July 16, 2009 WKPS Partner Gary M. Paul Elected VP of American Association for Justice (AAJ)
Mr. Paul to be Installed July 29 at AAJ 2009 Convention; WKPS to Co-Sponsor Special Reception at San Francisco’s MOMA
LOS ANGELES — July 16, 2009 — WKPS partner Gary M. Paul will be installed as vice-president of the American Association for Justice during the AAJ’s annual convention in San Francisco. Mr. Paul currently serves as an officer of the AAJ as secretary. He will begin a one-year term as vice-president on July 29.
Mr. Paul is among the Southern California Bar’s most distinguished and well-recognized plaintiff attorneys. He was named “Trial Lawyer of the Year” by the Consumer Attorneys Association of Los Angeles (CAALA) in both 1981 and 2008; received the Edward I. Pollock Award in 1996 for “dedication, efforts, and effectiveness” in consumer matters; and has been named four times to the Southern California Super Lawyers® list. He has served as president of both CAALA, CAOC, and Pound Civil Justice Institute, and is an elected fellow of the International Academy of Trial Lawyers. He is also a respected lecturer and author.
Since joining Waters & Kraus in 2006, Mr. Paul has been instrumental in several of the firm’s most noteworthy asbestos-mesothelioma cases. This includes Cundiff v. Alfa Laval, a recent post-Taylor verdict that resulted in an award of $12.0 million to a retired U.S. Navy machinist. After the official swearing in of the 2009-2010 officers on the floor of the AAJ convention, Mr. Paul and the newly elected president, Anthony Tarricone, will be feted at a by-invitation-only event for members of AAJ’s Leaders Forum and Endowment. This exclusive dinner reception will be held at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art (MOMA), which is currently featuring a special exhibit of works by Georgia O’Keefe and Ansel Adams.
“We are so pleased for Gary and proud of his commitment to serve,” said Peter Kraus, WK co-founder. His skill in the courtroom, service in the community, and dedication to the profession are truly exemplary. We are looking forward to co-hosting the Leaders Forum and Endowment members in honoring Gary and Anthony on Monday evening – particularly in such a spectacular venue as MOMA.”
The AAJ Leaders Forum, founded in 2000, is a select group of firms that help the organization protect the civil justice system. The Forum provides resources for public relations, legislative advocacy and public education efforts in Washington, D.C., as well as across the nation. During the annual convention, AAJ Leaders Forum will be availed of a private suite at the convention for members to relax, network, or catch up on email and work. Signs will be posted at the suite announcing the reception, as well as any available seats.
About Gary M. Paul
Gary Paul is a partner in Waters Kraus Paul & Siegel’s Los Angeles office. Gary brings a distinguished legal practice to the firm, with more than three decades of trial experience in complex civil matters, including consumer and medical product liability, medical and professional malpractice, commercial and insurance litigation, and employment and labor law. Gary earned a Bachelor of Science degree in engineering from Arizona, and a Master of Science degree in engineering from the University of California, Los Angeles. He was a space and missile engineer for a decade before deciding to pursue a career in law.
Gary earned a Juris Doctor degree from Loyola Law School in Los Angeles in 1974, and was admitted to practice by the State Bar of California the same year. A respected author, Gary has written numerous articles for legal journals. He is co-author of California Tort Practice Guide, a five-volume law treatise published by Clark Boardman Callaghan. He also frequently presents at legal symposia and continuing legal education seminars.
Gary is a member of the State Bar of California, the International Academy of Trial Lawyers, the American Board of Trial Advocates, American Association for Justice (AAJ), The Consumer Attorneys Association of Los Angeles (CAALA), and Consumer Attorneys of California (CAOC). He has served on the Board of Governors, and as president of both the CAALA and CAOC, as well as in numerous other executive positions. He currently serves as an officer of the AAJ and was appointed Secretary in 2008. Gary will serve as President of the AAJ in 2010.
In 2006, he was president of the Pound Civil Justice institute, a think-tank of accomplished trial attorneys who help to strengthen the practice of trial law through educational programs, publications and research grants. He has been recognized three times for outstanding service to the legal profession and his community by the CAALA and CAOC, including the CAALA’s Trial Lawyer of the Year. In addition, he has been named on the Southern California Super Lawyers® list four times. Gary is a native of Springfield, Ohio.
About the American Association for Justice (AAJ)
The American Association for Justice promotes a fair and effective justice system and supports the work of attorneys to ensure that any person who is injured by the misconduct or negligence of others can obtain justice in America’s courtrooms, even when taking on the most powerful interests. Formerly known as the American Trial Lawyers Association (ATLA), AAJ was founded in 1946, and today represents the world’s largest trial bar as a broad-based, international coalition of attorneys, law professors, paralegals, and law students.
About Waters Kraus & Paul
Waters Kraus Paul & Siegel is the West Coast practice of Waters & Kraus, LLP – a nationally recognized plaintiffs’ firm concentrating on complex product liability and personal injury/wrongful death cases, particularly asbestos-mesothelioma. In addition to toxic tort litigation, the firm’s diverse practice includes pharmaceutical product liability, negligence, elder financial abuse, consumer product liability, and class actions, as well as qui tam (whistleblower) and commercial litigation. With offices in California, Texas, and Maryland, Waters & Kraus has litigated cases in jurisdictions across the United States on behalf of individuals from all 50 states, as well as foreign governments.
