Frank Kelly delivers his closing arguments at trial against R.J. Reynolds and Kelly's client, Philip Morris, over respiratory disease suffered by Paul Dubinsky, a smoker for more than 35 years. 

Georgia's top defense attorneys won high-stakes, CVN-covered trials across the state this year. CVN Georgia's 2016 Defense Attorney of the Year earned the honor with a critical win in an eight-figure medical malpractice trial. 

Mounting a strong defense in a trial's punitive phase can be daunting. A defense attorney is often faced with convincing jurors that the defendant they just found committed wrongdoing egregious enough to warrant harsh punishment has actually changed enough to mitigate that same punishment. King & Spalding's Ursula Henninger met that task by turning the tables on the idea that a tobacco giant only had an eye for profits.  Martin v. Philip Morris, et al., 2007-CV-036440. 

Philip Gold, left, and Brad Moores, right, deliver their opening statements at trial against West Boca Medical Center. Gold's client, Stanley Rovner, claims negligent treatment at the hospital cost him his leg. 

West Palm Beach, FL—An ER doctor’s negligent care cost a Florida man his leg, the man’s attorney said as trial opened Wednesday against the hospital that treated him. Rovner v. West Boca Medical Center, 2015CA004973.

It’s often difficult to prove liability against a company for the actions of an individual it did not directly employ. That’s the situation Slappey & Sadd’s Jay Sadd faced at trial against a medical transport company for a paratransit accident he argued left a passenger a double amputee. Sadd’s closing argument, however, established the connection the jury needed to find the company responsible for a share of the accident.