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Author: Paul Luvera

Plaintiff trial lawyer for 50 years. Past President of the Inner Circle of Advocates & Washington State Trial Lawyers Association. Member American Board of Trial Advocates, American College of Trial Lawyers, International Academy, International Society of Barristers, the American Trial Lawyers Hall of Fame & speaker at Spence Trial College
THE AMERICAN TRIAL LAWYERS HALL OF FAME INDUCTION

THE AMERICAN TRIAL LAWYERS HALL OF FAME INDUCTION

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I 'd like to be immodest and tell you that my wife Lita and I  just returned from Las Vegas where I was inducted into the 2010 American Trial Lawyers Hall of Fame. What made it such an honor for me personally were the other members.  Last year Bobby Lee Cook, Morris Dees, Fred Levin, stanley Preiser and Gerry Spence were inducted. Non living members include Melvin Belli,Clarence Darrow, William Kunstler and Johnnie Cochran. This year Phillip Corboy, Richard "Racehorse" Haynes, Russ Herman,…

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WOMEN & THE CATHOLIC CHURCH

WOMEN & THE CATHOLIC CHURCH

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Anyone reading this blog could conclude that I have a chip on my shoulder about my Catholic Church. They would be entirely right when we are talking about Vatican politics and the politics of Church authorities. What brings me to write a second posting involving the Church is an opinion piece in the Sunday New York Times by Nicholas D. Kristof "A church Mary can love." I laughed at his opening paragraph dealing with the joke about the pious Catholic who…

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CATHOLIC TEACHING ABOUT BIRTH CONTROL

CATHOLIC TEACHING ABOUT BIRTH CONTROL

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I’ve expressed my opposition to the Vatican's position on birth control before – one example: (https://paulluverajournalonline.com/weblog/2009/03/pope-benedict-condoms-and-hivaids.html) What brings it up again is the fact that when I was at Mass this morning at the Gig Harbor St Nicholas Catholic church a young mother gave a talk before it started. She spoke in favor of "natural" rhythm birth control and insisted other means such as condoms was "a serious sin." She said it was a serious sin because the Church said so…

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U.S. SUPREME COURT JUSTICE JOHN PAUL STEVENS & THE “SMALL TOWN LAWYER MADE GOOD” AWARD

U.S. SUPREME COURT JUSTICE JOHN PAUL STEVENS & THE “SMALL TOWN LAWYER MADE GOOD” AWARD

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My friend Jeff Tolman is a lawyer in Paulsbo, Washington. We are talking about a town with about 7500 people and a strong Norwegian heritage about 1.5 hours from Seattle if you take the Bremerton ferry to get to this charming town on Puget Sound. Jeff has been a friend for many years. He is very creative. Many years ago he decided that the Paulsbo Bar Association, consisting of hand full of lawyers at the time, should hold an annual legal seminar…

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THE REFINERY EXPLOSION AND FINDING TRUTH WITH ACCOUNTABILITY

THE REFINERY EXPLOSION AND FINDING TRUTH WITH ACCOUNTABILITY

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On Good Friday, April 2, 2010 there was an enormous explosion and fire at the Tesoro Refinery at March Point, near Anacortes. Five people died and two survived with serious burns. Several families involved have hired my law firm along with a Texas law firm to represent them. When the media reported the families had contacted lawyers there were those who were critical of the families for doing so.  Let me respond to that criticism by saying the refineries are very familiar to…

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NORMAN MAILER’S “LAST WIFE” AND WORRY ABOUT A BROKEN JUDICIAL SYSTEM

NORMAN MAILER’S “LAST WIFE” AND WORRY ABOUT A BROKEN JUDICIAL SYSTEM

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My weekend readings brought up a couple of things worth mentioning. I liked the idea used by Ms. Norris Church Mailer in an article about her in the New York Times Magazine. She was the sixth and last wife of Normal Mailer who led a very bohemian life style which explains why he was married six times. She suffered through all of his many activities that were not supportive of their marriage. When asked about her reaction to Norman’s conduct…

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THE SEVEN ESSENTIAL STEPS FOR AN EFFECTIVE APOLOGY vs The Rules Don’t Apply to Me

THE SEVEN ESSENTIAL STEPS FOR AN EFFECTIVE APOLOGY vs The Rules Don’t Apply to Me

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In an excellent article in The Jury Expert http://www.astcweb.org/public/publication/article.cfm/1/22/2/The-Rules-Do-Not-Apply-to-Me Elizabeth Foley, a partner in Zagnoli, McEvoy, Foley, a jury consulting firm, has written an article entitled "The Rules Don’t Apply to me." Ms Foley lists seven things that are necessary for a full and complete apology. She says leaving out any of one of these steps means the apology is not effective. Here are the steps: Acknowledge what you did wrong Take responsibility for your actions Acknowledge the impact your actions…

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BILLY BURKE & THE 1934 MASTER’S

BILLY BURKE & THE 1934 MASTER’S

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In 1934 the first Master tournament was held. It was so new it wasn’t even called the Masters. Two co-founders, Clifford Roberts and Bobby Jones, disagreed on the name and it ended up being called the "Augusta National Invitation Tournament." It was played under that name through 1938 and the next year became known as "The Masters." In 1934 Horton Smith won the tournament. He was nicknamed "the Missouri Rover" and he beat Craig Wood by only one stroke at…

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THE CATHEDRAL OF JUNK IN AUSTIN TEXAS

THE CATHEDRAL OF JUNK IN AUSTIN TEXAS

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You’ve probably read or heard about the "cathedral of Junk" in Austin, Texas. I happened to be listening to public radio http://www.npr.org/ when an interview with the creator, Vince Hannemann, age 47, was broadcast. I hadn’t heard about it before the broadcast, but it was unusual enough I thought I’d check the internet about it. In an article in Roadside America http://www.roadsideamerica.com/story/7816 it says that this arrangement of junk is in Hannermann’s back yard and was constructed over time using…

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POPE BENEDICT & THE BISHOPS – WHAT DID THEY KNOW AND WHEN DID THEY KNOW ABOUT CLERGY SEXUAL ABUSE?

POPE BENEDICT & THE BISHOPS – WHAT DID THEY KNOW AND WHEN DID THEY KNOW ABOUT CLERGY SEXUAL ABUSE?

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There has been a flood of international allegations of priest sexual abuse in the news. Allegations of clergy sexual abuse began making the news in 1985 and since then the allegations have waxed and waned until the latest European complaints have surfaced. What makes the German allegations significant is the role played by the present pope, Benedict. As Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger and in his previous position as an archbishop of Munich from 1977 to 1981, Benedict played a central role…

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