Sobering report from Massachusetts
Continuing Legal Education in Georgia
As a trucking accident trial attorney in Atlanta, I find myself speaking at continuing legal education seminars around the country pretty often. This year I've spoken on various aspects of trucking litigation at CLE programs in Chicago, St. Louis and New Orleans, and have been asked to speak at upcoming seminars in California and Pennsylvania. That's doesn't mean I'm all that good, just that I never learned to say no and do better than average Power Point.
Today I got word of appointment to the Board of Trustees of the Institute of Continuing Legal Education in Georgia. My thoughts trailed back 15 years to the first ICLE program I chaired, "Insurance Law for the General Practitioner," in the fall of 1993.
It is impossible to overstate the vital importance of continuing legal education to maintain the competence of any member of the legal profession in any practice area. The minimum required CLE for all Georgia lawyers is pretty basic. I never cease to be amazed at the lawyers who resent and resist attending continuing legal education programs and wind up getting their hours in a video replay on some topic irrelevant to their practice the week before the final deadline for the year.
Ken Shigley is Secretary of the State Bar of Georgia, and has been designated as a "Super Lawyer" in Atlanta Magazine and one of the "Legal Elite" in Georgia Trend Magazine. He is a Certified Civil Trial Advocate of the National Board of Trial Advocacy, on the national advisory board of the Association of Interstate Trucking Lawyers of America, and former chair of both the Southeastern Motor Carrier Liability Institute and the Georgia Insurance Law Institute. He focuses his practice on representation of plaintiffs in catastrophic injury and wrongful death cases, especially those arising from motor carrier wrecks and accidents.
Interstate trucking litigation seminar in Chicago
Last Friday, I was one of the speakers at the American Association for Justice Interstate Trucking Litigation Group seminar in Chicago. It reminded me of my father's advice to surround myself with people smarter than myself.
The collection of new ideas for effective investigation, discovery, preparation and trial in truck crash cases was well worth the trip. Of course, some of those ideas are too good to put out on the Internet.
For whatever it's worth, I came home with invitations to speak at trucking litigation seminars next year on both coasts. I may not be the brightest bulb on the tree, but the best part of being the faculty on such programs is the opportunity to glean ideas from the other speakers.
Ken Shigley has been designated as a "Super Lawyer" in Atlanta Magazine and one of the "Legal Elite" in Georgia Trend magazine. He is a Certified Civil Trial Advocate of the National Board of Trial Advocacy, a Master of the Lamar Inn of Court at Emory Law School, and served as a faculty member for ten years at the Emory University Law School Trial Techniques Program. He served as chair of the Southeastern Motor Carrier Litigation Institute (2005) and the Georgia Insurance Law Institute (1994). A member of the National Advisory Board for the Association of Interstate Trucking Lawyers of America, he is actively involved in the Interstate Trucking Litigation Group of the American Association for Justice, and has lectured at continuing legal education programs on interstate trucking litigation both at home in Georgia, and in New Orleans, Nashville, St. Louis and Chicago. A member of the Million Dollar Advocates, he has successfully tried trucking accident cases to multimillion dollar verdict. He was recently elected Secretary of the 39,000 member State Bar of Georgia.
Tractor trailer runs stop sign, kills 6 in Florida
As a trucking trial attorney, I see it all too often. And now again. Early yesterday morning a tractor trailer loaded with sand ran a stop sign in south central Florida, striking a van on the right side. and killing six men. According to an Associated Press report by Christine Armario, investigators were still trying to determine while the West Coast Aggregate 18-wheeler failed to stop for the stop sign. Authorities were still seeking to identify the six victims who were thought to be HIspanic.
Cristela Guerra and Janine Zeitlin of the Fort Myers News-Press
reported that the tractor-trailer was hauling sand out of Ortona Sand Co., five to six miles from where the accident occurred. The van, registered to a farm labor contractor, was not authorized to transport farm workers and had not passed vehicle safety inspections.
According to USDOT information, West Coast Aggregate Haulers is based in Venice, Florida, and reports operation of only one power unit, hauling aggregate on interstate trips only. In the past 24 months West Coast Aggregate had two truck inspections, failing one of them.
Florida requires only $300,000 liability insurance for trucks of intrastate haulers with a gross vehicle weight of 44,000 to 80,000 pounds, compared with the minimum $750,000 required for interstate truckers and the measly $100,000 required for intrastate haulers in Georgia. However, we often find in Georgia that trucks hauling timber and building materials such as sand actually carry $1 million liability coverage due to contractual requirements.
Ken Shigley has served as chair of the Southeastern Motor Carrier Litigation Institute, co-sponsored by the Georgia, Alabama, Tennessee and North Carolina Trial Lawyers Associations. He is on the National Advisory Board for the Association of Interstate Trucking Lawyers of America, and will speak this week at a seminar in Chicago sponsored by the Interstate Trucking Litigation Group of the American Association for Justice. A member of the Million Dollar Advocates, he has successfully tried truck, bus and passenger van accident cases with multimillion dollar verdicts and settlements. He has lectured on truck and bus litigation topics at continuing legal education programs throughout the United States. A Certified Civil Trial Advocate of the National Board of Trial Advocacy, he is also a Master of the Lamar Inn of Court at Emory Law School, a faculty member for ten years at the Emory University Law School Trial Techniques Program, and was recently elected Secretary of the 39,000 member State Bar of Georgia.
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