.
I am also a Christian. My faith and my belief in redemption is what drives me to do this work. I don’t think that you have to be a trial attorney to make the world better and to live in the likeness of Jesus, but it is what makes sense to me. If I can help people in crisis and be a calm witness in the midst of the storm, then maybe God can use that to His Glory.
I am also an athlete. I love getting away from everything with a hard run in the early morning or a solitary bike ride.
I have raced the Hawaii Ironman twice and ran 100 miles at the Leadville Trail 100. I think balance in life is challenging to find, but even harder to get back aligned when out of whack. Trust me when I say that I work as hard as anyone I know, but I will always find time for my family and myself. In the end, that time away made me a better lawyer.
As a lawyer, I have always wanted to try difficult cases to juries. To be respected by the other side, they must know that we are willing to fight all the way to the end and get results in Court. Our track record at trial speaks to who we are and how far we are willing to go to make things right.
 
Show Sponsors:
Legal Technology Services - LegalTechService.com
Digital Law Marketing - DigitalLawMarketing.com
Harris Lowry Manton LLP - hlmlawfirm.com
 
Free Resources:
Stages Of A Jury Trial - Part 1
Stages Of A Jury Trial - Part 2

This week, we’re replaying a classic episode where Steve and Yvonne interview William Ricigliano of Ricigliano and Filopei, P.C. (www.rfinjurylaw.com).
 
Remember to rate and review GTP in iTunes: Click Here to Rate and Review
 
View/Download Trial Documents
 
Case Details:
One of America’s Top 100 Attorneys, William Ricigliano shares how he secured justice for Jason Kowalsky, a Verizon technician in New York who was hit by a negligent driver in a Suffolk County Parks, Recreation & Conservation pickup truck. Jason was collecting safety cones and putting away his equipment when the driver struck him from behind with enough force to thrust him into the roadway and push his parked vehicle forward. Jason sustained damage to his knee and back, requiring surgery and a costly chronic pain management regimen. Despite the defense’s attempts to pin Jason’s back injury on pre-existing conditions, a Suffolk County, New York jury returned a $5,088,000 verdict.
 
Guest Bio:
William Ricigliano
William Ricigliano is the founding partner of Ricigliano & Filopei, P.C. with offices in Manhattan, the Bronx, and soon, West New York, New Jersey.  Mr. Ricigliano founded the firm with the single goal of helping victims of catastrophic personal injury on both sides of the Hudson River.  He has obtained significant verdicts in every borough of New York City, Westchester, Nassau, Suffolk counties, and various counties in New Jersey.  He has been named a Metro Area Super Lawyer every year since 2013 and has been named as one of America’s Top 100 Attorneys.  
Mr. Ricigliano’s victories in the courtroom have provided the opportunity to focus his attention on various areas of specialty.  A $3.775 million verdict in Suffolk County for an 8-year-old boy who suffered a traumatic brain injury and required a lifetime of medical care sparked Mr. Ricigliano’s devotion to victims of traumatic brain injury.  Similarly, a $2.6 million settlement after three weeks of trial in Brooklyn influenced his work with clients suffering from complex regional pain disorder, a chronic pain condition caused by trauma.  
Mr. Ricigliano has also dedicated his practice to representing construction workers who sustain life-altering injuries on the job.  These hard-working men and women include carpenters, ironworkers, roofers, and industrial bridge painters, who typically cannot return to their former occupations.   
A significant portion of his practice is also related to handling spinal injuries, including a 5 million verdict in Suffolk County in 2015 for a Verizon Technician who was struck by a Suffolk County Parks vehicle, was forced to undergo spinal surgery, and never returned to work.  Mr. Ricigliano’s trial results have been included as the verdict of the year on multiple occasions.  
Mr. Ricigliano graduated from Touro Law School in Huntington, New York, in 1994 in the top 20% of his class and received a Bachelor of Arts Degree, Cum Laude, in Political Science from the University of Massachusetts in 1989.  He is a proud member of the North American Brain Injury Society, the American Association for Justice and is on the Board of Directors for Pink Concussions.  Mr. Ricigliano has authored more than thirty legal articles and a legal book, Premises Liability Claims:  A Guide to Defending Owners.  
Facebook: facebook.com/rfinjurylaw
Instagram: @rfinjurylaw
Read Full Bio
 
Show Sponsors:
Legal Technology Services - LegalTechService.com
Digital Law Marketing - DigitalLawMarketing.com
Harris Lowry Manton LLP - hlmlawfirm.com
 
Free Resources:
Stages Of A Jury Trial - Part 1
Stages Of A Jury Trial - Part 2