NEWS EVENT
HEADLINES
New Jersey Court Holds Two Coverages Available in
Wrongful Death Cases
Michael A. Ferrara, Jr. to speak at the Camden
County Bar Association on "Legal Negotiation & Settlement: Winning
Strategies".
Michael A. Ferrara, Jr. speaks to
the Delaware Trial Lawyers Association
Michael A. Ferrara, Jr. asked to speak
at the Legal Tech - New York
Michael A. Ferrara, Jr. asked to speak
at the 2002 National CLE Conference
Ferrara
Honored by Trial Attorneys of New Jersey
Michael
A. Ferrara, Jr. invited to speak at the
Institute for Continuing Legal Education
“Masters of Discovery” seminar.
Michael A. Ferrara, Jr. named to the
President's Club of the Association of
Trial Lawyers of America.
Michael A. Ferrara, Jr. Helps Obtain
Largest Settlement in United States
History
Ferrara Appointed Trustee of Civil
Justice Foundation
New Jersey Court Holds Two
Coverage Available in Wrongful Death Case
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Michael A. Ferrara, Jr. to speak at
the Camden County Bar Association
On November 21, 2002,
Michael A. Ferrara, Jr. is speaking at a
Camden County Bar Association seminar.
The program is entitled " Legal
Negotiation & Settlement: Winning
Strategies". The seminar is taking place
at The Mansion in Voorhees, NJ. The
program will feature Mike and the
Honorable Robert B. Kugler, U.S.M.J. and
Daniel B. Kelley, Esq is the moderator.
Michael A. Ferrara, Jr.
speaks to the Delaware Trial Lawyers
Association
Michael A. Ferrara, Jr. spoke to the
Delaware Trial Lawyers Association at
their summer convention, which is being
held on June 7 and 8, at Dewey Beach,
DE. His topic is "Communicating with
Jurors at Trial - Lessons Learned from
Focus Groups, Mock Trials, Demonstrative
Exhibits and Jury Selection."
Michael A. Ferrara, Jr.
speaks at the Legal Tech - New York
2/15/2002: The ATLA Education
Track presented by the Association of
Trial Lawyers of America on Deposition
Technology. This education program has
be put together by ATLA focusing on the
small-firm plaintiff attorney. Titled
"Efficient Preparation, Effective
Presentation: Using Technology for
Success in the Office and Courtroom".
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Michael A. Ferrara, Jr.
asked to speak at the 2002 National CLE
Conference
Michael A. Ferrara, Jr. went to
Colorado to speak at the 2002 National
CLE Conference, Civil Litigation Program
at Steamboat Springs, CO on January 11,
2002. His topic was "Communicating with
Jurors at Trial - Lessons Learned from
Focus Groups, Mock Trials, Demonstrative
Exhibits and Jury Selection" and was
sponsored by the Law Education
Institute, Inc.
Michael A. Ferrara, Jr. was invited to
speak at the Institute for Continuing
Legal Education “Masters of Discovery”
seminar. The event was attended by New
Jersey lawyers looking for tips on how
to obtain the evidence needed to win at
trial. Mike also spoke on “Litigation
Trends” at the Absolute Litigators
Conference in Las Vegas and on “Attorney
Ethics” at the Southern Trial Lawyers
Association’s annual convention in New
Orleans.
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Michael A. Ferrara, Jr.
Honored by Trial Attorneys of New Jersey
The Trial Attorneys of New Jersey
presented Michael A. Ferrara, Jr. with
the prestigious Trial Bar Award in
recognition of Mike’s outstanding
contributions to the legal community
over the past 30 years. The event took
place at the Hyatt in New Brunswick with
over 400 people in attendance, including
Senator Robert Torricelli, Supreme Court
Justices from New Jersey, and family and
friends.
Michael A. Ferrara, Jr.
Michael A. Ferrara, Jr. was invited to
speak at the Institute for Continuing
Legal Education “Masters of Discovery”
seminar. The event was attended by New
Jersey lawyers looking for tips on how
to obtain the evidence needed to win at
trial.
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Michael A. Ferrara, Jr.
Michael A. Ferrara, Jr. was named to the
President's Club of the Association of
Trial Lawyers of America.
Michael A. Ferrara, Jr. Helps Obtain
Largest Settlement in United States History
"We knew we were in
for a major battle since the Tobacco
Industry had never paid a dime to anyone
that had ever sued them," Mr. Ferrara
said.
On July 12, 1996,
Governor Christine Todd Whitman
announced that she hired Ferrara,
Rossetti & DeVoto to represent the state
of New Jersey in its lawsuit against the
tobacco industry. On September 10, 1996,
Ferrara, Rossetti & DeVoto, along with
five other law firms whose selection by
the Governor and the Attorney General
was merit-based, filed a lawsuit against
the tobacco industry. The suit sought to
recover billions of dollars that the
state and its taxpayers paid through the
Medicaid program for health care costs
attributable to smoking related
illnesses.
During the next two
years, the six firms worked non-stop to
prepare the case for trial. Mr. Ferrara
and Mr. DeVoto, along with paralegal
Mary Kelly, worked full-time on the
massive lawsuit, relying on the rest of
the firm of Ferrara, Rossetti & DeVoto
to care for its other clients.
"We knew we were in
for a major battle since the tobacco
industry had never paid a dime to anyone
that had ever sued them," Mr. Ferrara
said. The years of hard work paid off
when, on November 16, 1998, the Attorney
General announced the historic
settlement. The citizens of New Jersey
will receive $7.5 billion over 25 years
as a result of our lawsuit. Much of the
money will be earmarked for education
programs on smoking and addiction.
In addition, marketing
efforts by the tobacco industry have
been drastically reduced. For instance,
the settlement calls for the elimination
of billboards, removal of point of
purchase displays, termination of
minor-targeted marketing campaigns,
removal of cartoon characters such as
Joe Camel and conversion of all
advertisements to black and white.
The turning point in
the lawsuit came with the discovery of
key tobacco company documents which
uncovered the fact that for 50 years the
industry lied about its knowledge of the
harmful effects of cigarette smoking.
Other documents uncovered that the
industry actually targeted minors, added
nicotine to its cigarettes to keep
smokers addicted and falsified research
showing the serious health effects of
smoking as early as 1954. Figures show
that about 3,000 people die each day as
a direct result of cigarette smoking,
which is the same number of children
that begin smoking each day. Tobacco
companies refer to these new smokers as
"replacement smokers." "It is about time
that this outlaw industry has finally
been brought to its knees,” Mr. DeVoto
said. The settlement was approved on
December 4, 1998.
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Michael A. Ferrara, Jr. Appointed Trustee of Civil Justice Foundation
The Civil Justice Foundation recognizes nationwide, the outstanding efforts of people who have fought to preserve and protect our justice system.
The prestigious Civil Justice Foundation
recently appointed Attorney Michael
Ferrara to its Board of Trustees. The
Civil Justice Foundation is a national,
non-profit organization dedicated to
preserving the civil justice system. The
organization gives grants to such
noteworthy causes as Mothers Against
Drunk Drivers and Mothers Against Tired
Truckers. The Civil Justice Foundation
also annually recognizes, nationwide the
outstanding efforts of people who have
fought to preserve and protect our
justice system.
From 1997 to 1998, Mr. Ferrara served as president of this organization. He is also a Civil Justice Barrister. He proudly serves in his new position and joins such noteworthy fellow trustees as Joan Claybrook, who served as the head of the Department of Transportation under both President Ford and President Carter.
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