Trial Lawyer Titan: Tom Girardi Speaks at La Verne luncheon
Giant of a Trial Lawyer Charms President’s Associates Audience
Tom Girardi speaks at La Verne luncheon
The line to pay homage to Thomas Girardi was long, but La Verne College of Law graduate Tim Hobbs waited as patiently as he could.
Girardi, the keynote speaker at the day’s University of La Verne President’s Associated luncheon on the top floor of the sparkling new Campus Center, chatted up guests seeking a face-to-face meeting, and clowned around with La Verne students for a group photo.
Not what one might expect from one of the world’s greatest lawyers. Hobbs, himself a good 6-foot-7 or 6-8, looked down at Girardi in admiration.
“You expect him to be eight feet tall and speak with the voice of God,” Hobbs said. “But you get to talking to him and he’s just like your favorite uncle, Tom. And, I can see, when he asks a jury for a verdict, what jury is going to refuse him?”
Not many, based on Girardi’s record.
The ebullient Girardi, the one with the self-deprecating wit who is barely visible to his audience over La Verne’s new state-of-the-art podium, the one who insists those who greet him as “Mr. Girardi” address him as “Tom,” has obtained more than 30 jury verdicts of $1 million or more in his illustrious career.
Among more than 100 settlements of $1 million or more was a $4.85 billion dollar settlement with pharmaceutical giant Merck for personal injuries to consumers involving the drug Vioxx. Another settlement of more than $600 million for two groups of residents of Hinkley, California, stemmed from the toxic tort case made famous by the movie “Erin Brokovich.”
Girardi has been named a Southern California Super Lawyer by Los Angeles Magazine for six years running, starting in 2004, the year that he was the highest vote getter in California. In 2003 he was inducted into the Trial Lawyer’s Hall of Fame by the California State Bar. He is a member of the board of directors, and past president of the prestigious International Academy of Trial Lawyers, an invitation-only organization limited to 500 members worldwide.
As a member of the University of La Verne College of Law Board of Visitors. Girardi imparts his knowledge and experience to La Verne College of Law students occasionally, and addressed the 2007 graduating class during commencement at the College of Law.
For the President’s Associates audience, Girardi shared stories of the courtroom, from shameful and shocking to humorous and heartwarming. His underlying message was simple: While trial lawyers may be held in contempt by many outside the courtroom, they can be a true friend to upright and legitimate business owners by prosecuting those who cause harm through negligence and/or dishonesty. He argued, in the most delightful way, that not only are trial lawyers not always the pariah they are portrayed as, but that he really has the best job in the world.
Another successful motion, another captivated jury. And, another lawyer myth dispelled, at least the one about his height.
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- Acclaimed Trial Lawyer Thomas Girardi Keynote Speaker at 2008 ULV College of Law Commencement
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- Professor Doskow Publishes in The California Lawyer
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- ULV Commencement Weekend May 26-27, 2001