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Torts Movers & Shakers 10/29/2009 3:03:51 PM EST New Officers Elected at DRI - The Voice of the Defense Bar Defense Research Institute Names New Leaders at 14th Annual Meeting in Chicago CHICAGO, Oct. 27 – (PR Newswire) The Voice of the Defense Bar chose new leaders earlier this month as the 22,500-member organization held its 14th Annual Meeting and 50th anniversary commemoration in Chicago.
The new Defense Research Institute officers include:
President - Cary E. Hiltgen, Director and Shareholder, Hiltgen & Brewer, P.C., Oklahoma City, Oklahoma;
President-Elect - R. Matthew Cairns, Director and Shareholder, Gallagher, Callahan & Gartrell, Concord, New Hampshire;
First Vice President - Henry Sneath, Partner, Picadio Sneath Miller & Norton, P.C., Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania;
Second Vice President - Mary Massaron Ross, Partner and Director, Plunkett Cooney, P.C., Detroit, Michigan;
Secretary-Treasurer - Charles Cole, Director and Shareholder, Schuyler, Roche & Crisham, P.C., Chicago, Illinois;
Immediate Past President of DRI-The Voice of the Defense Bar is Marc E. Williams, Partner, Huddleston Bolen LLP, Huntington, West Virginia.
Full background information on the officers appears below.
"We have selected the very best in our profession. These lawyers have already provided DRI with exemplary leadership and are ready now to spearhead our ongoing and expanding efforts to effectively represent the best interests of the business community," said John R. Kouris, Executive Director of the Defense Research Institute. "It is an additionally special year for DRI as our 50th anniversary coincides with Abraham Lincoln's 200th birthday - a very special year, indeed, to be selecting new leaders."
Cary E. Hiltgen, director and shareholder of the Oklahoma City-based law firm Hiltgen & Brewer, P.C., has been named President of DRI-The Voice of the Defense Bar. Mr. Hiltgen, an esteemed product liability and commercial attorney, will serve a one-year term and become president of DRI for 2009-2010. For more than 25 years, Mr. Hiltgen has focused his practice in the areas of product liability, insurance defense, insurance coverage, commercial litigation, and transportation law. His broad clientele includes numerous consumer goods companies, manufacturers, and insurers. He has served as both Vice Chair and Chair of DRI's Product Liability Committee, one of the largest committees in the organization with more than 3,000 attorneys. He has also served on DRI's Board of Directors and the Law Institute. Rated AV by Martindale-Hubbell, Mr. Hiltgen has been an Oklahoma Super Lawyer since 2006.
R. Matthew Cairns, director and shareholder at the law firm Gallagher, Callahan & Gartrell, has been named President-Elect of DRI-The Voice of the Defense Bar. A New Hampshire attorney with more than 20 years of litigation experience, he will serve a one-year term and become DRI's president in 2010. Mr. Cairns currently focuses on product liability, commercial litigation, defense of sexual torts, and general litigation including trucking and construction. He has represented individuals, businesses and insurers in civil litigation matters in all New Hampshire state and federal courts. He is also general counsel to several small corporations. Mr. Cairns was previously DRI's First Vice President and, prior to that, Northeast Regional Director overseeing DRI initiatives in New Hampshire, Maine, Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Connecticut. He was also the DRI State Representative for New Hampshire and received the organization's State Leadership Award. Mr. Cairns was a Products Liability Defense Super Lawyer in 2007 and 2008.
Henry M. Sneath, a leading intellectual property and complex business litigation attorney, has been named First Vice President of DRI-The Voice of the Defense Bar. Mr. Sneath, named partner at Picadio Sneath Miller & Norton, P.C. in Pittsburgh, Pa., is the former Second Vice President, has served on the Board of Directors of DRI and was previously the Chair of its Commercial Litigation Committee and the Public Policy Committee. As a result of his election in 2008, he will become President of DRI in October, 2011. Mr. Sneath has tried over 90 cases to jury and non-jury verdict in federal and state court jurisdictions and has helped clients resolve numerous disputes through alternative dispute resolution. His extensive track record in federal and state courts encompasses commercial disputes, intellectual property, construction claims, insurance coverage, and insurance bad faith claims. Mr. Sneath has been listed in Best Lawyers in America since 2006 and as a Pennsylvania Super Lawyer since 2006.
Mary Massaron Ross, director and partner of Plunkett & Cooney P.C., the head of the Detroit firm's Appellate Practice Group, has been named Second Vice President of DRI-The Voice of the Defense Bar. A former law clerk to Associate Justice Patricia J. Boyle of the Michigan Supreme Court, Ms. Massaron Ross has won numerous victories for clients in both the public and private sector, overturning multi-million dollar judgments and establishing new legal principles. She has handled appeals, which have resulted in over 50 published opinions. Ms. Massaron Ross served as chair of the American Bar Association Standing Committee on Amicus Curiae Briefs, the five-member committee that oversees preparation of ABA briefs for filing in the United States Supreme Court and other courts. Ms. Massaron Ross is also a Fellow in the American Academy of Appellate Lawyers. She was listed this year in Best Lawyers in America, and has been listed by Super Lawyer as a top Michigan Appellate Lawyer, one of the top 100 lawyers, and one of the top 50 female attorneys in Michigan.
Charles Cole, director and shareholder at the Chicago-based law firm Schuyler, Roche & Crisham, P.C., has been named Secretary-Treasurer of DRI-The Voice of the Defense Bar. With over 30 years of litigation experience, Mr. Cole currently focuses his practice primarily in the areas of medical malpractice, professional liability and commercial litigation. Mr. Cole has defended more than 240 physicians against claims of malpractice and has tried more than 60 cases before juries, having won favorable or projected outcomes over 90 percent of the time. Rated AV by Martindale-Hubbell, Mr. Cole has been an Illinois Super Lawyer since 2005.
Marc E. Williams, a veteran commercial and complex business litigation defense attorney in Huntington, W.Va., is the Immediate Past President of DRI-The Voice of the Defense Bar. He has served on a number of DRI committees and represented the organization at state and national levels. He is a partner at Huddleston Bolen LLP and has had primary responsibility for more than 100 jury trials and appeals in both state and federal courts. Mr. Williams is listed in Best Lawyers in America in eight categories: Bet-the-Company Litigation, Appellate Law, Commercial Litigation, Personal Injury Litigation, Legal Malpractice Law, Mass Tort Litigation, Railroad Litigation and Products Liability Litigation. He is also listed by Chambers USA in Band One (highest designation) in the area of commercial litigation and is designated as a West Virginia Super Lawyer. He is rated AV by Martindale-Hubbell.
About DRI
DRI-The Voice of the Defense Bar, is the national organization of more than 22,500 defense trial lawyers and corporate counsel. DRI provides numerous educational and informational resources to members and offers many opportunities for liaison among defense trial lawyers, Corporate America, and state and local legal defense organizations. DRI also has an international presence, seeking to enhance understanding of the law among members of the defense community who have reason to be concerned with the expanding globalization of litigation defense. The organization can be reached at http://www.dri.org/. Create an account or login to post comments.
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