What makes a good lawyer? It’s not an easy job and not everyone is cut out for it. Approximately one-quarter of all lawyers leave the profession within their first seven years of practice. Mass torts, one of the most complex and technical areas of law, requires a passion for the job, passion for clients, and good judgment amongst other traits. It also requires teamwork, the combined action of a group of people, especially when effective and efficient. An elite team puts high priority on the work of that team and can articulate the unifying goal to which they are all committed. MTI’s elite eight attorneys, along with our final four firms, exemplify these traits and collectively represent some of the brightest and most strategic minds in the plaintiffs’ bar.
Aimee Wagstaff
Team Trait Qualifying Them as An Elite Eight Attorney– Great Communication Skills
On a fundamental level, attorneys are communicators. They communicate with their clients, they communicate with other parties to the case, and they communicate with the court. As a trial lawyer, Wagstaff’s messaging has been most influential during opening and closing statements where she works craftily to balance empathy for her clients with anger and frustration at corporate defendant conduct. Prior to founding the law firm Andrus Wagstaff, Aimee gained insight and experience by working for the defense bar as an associate for a large defense firm. Her desire to foster relationships among women in the mass tort industry led her to create Women En Mass (WEM) to bring together female mass tort attorneys to discuss the different issues that affect women from the boardroom to the courtroom. The annual WEM conference and online networking platform provide support and resources to a network of female attorneys. A frequent plaintiffs’ leader, Aimee is a sought-after speaker at conferences and on webinars due to her strong communication skills, often breaking down complex matters into easily understandable talking points for jurors, clients, and her fellow attorneys.
Erin Copeland
Team Trait Qualifying Them as An Elite Eight Attorney – Compassion for Clients
Without compassion for their clients, a lawyer will never reach their true professional potential. The top legal minds in the field almost invariably highlight compassion and service when they offer advice to law students and aspiring lawyers. A fierce advocate for women and children, Erin Copeland is the sole female partner at Fibich, Leebron, Copeland & Briggs where she manages the transvaginal mesh, Essure and Paragard dockets. In addition to her impressive courtroom victories, Copeland is a trained mediator in general and family mediation, and she is a former volunteer mediator with the Harris County Dispute Resolution Center. She is also one of the original board/steering committee members for the Texas Women Rainmakers, which is a Houston-based organization aimed at empowering women through education, mentorship, and networking to advance themselves in the legal field and ultimately become their own rainmaker.
Ben Crump
Team Trait Qualifying Them as An Elite Eight Attorney – Passion for the Job
You have probably heard popular cliches like “choose a job you love, and you will never work a day in your life”. Of course, we all know that in the real world it’s not quite that simple. At the same time, there is a wide body of scientific evidence that demonstrates the importance of passion for your work. Ben Crump’s passion is widely known; a frequent speaker and author, he craftly uses media to fight for justice on behalf of marginalized victims, a calling to which he will always remain dedicated. Crump’s tireless work on behalf of victims of civil rights violations made him a natural fit for mass torts. His success has made him a household name resulting in potential clients flocking to his firm for representation on various dockets including nursing home abuse, mesothelioma, and talcum powder.
Michael A. London
Team Trait Qualifying Them as An Elite Eight Attorney – Strong Writing Ability
One of the single defining traits that all successful attorneys share is excellent writing skills. Don’t be fooled by the flashy procedurals that are ever popular on television, the vast majority of lawyers spend far more time writing than they do in oral arguments. Successful lawyers must be able to prepare effective, clear, and well-reasoned legal documents. Michael London of Douglas & London has an impressive list of verdicts and settlements under his belt in addition to numerous lead and liaison counsel roles in pharmaceutical, medical device and multidistrict litigations. His writing skills have been instrumental in motions and appellate issues in personal injury tobacco litigation across the country. He has also written numerous articles for publication in legal journals on topics such as vaccine use, the Learned Intermediary Doctrine, jury selection in products liability cases, youth smoking and “light” cigarettes litigation.
