For more than a decade, the nation’s best tobacco attorneys have faced off in courtrooms across Florida as part of the state’s unique Engle progeny litigation. And in that time CVN has covered more than 200 Engle progeny trials, from the very first openings in 2008 to the latest trials this year.

In 2011 we first introduced our Engle Trading Cards to spotlight the best attorneys and provide a lighthearted way to track statistics in the ongoing litigation.  The cards have proven so popular over the years that we're bringing them back with a new, 4th edition collection. 

Creative demonstratives can powerfully frame an argument. However, attorneys sometimes shy away from using creative demonstratives in bench trials, perhaps out of fear of annoying the judge trying the case. In closings against Johnson & Johnson over its alleged role in Oklahoma’s opioid epidemic, however, Bradley Beckworth’s “game show” memorably framed key evidence during a long bench trial, and helped lead to a nine-figure judgment. 

Out of the thousands of asbestos lawsuits pending nationwide, only a small handful actually go to trial each year. It’s a tiny percentage, because a full-blown asbestos trial is a major undertaking for all parties, often taking weeks to complete and involving extensive expert witness testimony.

In a med mal trial’s battle of the experts, sometimes it’s what an expert doesn’t say that may swing  a verdict. At trial against a California physician over his off-label use of a spinal implant, Dennis Ames cleared his client with a closing that turned the spotlight on what one expert never said.

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In September 2019, a New Jersey jury returned a $37.2 million verdict for four plaintiffs claiming they developed mesothelioma from asbestos supposedly present in Johnson & Johnson's cosmetic talc products. The following January, a new jury convened to consider claims for punitive damages in a second trial that included in-person testimony from J&J CEO Alex Gorsky for the first time at a cosmetic talc trial.