Posts Tagged ‘ Erin Brockovich ’

Law Heroes? You’re Kidding, Right?

March 23rd, 2012. By AbiK

Just came across a post over at bestcollegesonline.com that looks at lawyers—ok, not your average everyday lawyers, admittedly—as would-be caped-crusaders for the law school set—historical industry heroes to look up to the way techies idolize Steve Jobs or advertising students admire David Ogilvy.

In an age where lawyers have been associated with phrases like “ambulance-chaser” and a few bad eggs have filed outrageously frivolous lawsuits that the media has had a field day with, it’s important to know that many—most—trial lawyers go about seeking justice and championing human rights quietly—and under the radar. For a few current examples, check out the lawyers we’ve profiled in our Lawyers Giving Back interviews.

The list of lawyers profiled over at bestcollegesonline.com includes some heavy-hitters—folks like Sir Thomas More (can’t get much more ‘heavy hitter’ than being named “Lawyer of the Millennium”) and Giovanni Falcone who both lost their lives as a result of their work (there’s a concept: lawyer as martyr). But here’s the full list—note, some are/were not members of the bar, but legal heroes none the less:

• John Quincy Adams
• Ruth Bader Ginsburg
• Clarence Darrow
• Sir Sydney Kentridge
• Robert F. Kennedy
• Earl Warren
• Florence Kelley
• Giovanni Falcone
• John Lilburne
• William Kunstler
• Sir Thomas More
• Erin Brockovich

There are undoubtedly many more lawyers who could be included on the list–but it was nice to see a positive profile on the legal profession, along with some individuals whose legal careers and contributions law students today should aspire to.

Tags: Clarence Darrow, Earl Warren, Erin Brockovich, Florence Kelley, Giovanni Falcone, John Lilburne, John Quincy Adams, law heroes, Law School, law students, Lawyers Giving Back, legal heroes, Robert F. Kennedy, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Sir Sydney Kentridge, Sir Thomas More, William Kunstler
Posted in Emerging Issues | 1 Comment »

Do the Residents of San Bruno need Erin Brockovich?

September 17th, 2010. By LucyC

We all read with horror the accounts of the massive San Bruno explosion on September 9th that rocked an entire California suburb, killed four people (at last count), vaporized 38 homes, damaged a further 120 and pretty much laid waste to the surrounding 15 acres of land. Residents were ordered to evacuate, many lucky to have escaped with their lives. 

The explosion took place at dinner time, 6:24 pm, on a Thursday evening. It was caused by a rupture in a natural gas line that ran underneath the community. According to reports, the residents had complained to the utility company that they had smelt gas prior to the explosion—days prior in some cases. 

You may be interested to know that the utility company that owns the gas pipeline is none other than Pacific Gas and Electric, or PG&E. Ringing any bells? Remember Erin Brockovich? She took PG&E on over the deadly toxic waste called hexavalent chromium that the company was illegally dumping and which, in turn, was essentially poisoning residents in an area of southern California. People were dying of cancer, in fact. Brockovich, immortalized by Julia Roberts in the blockbuster movie of the same name, discovered that PG&E was trying to buy land that was contaminated by hexavalent chromium. To make a long story short—Brockovich and the people she represented won the day—but it took some doing. 

Now, to be clear, I’m not saying that the San Bruno explosion was caused by some kind of oversight, deliberate or otherwise, by PG&E, but if the company had received reports Read the rest of this entry »

Tags: Erin Brockovich, Gas Explosion, PG&E, San Bruno
Posted in Environment | 1 Comment »