Asbestos Litigation
About the Committee
Asbestos litigation has not, as predicted, gone the way of the dinosaur. Rather, the cases are still consistently being filed, involve increasingly complex legal and scientific issues, and run the risk of higher and higher jury verdicts. Indeed, defending these cases presents ever-changing challenges due to always evolving and new strategies and theories from the plaintiffs’ bar.
For 50 years, DRI has supported asbestos defense attorneys through its premier, nationally renowned annual Asbestos Medicine Seminar. Given the increasingly high-pressure attention to asbestos litigation, especially cases involving mesothelioma, DRI has committed to doing more.
Traditionally, those of us who defend asbestos cases were without a substantive law committee home. Our cases were “sort of” toxic tort claims and “sort of” product liability claims. Recognizing that dilemma, DRI is proud to announce the formation of the Asbestos Litigation Substantive Law Committee. As with other DRI SLCs, the primary objective of the committee will be to provide members with the most current and reliable scientific, medical, and legal information available so we can develop the strongest defenses possible.
The Asbestos Medicine Seminar has proven to be the most comprehensive and high-quality seminar available for the many lawyers across the country who defend asbestos claims. That will not change, and the seminar will continue to focus on cutting-edge scientific, medical, forensic, and legal issues involved in asbestos litigation.
The committee will supplement this with new and exciting publications, information sharing platforms, webinars, and other asbestos litigation-related activities. Further, it will make the most current scientific, medical, and legal information available to members through an expert witness information sharing email network that facilitates the exchange of information about plaintiffs’ and defense experts. This will ensure that the committee members have access to the most current depositions, documents, and other information on expert witnesses.
DRI is delighted to provide this new opportunity to its asbestos litigators, many of whom are the most experienced asbestos defense trial attorneys in the country. The goal of committee membership includes fostering the special camaraderie of professionals dedicated to providing the best legal and scientific defense for individual clients and to the industry in general. If your practice is dedicated in whole or in part to the defense of asbestos cases, don’t miss the opportunity to join the Asbestos Litigation Committee!