Lawyers put their best foot forward in drug cases, with help from STEP.American consumers routinely hear media reports that describe significant health risks posed by pharmaceutical products. In many instances, the drug's maker was aware of its product's potential to harm users--or, worse, the manufacturer knew of harm the drug had already caused, but failed to act. AAJ AAJ All About Jazz (website) AAJ American Association of Jurists AAJ American Alpine Journal AAJ Administrative Appeals Judge AAJ Attitude Adjust members turn to the Section on Toxic, Environmental, and Pharmaceutical Torts for tools they can use to stand up for consumers seriously injured by these drugs. Nicknamed STEP, AAJ's fourth-largest section is made up of attorneys handling litigation An action brought in court to enforce a particular right. The act or process of bringing a lawsuit in and of itself; a judicial contest; any dispute. When a person begins a civil lawsuit, the person enters into a process called litigation. involving a wide variety of pharmaceutical products, from Accutane to Zyprexa. Many represent plaintiffs in high-profile cases, including the Vioxx trials and hormone therapy Hormone therapy Treating cancers by changing the hormone balance of the body, instead of by using cell-killing drugs. Mentioned in: Breast Cancer, Thyroid Cancer hormone therapy class actions. Other section members focus on environmental issues--for example, representing people injured by exposure to pollutants released in their communities. The section's member resources include a list server, where members discuss current trial strategies, potential experts, and recent court rulings; education programs, where they share knowledge in their particular areas of expertise; and a newsletter featuring timely, practical articles written by members, for members. Section education programs at recent AAJ conventions have covered litigation involving particular products as well as general litigation strategies and trial skills. For example, the section has hosted sessions on jury selection, trial themes, and innovative discovery techniques. STEP complements several AAJ litigation groups, more specialized groups that focus on particular products or types of cases. The section works with litigation groups to strategize strat·e·gize v. strat·e·gized, strat·e·giz·ing, strat·e·giz·es v.tr. To plan a strategy for (a business or financial venture, for example). v.intr. on related issues and provide additional services for members. Section members also work closely with AAJ staff on legal and political issues that affect their work in the courtroom, such as defendants' common strategy of seeking to remove cases to federal court and to convince courts to dismiss cases based on federal preemption preemption U.S. policy that allowed the first settlers, or squatters, on public land to buy the land they had improved. Since improved land, coveted by speculators, was often priced too high for squatters to buy at auction, temporary preemptive laws allowed them to acquire of state law. Section attorneys and AAJ Public Affairs Those public information, command information, and community relations activities directed toward both the external and internal publics with interest in the Department of Defense. Also called PA. See also command information; community relations; public information. staff are working to thwart these attempts to limit injured consumers' access to justice. The section's officers are: Chair Ellen Relkin of New York City New York City: see New York, city. New York City City (pop., 2000: 8,008,278), southeastern New York, at the mouth of the Hudson River. The largest city in the U.S. ; Chair-Elect Gerson Smoger of Dallas; First Vice Chair Esther Berezofsky of Cherry Hill Cherry Hill, township (1990 pop. 69,319), Camden co., W central N.J.; name was changed from Delaware township to Cherry Hill in 1961. Largely residential, Cherry Hill has been marked by great development and housing growth, especially since the 1970s. , New Jersey; Second Vice Chair Leslie O'Leary of Portland, Oregon; Secretary Yvonne Flaherty of Minneapolis; Treasurer Jeffrey Bowersox of Portland, Oregon; and Immediate Past Chair Michael Hugo of Boston. Annual membership dues are $45. To join or for more information, contact AAJ Sections at sections@justice.org or visit STEP's home page at www.justice. org/sections/step. |
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