Inc. magazine talks to Shapiro Sher’s Ron Shapiro about his new book, Perfecting Your Pitch: How to Succeed in Business and in Life by Finding Words That Work, and focuses on Shapiro’s top tips for negotiating in any situation.
The Cal Ripken, Sr. Foundation announced today a $30 million fund-raising campaign to build sports “Youth Development Parks” in low-income communities around the country. The non-profit has already completed 25 such playing facilities and hopes to have built 50 within five years. Shapiro Sher partner Lonnie M. Ritzer has served on the Foundation’s board of directors since its inception and is handling all legal work associated with the expansion.
Shapiro Sher is proud to be a Foundation sponsor as the organization advances its mission of enriching the lives of disadvantaged youth through sport. The playing fields the Foundation builds provide children with opportunities to play and learn in safe, high-quality facilities in communities that lack recreational space. The Foundation has raised more than $18 million of its $30-million goal and hopes to complete the capital campaign by June 2014.
More information about existing and future Youth Development Parks can be found here.
Should evidence concerning a plaintiff’s immigration status be admissible in a personal injury trial? Maryland’s Court of Special Appeals says yes — if the evidence is relevant and not prejudicial with respect to damages. Yesterday The Daily Record published a helpful story dissecting the Court’s decision in Rigoberto E. Domingos Ayala, et al, v. Robert Frederick Lee, a case resulting from an automobile accident in which two undocumented workers were severely injured.
The decision, written by Judge Robert A. Zarnoch, overturns a jury verdict for the defense and states that the plaintiffs are entitled to a new trial on the question of damages. According to the unanimous three-judge panel, the evidence shows that the trial court should have granted the plaintiffs’ motion for judgment as to liability.
“Reviewing cases from around the country,” The Daily Record reports, “the Court of Special Appeals said neither federal law nor a Supreme Court case from 2002 precludes an award of lost wages and damages to undocumented immigrants.”
But immigration status may factor into how damages are calculated, according to the Court, and the decision offers guidelines as to what evidence the jury could consider.
The new Maryland Super Lawyers list, just published by Thomson Reuters, names nearly all of the Firm’s attorneys, including four lawyers identified as “Rising Stars” of the legal community.
The new issue of Maryland Super Lawyers magazine includes the following Shapiro Sher Guinot & Sandler attorneys in their respective practice areas:
Additionally, for the third year in a row, in 2013 Super Lawyers named Shapiro Sher Guinot & Sandler the “Top Mid-Sized Law Firm” in Maryland for business and transactions. William E. Carlson, President of the Firm, heads the business practice group.
Super Lawyers is a division of Thomson Reuters. It rates attorneys throughout the country using a proprietary combination of peer review, professional achievement tracking, and independent attorney research.
Southwest Airlines’ January 2014 issue of Spirit magazine leads its “Wise Guide” section with a Q&A with Ron Shapiro about effective communication strategies.
Law360 and other media are reporting on the $85 million settlement reached by the two remaining defendants in a multi-million dollar class-action antitrust lawsuit filed in 2010 against DuPont Co. and three other large chemical companies. Shapiro Sher’s Paul Mark Sandler serves as plaintiffs’ liaison counsel and lead trial counsel. Plaintiffs had charged the four chemical producers of conspiring to fix the price of titanium dioxide, an ingredient used in paint production.
The suit was originally brought by PA-based Haley Paint Company and was filed in US District Court in Maryland. Two additional plaintiffs joined Haley, charging the four producers of fixing titanium dioxide prices starting in February 2003, following a meeting in Europe where titanium dioxide pricing was discussed.
Last month, defendant DuPont agreed to a $75 million settlement and a second defendant, Huntsman International, agreed to settle for $6.5 million.
Litigation is expected to be brought to a close with this week’s announcement that Kronos Worldwide Inc. and Cristal USA Inc., formerly Millennium Inorganic Chemicals, agreed to settle with plaintiffs for $85 million. The settlement still requires approval by the court.
The Maryland Daily Record reports on the settlement of a multi-million dollar class-action suit in which Shapiro Sher partner Paul Mark Sandler served as plaintiffs’ lead trial counsel.
The suit, filed in February 2010, alleged that E.I. DuPont De Nemours & Co. and three other chemical companies conspired to fix the price of titanium dioxide, an ingredient used in paint production. Under the settlement DuPont will pay $72 million, Cristal USA Inc. (formerly known as Millennium Inorganic Chemicals Inc., of Hunt Valley, MD) will pay $50 million, Texas-based Kronos Worldwide Inc. will pay $35 million and Utah-based Huntsman International LLC will pay $6.5 million.
The article in the Maryland Daily Record is by subscription only. Read more about the case here.
Shapiro Sher’s Daniel J. Zeller is named partner in the firm’s Bankruptcy & Financial Restructuring Group. He has been with the firm since 2008.
Mr. Zeller concentrates in all areas of bankruptcy law, including reorganizations under Chapter 11 of the Bankruptcy Code, as well as representing debtors, bankruptcy trustees and secured and unsecured creditors in Chapter 7 and 11 cases. Additionally, Mr. Zeller handles general commercial and financial litigation in state and federal courts.
“Dan’s expertise and talent makes him a tremendous asset to our clients and our bankruptcy team and we are pleased to have him as our partner,” said Joel I. Sher, Chairman of the Firm and head of its Bankruptcy & Financial Restructuring Group.
Prior to joining Shapiro Sher, Mr. Zeller served as a judicial law clerk for the Hon. Robert A. Gordon and the Hon. Duncan W. Keir of the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Maryland. He graduated summa cum laude from Western Maryland College in 1999 and graduated with honors from the University of Maryland School of Law in 2005. For the past two years, he has been named a “Rising Star” in Maryland Super Lawyers. Mr. Zeller can be reached at djz@shapirosher.com.
Shapiro Sher’s Matthew Esworthy serves as moderator and panelist at a cybersecurity program sponsored by the ABA’s Criminal Justice and Science & Technology Law sections and the ABA’s Cybersecurity Legal Task Force.
The Star Tribune interviews Ron Shapiro about his new book, Perfecting Your Pitch, and the negotiating strategies he honed over his many years of representing famous sports figures around the bargaining table.
