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A federal judge in the Northern District of California has been assigned to handle the multidistrict litigation (MDL) involving the Volkswagen emissions scandal. That means that all of the cases filed, more than 500 class actions in 60 different federal courts across the country, will be transferred to U.S. District Judge Charles Breyer who will hear all of the actions. The U.S. Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation selected Judge Breyer, the brother of Supreme Court…

The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) released a video that highlights the crucial role that procedural compliance plays in commercial aviation safety. The nine-minute video, released Dec. 3, 2015, uses findings from several commercial airplane crashes to show how deviation from standard operating procedures can initiate a chain of events that can lead to devastating consequences for innocent people. “Aviation flight operating procedures are developed and refined to provide repeatable steps for safely flying a…

It’s estimated that as many as one million drones will be given as holiday gifts in the next few weeks, according to an article in Popular Mechanics. Aside from the issue that the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is going to have to deal with thousands and thousands of new small unmanned aerial systems in the air, many of those who receive these gifts are children, according to the Business Insider. The National Geographic even published…

Best Lawyers named the following lawyers at the firm to its 2016 list in various practice areas: Robert Clifford: personal injury/product liability/mass tort/commercial litigation/qui tam Keith Hebeisen: personal injury/medical malpractice Kevin Durkin: personal injury/aviation law/product liability Shannon McNulty: mass tort/class action/product liability Richard F. Burke: aviation law/personal injury Susan Capra: medical malpractice Bradley Cosgrove: medical malpractice Hon. Henry Simmons (Ret.): personal injury

Bob Clifford spoke to DePaul Law School students about what they can expect in their legal careers. He was joined by William Chamberlain, DePaul’s Assistant Dean and Director of Law Career Services. “I became a better lawyer when I recognized that what I’m doing is not about me – it’s about the people you represent who need you to make good judgments for them. They need you to be calm in the middle of the…

Bob Clifford attended a celebration honoring long-time Chicago Daily Law Bulletin reporter John Rooney who received a byline posted on the famed Billy Goat tavern’s wall. Rooney, who recently retired from the paper following decades of reporting and thousands of bylines, was honored at the Chicago restaurant made famous by the late comedian John Belushi who shouted “Cheezborger, Cheezborger” as they flipped burgers for patrons on Saturday Night Live.

A fire broke out in an apartment on the 50th floor of the John Hancock Building Saturday afternoon (Nov. 21, 2015) on Michigan Avenue as thousands prepared to watch the Magnificent Mile Lights Festival that included a parade of 40 floats in anticipation of the holiday season. Five people were injured, most suffering smoke inhalation. Among the injured was a Chicago police officer. The apartment dweller where the fire broke out reportedly got out safely….

Kevin P. Durkin received an award for Trial Lawyer Excellence presented by John Kirkton of the Jury Verdict Reporter, a division of the Law Bulletin Publishing Company. It is for his work involving the highest reported verdict in Carroll County, Illinois, of $16 million involving the death of two teenagers in a tragic grain elevator incident. The National Trial Lawyers of America reported on this record verdict and can be viewed here.

Bradley M. Cosgrove, partner at Clifford Law Offices and successful medical malpractice trial attorney, will be speaking at the Annual Medical Malpractice Seminar sponsored by the Illinois Trial Lawyers Association (ITLA). The morning seminar on Saturday, Dec. 5, will deal with a number of topics that come up at trial. Cosgrove will speak on “Utilizing Demonstrative Exhibits to Prove the Case.” He recently received an $8.25 million verdict in Cook County in a medical malpractice…