Weitz & Luxenberg is pleased to announce our women partners — Lisa Nathanson Busch, Robin Greenwald, and Ellen Relkin — are presenting at multiple legal events this winter. They are sharing their knowledge and experience at several professional events. Among their goals are connecting with colleagues who are also striving to achieve the best outcomes for clients.
Asbestos Conference Co-Chair
Ms. Busch is co-chairing the Perrin Conferences 2023 Cutting-Edge Issues in Asbestos Litigation Conference. It is being held on Monday, March 6 and Tuesday, March 7. The conference is at The Beverly Wilshire Hotel in Beverly Hills, California.
The Asbestos Litigation Conference focuses on asbestos trends. It includes a judicial roundtable and an exploration of insurance perspectives. In addition to providing the Opening Remarks and Welcome from the Chairs, Ms. Busch is discussing Recent Bankruptcies and the Impact on Asbestos Litigation.
“I look forward to chairing the conference as there have been many important decisions recently in the asbestos litigation,” explains Ms. Busch.
Ms. Busch is joined at the conference by W&L’s Brittany A. Russell, who is providing an Update on Science and Genetics related to asbestos. Also, Joseph J. Mandia, from our New Jersey office, is participating in the Mock Trial Exercise – The New Direction of Trials: The Overlap of Asbestos and Talc.
Perrin Conferences strives to bring together preeminent national talent and deliver innovative content. It aims to offer comprehensive and specialized continuing legal education. This happens in an atmosphere designed to encourage learning, sharing, and networking.
Ms. Busch is also participating in a session on April 13 at the Mass Torts Made Perfect Conference in Las Vegas, Nevada. It is a Breakout Session on the Status of Mass Tort Bankruptcies: From Johnson & Johnson to Asbestos to 3M.
Ms. Busch also spoke at the February American Association for Justice (AAJ) Winter Convention 2023 as chair and founder of the Tort Bankruptcy Litigation Group Meeting.
Exploration of Camp Lejeune Litigation
Ms. Greenwald already presented at two events this winter. They both addressed the currently ongoing Camp Lejeune water contamination lawsuits.
She presented at The National Trial Lawyers Top 100 Trial Lawyers Summit held in late January 2023 at the Loews Miami Beach Hotel in Miami, Florida. Ms. Greenwald spoke about the Camp LeJeune Justice Act. Her topic was Litigating and Negotiating with the Department of Justice.
She joined fellow attorneys, paralegals, students, and firm administrators from across the country. They shared their knowledge and learned from other talented presenters with the goal of improving their trial skills and business management acumen.
During the first week in February, Ms. Greenwald also presented at the American Association for Justice (AAJ) Winter Convention 2023 held at the Marriott Desert Ridge in Phoenix, Arizona. Her topic was The Toxins and the Science Behind Causation for the Camp Lejeune litigation.
“This year, in particular, it’s important to talk about the health consequences of marines and their families from living and working at Camp Lejeune in North Carolina,” says Ms. Greenwald.
“Fortunately, as of August 2022, President Biden signed a bill into law that allows victims of the government’s wrongdoing at Camp Lejeune to seek compensation that has been previously denied to them. Now veterans made sick by the water contamination at the base can file lawsuits against the government to obtain financial compensation for their injuries.”
Addressing General Legal Industry Aspects
Ms. Relkin is presenting at several upcoming events.
On March 8, she is presenting at the New Jersey Institute for Continuing Legal Education event. It is being held online from 2 to 5 p.m. She is speaking on bellwether trials and products liability cases.
On March 20, Ms. Relkin is presenting at the Women’s Summit from 11:15 a.m. until 12:15 p.m., a special session at a Trial Lawyers of Mass Torts event in Big Sky, Montana. Her topic is Transforming Women in Leadership: Finding Common Ground, where she is speaking on “tricks of the trade.”
On April 11, she is speaking at the Mass Torts Made Perfect Conference in Las Vegas, Nevada on The Road to MDL Leadership and Why it Matters. And on April 13, at the same conference, she addresses the Exactech Hip, Knee, and Ankle Recall Litigation Update.
“Throughout the year, I look forward to opportunities to present at legal seminars and conferences,” says Ms. Relkin. “These events are opportunities for attorneys like myself to touch base with others, exchange knowledge and information, share our challenges, and learn about trends in our respective areas of practices.”
She continues, “Sometimes, we’re from different regions, sometimes from different parts of the country altogether, but everyone offers valuable insights from their own vantage points. It is such a privilege to be able to participate. And we all come away feeling invigorated and prepared to take on the next challenge.”
Committed to the Legal Industry and Serving Clients
All three of our women partners have made significant contributions to both the legal field and helping clients. They use their skills to reach successful resolutions and hold corporations liable for any harm they cause.
Working on Bankruptcy Litigation
Ms. Busch joined W&L in 1994. Early on, she began working in the firm’s asbestos new case unit. Quickly, she took on the bankruptcy unit as well.
Not only does she administer the department, but Ms. Busch also oversees the firm’s asbestos bankruptcy litigation, serves on the Asbestos Claimants’ and Trust Advisory Committees, and personally oversees every new asbestos exposure legal case the firm accepts.
Although a lot in the legal field slowed down during the pandemic, the bankruptcy trusts were up and running the whole time. It’s all about helping our clients receive the compensation they deserve. Companies set up these trusts to resolve claims that might otherwise not get paid out. Ms. Busch and W&L makes sure that doesn’t happen. She never stops working for our clients.
Litigating Environmental and Consumer Cases
Ms. Greenwald is a former Assistant U.S. Attorney and Assistant Chief of the U.S. Department of Justice’s Environmental Crimes Section. Today she co-chairs our firm’s Environmental, Toxic Torts, and Consumer Protection Litigation group.
Since joining W&L in 2005, she has led her team to multiple victories. Recently, she helped secure a settlement with Monsanto regarding the weedkiller Roundup. The settlement compensates nearly 100,000 Americans diagnosed with cancer after being exposed to this dangerous substance.
Another settlement win was for victims of the 2010 BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. She also served as lead counsel in multidistrict litigation against more than 50 petroleum companies for contaminating the nation’s groundwater.
Addressing Dangerous Drugs and Defective Medical Devices
Ms. Relkin is a recognized figure in the mass torts legal community. Known for her exceptional leadership skills in facing off against corporate offenders, she regularly presents at multiple conferences each year.
For more than three decades, she has represented tens of thousands of people, typically securing large sums for W&L clients. Many of these cases focus on faulty hip replacements, often requiring revision surgeries.
Most recently, she helped achieve four settlements with JUUL Labs. The settlements are meant to resolve cases involving personal injury, consumer class action, government entity, and tribal harm brought in a national multidistrict litigation in California. They are intended to help address the use of e-cigarettes by youth. The settlements provide monetary relief to states and territories. JUUL is expected to change its marketing and advertising practices.
