Waters & Kraus, LLP

Profile

Davis. $35.1 million in compensatory damages to a Navy pipe fitter. Silvestro. $15.25 million in compensatory damages to a cement mason. Behshid. $12.6 million in compensatory damages to a do-it-yourselfer with intermittent exposure to asbestos. Walmach. $5.2 million to a longtime Navy reservist. Treggett. $36.6 million to a Navy machinist mate—a landmark verdict on behalf of a single plaintiff in California asbestos litigation.

With trial victories like these in the past 36 months, one would never know Waters & Kraus opened its California practice just seven years ago.

IN JUST SEVEN YEARS

“We’ve only been on the ground [in California] since 2000, but we are now considered a stalwart in the practice,” says Michael L. Armitage, who sits on the Superior Court’s bench/bar committee that develops the rules for asbestos litigation. “We established a practice here because we foresaw an increased need for local representation of retired construction and Navy personnel who are now being diagnosed with mesothelioma after years of occupational exposure to asbestos.”

COAST-TO-COAST PRESENCE

With its West Coast successes laying the groundwork, the firm has developed a national practice and handles cases in nearly 40 states. As managing partner of the Los Angeles office, Armitage oversees the staff that supported the firm’s remarkable rise with first-rate case work-up, exhaustive trial preparation and exceptional legal talent.

Four of these talented attorneys appear on this year’s Southern California Super Lawyers® list: Armitage, Michael B. Gurien, John S. Janofsky and Gary M. Paul. Janofsky, a first-year designee, focuses his efforts on case management, while Gurien handles law and motion. “Mike is instrumental in strengthening our cases for trial,” says Armitage. “John has an outstanding reputation with lawyers on both sides. Gary is a gifted trial attorney. All are tremendous assets to the firm and our clients.”

GOING THE DISTANCE FOR JUSTICE

Explains Paul, “It’s truly a team effort. We don’t take cases with the idea of settling quickly and moving on. We always expect to try the case against numerous defendants and go to verdict. We prepare every case to go the distance, because that’s what best serves our clients. The results speak for themselves.”

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