On Premises

Our guest is Nicole Clark, CEO and Founder of Trellis.

Premises liability cases often involve hotly contested legal issues requiring extensive legal research. That's where Trellis comes in.

To start your 14-day Trellis free trial, click here: http://trellis.law/free-trial/activate/On-Premises

Nicole Clark developed Trellis as her own secret weapon. After graduating from Rutgers Law School in 2011, she entered into private practice.

The idea for Trellis was born late one night as Clark was trying to write a complicated motion for summary judgment. She didn’t know much about the judge assigned to the case, which left her unsure about how to structure the document. That’s when a colleague let her browse through his old case files, where she stumbled upon a past ruling by her judge, on her issue, on her motion. 

It felt like finally having a detailed study guide to a final exam. She won her motion for summary judgment and everything changed.

With the help of a few software developers, Clark began aggregating state trial court data to use in her own private practice, slowly accumulating an ever-expanding database of tentative rulings issued by the judges in Southern California. 

This helped solve her own need for access to state trial court data and analytics. Clark used these rulings to structure and organize every motion that came across her desk, weaving the facts of each case into the types of arguments highlighted by her specific judge. The results? Her motion practice proliferated.

Clark knew her secret weapon couldn’t—and shouldn’t—stay a secret forever. It quickly became obvious to her that there was a massive opportunity to build a thriving, scalable legal analytics platform, one that would help democratize access for state trial court data. And she wanted to be the one to build it.

Clark continues to share everything she has learned over the years about legal analytics with other legal professionals, authoring articles for ABA Journal, New York Law Journal, Texas Lawyer, and Santa Barbara Lawyer. She is also regularly featured as a legal expert for Southern California Record, and she has appeared as a guest on podcasts produced by Above the Law and Corporate Counsel Business Journal.

Host Law Firm Website: https://www.beacon.legal/

Joseph Wilson is considered by many to be one of the elite trial lawyers in the southeast, if not the nation. To wit, there are few lawyers of his age that have accomplished what he has in such a short span. In an era where very few injury lawyers take cases to a jury trial when insurance carriers act in an unreasonable manner; Joseph has established a reputation based on the significant verdicts he has obtained on behalf of clients.

Joseph garnered attention from his colleagues and Georgia insurance defense lawyers following two significant verdicts. In 2018, a Fulton County jury awarded our client $500,000.00 for injuries she sustained when a deck collapsed as a result of negligence. In 2019, following a highly contested trial involving elite defense counsel; Joseph secured a $584,000.00 jury verdict on behalf of a client injured as a result of a negligent driver of an armored truck. Additionally, he has served as lead counsel in over 25 jury trials which is rare for a lawyer of his age. Many injury lawyers have never tried a case and a vast majority have tried less than 5 jury trials in their career."

https://jlwilsoninjurylawyers.com/joseph-wilson/

-
ABOUT TRELLIS
Trellis 14-Day Free Trial: http://trellis.law/free-trial/activate/On-Premises

"Democratizing access to the law by making state trial court records and legal data more accessible is a necessary step in bringing greater transparency to our judicial system, and is central to our core mission here at Trellis.

Whether you want to see how specific legal issues are decided across counties and states, understand how judges have ruled on similar motions, or gain strategic insights on your opposing counsel ... Trellis is strategic research for smart practitioners."

--
Kurt Kastorf, Esq.
[email protected]

Host Law Firm Website: https://www.beacon.legal/

On a Nevada playground in 2013 a swing set tragically collapses on a teenager's head causing a traumatic brain injury. As it turns out, the homeowner's association responsible for the maintenance of the swing set knew of two prior collapses – but still failed to properly maintain the swing set. 

$2,000,000.00 - the HOA's insurance coverage policy limits.

$125,000.00 - the top offer from the HOA before trial.

$20,000,000.00 - the jury's verdict for the victim, obtained by trial attorney Sean Claggett of Claggett and Sykes in Las Vegas, Nevada.

--

Sean Claggett is an established Las Vegas personal injury attorney and handles difficult cases across the country. Sean founded Claggett & Sykes Law Firm in 2005, and is the firm’s lead trial lawyer.

In 2017, Sean was recognized by his fellow trial lawyers of the Nevada Justice Association as Nevada’s Trial Attorney of the Year.

In 2016, Sean had the fourth most influential verdict in the United States according to Courtroom View Network, stemming from a slip and fall at Lowe’s in which his client suffered a TBI after she slipped, fell, and knocked down a three-foot yellow warning cone. Lowe’s top offer before the verdict was $1,400,000.00, and the referring plaintiff attorney offered to resolve the case for $1,749,999.99. The jury returned a verdict in the amount of $16,430,000.00.

Sean’s trial success continued with two verdicts in 2018 in the amounts of $20,000,000.00 and $3,382,000.00. Sean’s verdict of $20,000,000.00 was recognized as the fourth most influential verdict in the United States according to Courtroom View Network, stemming from a negligence case against an HOA for failing to maintain its swing set. The HOA’s top offer before trial was $400,000.00, and the referring plaintiff offered the HOA to resolve the case for $949,000.00. The plaintiff in the case suffered a TBI.

