More asbestos cases heading to courthouses across region.

Speaking in the deep, lilting tones of a Southern gentleman while sipping sweet tea, Russell Roten appears as if he has nothing but time.

But try getting the head of Duane Morris LLP's Los Angeles office on the phone. Roten actually is a frenzy of activity because of his work in asbestos claims, insurance and bankruptcy realms. He has client work in London, trials on the East Coast and firm duties back in Los Angeles. Although he's reticent about specific client work, Roten has represented the Society of Lloyd's, Great American Insurance Co. and the archdiocese of Portland, Ore.

And he may get even busier thanks to a spate of recent decisions on asbestos cases. Federal legislation sponsored by Sen. Arlen Specter, R-Pa.--which would have established a $140 billion asbestos trust fund that would have eliminated most of the 50 million current claims by guaranteeing payments to claimants--was blocked in a procedural budget vote two weeks ago. What's more, California is positioned to become a front in the ongoing asbestos litigation war.

"Southern California is becoming more active in asbestos suits if you listen to the plaintiff's bar," said Brian Davidoff of Rutter Hobbs & Davidoff Inc., who represented the defendant in a recent district court case on asbestos. "They say many out-of-state firms are setting up shop over here and if that's accurate, then there are going to be more lawsuits against Southern California companies."

Davidoff said that the first wave of lawsuits targeted asbestos manufacturers and insurance companies, but the next logical step is for plaintiffs to go after construction and installation companies.

"Southern California isn't a market with huge industrial companies. You've got smaller manufacturers and suppliers over here, so they're going to get targeted," Davidoff said.

Asbestos litigation has been filed by about 750,000 people to the tune of at least $70 billion in damages, with more than 70 defendant companies filing for bankruptcy, according to a Rand Corp. study. However, Roten says the lawyers are just beginning to get clear guidelines for future litigation.

"We're now starting to get some directions from the courts in how (asbestos bankruptcy) cases will be handled" Roten said. "And as the courts rule more and more, we're getting more clarity from the state on its interpretation. I think there are still going to be asbestos claims brought for the foreseeable future."

Today, the Asbestos Alliance--a claimants advocacy group--estimates that remaining asbestos liability is between $145 billion and $265 billion. The group also claims the number of asbestos defendants has risen sharply, from about 300 in the 1980s, to 8,400 today.

Roten believes that it may be more practical to address the problem at the state level.

"There's a trend in people focusing on what's happening in D.C.," said Roten, 56. "And there's a trend at the state level where states seem to be able to act when Congress can't. That may be the ultimate solution." Mississippi, Ohio, Texas and Florida currently have asbestos legislation on the books, and several other states are considering bills that would establish trust funds or guide litigation.

Sorting conundrum 

The nature of asbestos-related illnesses has contributed to the complex issues surrounding the claims. It can take years after exposure to asbestos for patients to develop symptoms. Since it typically takes years to win an award, many plaintiffs file claims before they are actually sick or show symptoms. Some never become sick.

Sorting out that conundrum is the key, Roten believes.

"There are lots of claim out there and plaintiffs (attorneys) are hard-working, intelligent people who believe in what they're doing," Roten said. "If claims criteria can be controlled where only sick people are bringing suits, I think this can be brought under control."

In any case, it appears L.A. County is going to be hearing its share of asbestos cases in the near future.

Roten grew up in Warrensville, N.C., a town with 70 people. He attended college and law school at the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill, where he was a classmate of Elizabeth and John Edwards, the Democratic nominee for Vice-President in 2004.

Upon graduation, he started a small practice in Jefferson, N.C., with a law school buddy. After a couple of years he moved to Raleigh, N.C., taking at a job with a firm topped by Bill Thorpe, the state's first attorney to win a million-dollar verdict. He did plaintiffs' work there until 1988, when he went to Japan as part of an exchange program. He had planned to spend a year there, but it turned into six when he met his current wife, Yuriko. They moved to Los Angeles in 1994, where they are raising two children, a 9-year-old boy, Zen, and a girl, Yuwa, 2.

Upon his return to the United States, Roten joined Lane Powell Spears Lubersky LLP doing more trial work. From there he went to Hancock Rothert & Bunshoft LLP and then to Coudert Brothers LLP, where he was working when Duane Morris called with an invitation to run its new office. As part of the creation of its L.A. branch, Duane Morris absorbed Roten's old firm, Hancock Rothert, so he's surrounded by familiar faces in his new digs.