McDonald “Don” Worley
Team Trait Qualifying Them as An Elite Eight Attorney – Perseverance
Successful lawyers know how to persevere. The law is a tough field. There is no reason to sugar coat it; practicing law can be one of the most rewarding and meaningful careers out there, but it’s also a lot of work. As is true with any profession, success requires effort. McDonald “Don” Worley is a tenacious, creative, and resilient attorney who has built a massive law practice representing tens of thousands of clients across multiple practice areas. A trained actor and comedian, Worley uses creative marketing strategies (follow him on Instagram for plenty of laughs) to set himself and his firm apart. The cut-throat entertainment business has many similarities with the mass tort world and Worley uses his experience in both arenas to aggressively advocate for his clients. Worley’s success has resulted in multiple seven- and eight-figure verdicts and settlements for his clients. He is also an informal mentor for other attorneys, often offering his advice and opinions on how to get started in mass torts.
Mark Lanier
Team Trait Qualifying Them as An Elite Eight Attorney – Creativity
Contrary to popular conceptions, successful attorneys are often highly creative people. The law is not purely a science. There is an art to effective legal practice. Mark Lanier is considered one of the most successful trial attorneys in U.S. history. His impressive list of verdicts can be directly tied to his zeal and creativity; leading to a connection with juries that makes him a formidable foe to large corporations. Proving that those who can do also teach, Lanier founded the Lanier Trial Academy, a two-day intensive for plaintiffs’ lawyers where Lanier shares his trial experience and wisdom. LTA helps trial lawyers approve their communication, technical and argument abilities in an entertaining and understandable way. Mark’s courtroom work has resulted in feature articles in national and international publications and he is a frequent guest on cable news shows.
Bryan Aylstock
Team Trait Qualifying Them as An Elite Eight Attorney – Knowledge of the Law
Great lawyers know their area of practice. Some of this knowledge comes from experience. Some of it comes from education. Bryan Aylstock’s education and experience benefitted his clients and the plaintiffs’ bar in the 3M combat earplugs litigation when he and his team succeeded in getting a federal court to block 3M’s defense that it was immune to suit as a government contractor. The litigation is now one of the largest mass torts in history with over 200,000 military service members filing claims. During law school, Aylstock was both an associate and a senior editor of the Florida Law Review publishing an article on the case of Fabre v. Marin, 623 So.2d 1182 (Fla. 1993), one of most significant cases to affect the area of personal injury law in Florida. After completing law school, he worked for the Director of the Federal Tort Claims Act Division on such high-profile matters as the Ruby Ridge and Waco cases. In perhaps his most legally challenging case to date, Aylstock is representing 300 wounded veterans and families of military personnel who were killed in Iranian state-funded attacks in Iraq. The lawsuit states the Islamic Republic of Iran is responsible for acts of terrorism, extrajudicial killings, torture, and hostage-takings. Aylstock acknowledges there will be legal hoops to go through but he is prepared to go the distance.
Sol Weiss
Team Trait Qualifying Them as An Elite Eight Attorney – Good Judgement
At times, lawyers are required to make judgements — both for themselves and for their clients. For instance, a lawyer may have to decide whether a legal claim is worth pursuing at all. Alternatively, an attorney may be involved deep in settlement negotiations and their client may ask them for their opinion on a proposed deal. Sol Weiss has spent his entire legal career using good judgement to get the best results possible for his clients. As co-lead counsel in the NFL concussion litigation, Weiss realized early on that the key to victory was to get the public on the side of the players and to not make it about the attorneys or the NFL. By working with a PR firm who led the media campaign, Weiss put the focus on a dozen or so players whose life stories were constantly told in the media, putting the NFL on defense and forcing them to come to the table and negotiate. Before work on the NFL cases, Weiss was involved in the infamous “Cash for Kids” scandal in Luzerne County, Pennsylvania. Using the RICO statute, the class action lawsuit sought and won damages against the judge’s spouses and business associates, shell companies, youth center officials and Luzerne County. The lawsuit resulted in civil recoveries for over 2,000 youth.
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The Mass Tort Institute is a consortium of industry leaders dedicated to providing education, training, and networking opportunities for those advocating on behalf of mass tort victims.