Sean’s trial success continued in 2019 as he obtained a verdict of $645,814.33 in which there was a 16-day gap in treatment after the initial wreck, and then, after eight months of physical therapy treatment, there was a three and a half year gap in treatment before the plaintiff obtained further treatment for his back injury. The top offer from the defense was $50,000.00, and the referring attorney agreed to accept $180,000.00 to resolve the case prior to trial.

Later that year, Sean received an honorable mention from Courtroom View Network as having one of the year’s most impressive trials for his work on a medical malpractice trial where his client suffered a TBI. Sean asked for $63,000,000.00 in closing arguments and the case settled before the jury returned a verdict.

In 2020, Courtroom View Network named Sean to its “Who We’re Watching” list. Courtroom View Network says that after more than a decade of capturing trials for its streaming network, the lawyers on this list are its best of the best of the decade and are the lawyers that other lawyers should watch if they’re looking to improve their craft.

In 2021, Sean obtained a $38,750,000 verdict on behalf the mother of an 11-year girl who was killed by a garbage truck while crossing the street in a marked crosswalk. The top defense offer before trial was $1,000,000.

After graduating from Boyd School of Law, Sean was employed at a high-profile criminal defense law firm. After working for this firm for over two and a half years, Sean made the decision to start his own firm. On January 1, 2005, Sean opened his own law firm with a single client and one employee. Today Claggett & Sykes Law Firm has over 60 employees, including over 20 attorneys.

--
Campbell Law

https://www.campbelllawllc.com/

[email protected]
[email protected]

Host Law Firm Website: https://www.beacon.legal/

At approximately 1:22 am on June 21, 2021, the unthinkable happened. The Champlain Towers in Surfside, Florida, partially collapsed, ultimately claiming the lives of 98 people and severely injuring others.

In this episode we go on premises with Brett and Judd Rosen of Goldberg and Rosen in Miami, Florida. The Rosen brothers and their law firm, along with a large team of lawyers from numerous firms, helped prosecute the class action for the victims and their families following the collapse. 

We hope to honor and respect the victims of this horrific tragedy with this episode. 

In discussing the various legal issues surrounding this catastrophe with two of the lawyers who helped with the class action –– we hope to educate others and raise awareness for the need of stricter laws to properly regulate property owners and condominium boards.   

Speaker Bios:

Judd G. Rosen is a shareholder at Goldberg & Rosen in Miami, Florida.

In the past 15 years, Judd G. Rosen has obtained over $50 million dollars in verdicts and settlements for his clients. He won verdicts in excess of $1 million dollars before the age of 30 and combined verdicts over $50 million dollars before the age of 40. Mr. Rosen has been an invited lecturer throughout the state of Florida on trial skills and the art of trial work. He has been involved in almost every type of catastrophic case, including medical malpractice, wrongful death, severe automobile injuries and product liability cases. Mr. Rosen has earned the respect of his colleagues, the major insurance companies, the legal society through hard work, dedication and always practicing law with the highest level of professionalism.

Brett M. Rosen is a shareholder at Goldberg & Rosen in Miami, Florida.

"As a trial lawyer, it is my duty to stop powerful insurance companies and big business from abusing the rights of individuals.

I was born and raised in Miami, and I am the product of parents that are public school teachers. As was instilled in me from birth, it is my obligation to fight for the underdog and less fortunate. My firm will use all of its power, resources and experience to obtain justice.

I have been fortunate to obtain verdicts that total in excess of 40 million dollars in my career. However, I do not measure success based on the size of a verdict. I measure success based on the amount of justice served, the lives saved, and the policies I have changed." - Brett Rosen

Host Law Firm Website: https://www.beacon.legal/

Todd Michaels was lead counsel in the negligent security case of Snell vs. Family Food Saver. The trial resulted in a verdict of $5.7 million for the Snell family. It was the largest premises liability verdict in the State of Florida that year. 

Michaels has been twice named Most Effective Lawyer by the Daily Business Review and has been named several times to the Best Lawyers in America and Super Lawyers lists, including the Top 100 Super Lawyers. among several other annual honors. In 2019 he was recognized as a BRONZE EAGLE Award Winner by the Florida Justice Association The prestigious honor is bestowed to those who have shown an extraordinary contribution to the FJA EAGLE Program. Michaels is also an FJA Board Member, Fellow, and  Executive Committee Member, among other positions.

In 2018 Michaels was selected by his peers to become one of the distinguished and exclusive Fellows of The Academy of Florida Trial Lawyers, the National Trial Lawyers,  Top 40 Under 40, and is a member of ABOTA, along with several other organizations. Nevertheless, Todd Michaels often says that his greatest accomplishment was becoming a father to his two sons, Ashton and Jackson Michaels.

Before joining The Haggard Law Firm, Todd served as an assistant public defender for nearly five years. During his last year with the public defender’s office, he worked as a felony training attorney, supervising other felony trial lawyers. After leaving the public defender’s office, Todd served as a federal public defender and a private criminal defense practitioner. He tried in excess of fifty trials in both the State and Federal Court systems.

Host Law Firm Website: https://www.beacon.legal/