Amanda Bronstad

September 30, 2009 | Law.com

Stephen Larson, the federal judge who recently announced that he could no longer afford to sit on the bench, will join plaintiffs firm Girardi & Keese in Los Angeles as a partner. The opportunity to work for the firm -- and not just Congress' refusal to raise federal judges' base pay of $170,000 -- prompted his career change, he said. "I spent nine years as a prosecutor, prosecuting cases, prosecuting wrongdoing, and that is essentially what Girardi & Keese does. They prosecute wrongdoing."

By Amanda Bronstad

4 minute read

September 21, 2009 | Law.com

Last month, a Los Angeles jury awarded $13.8 million in punitive damages to the daughter of Betty Bullock, a smoker who had sued Philip Morris USA Inc. before she died of cancer. It was a huge loss -- for the plaintiff. Just seven years before, a different jury in the same case had awarded a record $28 billion in punitives. What happened between 2002 and last month? Lawyers on both sides of smoker cases say jurors today are less willing to impose severe punishment than jurors just a decade ago.

By Amanda Bronstad

7 minute read

November 27, 2006 | Corporate Counsel

General counsel are facing more risks and frustrations with new rules -- passed in 26 states since 2002 -- requiring them to obtain a limited license to practice law in states where they work but haven't taken the bar exam. The rules stemmed from an American Bar Association initiative to modernize licensing requirements as more lawyers move from state to state when changing jobs. Requirements can include mounds of paperwork, high registration fees and, in some cases, fingerprinting for background checks.

By Amanda Bronstad

7 minute read

May 07, 2009 | The Recorder

The judge called into question the tactics of Waters & Kraus in an asbestos suit.

By Amanda Bronstad

5 minute read

April 02, 2008 | The Recorder

Mayer Brown, Clifford Chance and Akin Gump have all faced recent actions.

By Amanda Bronstad

6 minute read

May 24, 2010 | National Law Journal

The 26 lawyers appointed to steer the nationwide litigation against Toyota Motor Corp. have traveled down similar roads before, having obtained billion-dollar settlements in some of the nation's largest mass actions and record verdicts involving catastrophic automobile defects.

By Amanda Bronstad

7 minute read

March 08, 2011 | Law.com

Two conservative legal groups have filed amicus briefs supporting the federal government's defense of Don't Ask, Don't Tell in a case now before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit.

By Amanda Bronstad

4 minute read

December 09, 2010 | National Law Journal

A federal judge on Thursday gave Toyota Motor Corp. permission to depose 10 plaintiffs among the 200 class actions asserting economic damages tied to sudden uncontrolled acceleration — and gave both sides four months to identify which case will be the first to go to trial.

By Amanda Bronstad

4 minute read

May 18, 2007 | The Recorder

Under pressure from tort reform groups, many state attorneys general are changing the way they hire outside law firms.

By Amanda Bronstad

8 minute read

February 24, 2010 | National Law Journal

A federal judge has balked at a proposed class action settlement with American Honda Motor Co. Inc. after objectors including the attorneys general of 25 states questioned whether the plaintiffs or their attorneys would benefit most.

By Amanda Bronstad

4 minute read