About Martin Kuz
Articles written by Martin Kuz
Faithful Practice
L. Martin Nussbaum and Charles Goldberg represent churches, mosques, templesFor Francis Maier, chancellor of the Archdiocese of Denver, the 2006 session of the Colorado General Assembly was a teeth-grinding time. Literally. That January, lawmakers introduced a bill to create a two-year window that would retroactively suspend the statute of limitations for childhood sexual abuse litigation. The measure had one principal target: the Catholic Church. Catholic leaders statewide opposed what they regarded as “look-back” legislation. Early on, at a meeting to discuss …
Googling Kent Walker
Life as Google’s top lawyer is a crucible filled with extraordinary demands. He couldn’t be happierLearning of Kent Walker’s duties as general counsel of Google requires little effort. Just Google “Google,” click the News tab and scan the headlines: “China renews Google license amid censorship row” “Google defeats Viacom in landmark copyright case” “EU examines Google antitrust complaints ‘very carefully’” “Google Faces Probe By States For WiFi Breaches” The reports appeared over a three-week period in early summer and pertained to only a fraction of the company’s …
Can Paxil Cause Birth Defects?
Sean Tracey looks for the answerNothing appeared wrong with Lyam David-Kilker during the first seven weeks of his life. Born on Oct. 24, 2005, the second son of Michelle David and Miles Kilker, he resembled any other healthy, happy infant, and the couple returned home to suburban Philadelphia with their family’s newest member. But in early December they began noticing changes. Lyam’s energy and appetite diminished, and even at rest, he labored to breathe. David took him back to the hospital for a checkup. The diagnosis …
Road Warrior
Dick Bowman has made a habit out of winning products liability trials for automakersThe old federal courthouse in downtown Minneapolis appears small and squat from Dick Bowman’s 30th floor office in the Fifth Street Towers. Peering down at the six-story building, now home to the Family Justice Center, the veteran trial lawyer recalls the day in 1968 when a crane hoisted the front end of a Chevrolet Corvair to the courthouse’s top floor, where workers had removed windows to guide the sawed-off car into a courtroom. The half-Corvair would serve as the centerpiece of Larsen …
The Undefeated
In Roger Dreyer’s eyes, he’s never lost a caseOn the wall outside Roger Dreyer’s office door hang dozens of framed checks. Courtesy of Allstate, State Farm, Liberty Mutual and other of the nation’s leading insurance carriers, most of the checks vary in amount from seven to eight figures—before the decimal point. A collection of so many large verdict and settlement payments would presumably call for a lofty title: “Collage of Conquests,” “Mosaic of Millions,” “Tableau of Triumph.” Dreyer instead prefers a simpler, earthier …
Where There's Smoke, There's Sheller and Heim
Robert C. Heim and Stephen A. Sheller have matched wits for almost a decade in class action tobacco lawsuits across the country. Heim represents Altria Corp., parent company of Philip Morris; Sheller works on behalf of smokers and ex-smokers. So you might assume the two Philadelphia attorneys are sworn enemies who wish a pox on the other’s firm. That is, until you hear them swap oneliners. Then you might assume they moonlight as Borscht Belt comics. A few typical exchanges: Heim: …
Does Captain America Live in Cleveland?
Defending peace and justice in Cuyahoga CountyWorld War III has wiped out Earth’s population. A lone survivor wanders the rubble-strewn streets of New York, searching in vain for another living soul. In desperation, he rigs up a phone and begins dialing numbers at random, hoping that someone, anyone will answer. When nobody does, he ends his anguish by leaping out a window to his death. And just as he jumps, the phone rings. If that sounds like the synopsis of a film that could join Cellular and Phone Booth to form a …
The Family 2004: Mom, Dad (and Biological Parent)
After going through it himself, James Burnett is now the go-to guy for couples seeking surrogacy helpLast fall, Woman’s Day chronicled the odyssey that James Burnett and his wife, Bellienda, traveled on their way to parenthood. Years of infertility woes followed by the anguish of three miscarriages had led them to try surrogacy, considered the last resort of couples hoping to start a family. The decision bore a happy ending in the form of twin girls, Brie and Bryn, delivered by the Burnetts’ surrogate in November 1999. The couple’s joy multiplied a month later when …
Being Religious: It's the New Coolest Thing
All across allegedly godless L.A., lawyers are finding solace in their religionPopular sentiment once held that Gen-Xers believed REM’s “Losing My Religion” pretty much covered everything that needed to be said about matters of faith. They bobbed to the beat of nihilism, their slumped posture giving them the bearing of a question mark — an apt symbol for an affluent slacker class that shrugged at life, death and God above. Like most stereotypes, the depiction carried a pinch of truth: In their youth, Gen-Xers raised slouching to the level of performance art. …
Mob Boss
Mild-mannered Jim Wooley takes on a real-life Tony SopranoJames Wooley trailed Anthony Liberatore Sr. up the courtroom aisle. As the two men reached the swinging half-door that led to the prosecution and defense tables, Liberatore stepped aside. Then the Cleveland mob boss held the door for the assistant U.S. attorney trying to send him to prison. “You don’t have to do that, Mr. Liberatore,” Wooley said. The aging capo smiled and winked. “Maybe one day you’ll open a door for me.” Wooley smiled back. Such quick-draw charm had …
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