George. In 1987, he tried and won his first asbestos property damage action in California against W. R. Grace & Co, manufacturer of as- bestos-containing spray fireproof- ing. In 1995, he joined his cur- rent partner, Alan Brayton, and they formed Brayton Purcell. Ac- cording to Purcell, 75 percent of the firm’s cases involve asbestos, and the rest are a hodgepodge of tort-related matters.
Purcell got his first exposure to plaintiff ’s law while attending the Pepperdine University School of Law. During that time, he clerked at the well-known plaintiff ’s firm, Girardi & Keese, in Los Angeles. “That was years ago and I haven’t looked back,” says Purcell. “I found trial work and representing plaintiffs challenging and very rewarding. When you have a chance to make a difference in someone’s outcome, it’s all you could hope for in your career.”
At the same time, he’s the first to admit that having a successful trial practice means immersing yourself com- pletely in each case. “You have a plaintiff who might be terminally ill and you’ve got to get to trial before he dies,” he says. “It becomes all consuming and other parts of your life suffer.”
His membership with The Bar Association of San Fran- cisco helps him step out of his demanding practice. “You get the benefit of collegial exchange of information,” he says. “When you are dealing with a case, it’s helpful to know how others have handled it.”
While the use of technology has changed many trial at- torneys’ practices, Purcell likes the old school way: “I remain true to the age-old legal tablets,” he says. “I’m pretty low tech. In trial, I draw my presentations.”
In addition to his recent court verdict, Purcell is grateful for a recent California Supreme Court answer to a ques-
tion posed by the federal Ninth Circuit Court of Appeal. In May, the Court stated in Pooshs v. Phillip Morris USA, Inc. that an earlier to- bacco-related injury does not trig- ger the statute of limitations for a later tobacco-related injury. “The tobacco industry had argued that once you’ve had an adverse effect from smoking, you’ve triggered the statute for later diseases,” says Purcell. “The court’s answer finally resurrects the viability of smok- ers’ cases. It often takes years for lung cancer to develop and is often preceded by lesser injuries. We’re grateful that the court rejected what was a ridiculous procedural effort to deny individual smokers their rightful day in court to prove up their cases.”
Kelly Dermody Lieff Cabraser Heimann & Bernstein
As head of Lieff Cabraser Heimann & Bernstein’s Em- ployment Law practice, Kelly Dermody has handled her share of employment cases. “I’ve spent a lot of my career representing the hourly, entry-level worker and women and people of color,” she says.
About six years ago, she began representing another type of employee: professional, highly credentialed women on Wall Street who allege systematic and per- vasive gender discrimination. Most recently, in Sep- tember 2010, Dermody, along with the firm Outten & Golden in New York, filed a gender discrimination class action suit, Chen-Oster v. Goldman Sachs, Inc., in federal court. The complaint charges that, among oth- er things, Goldman Sachs pays its female professionals less than similar male professionals, passes over quali- fied women for promotion, ranks women unfairly based on their objective performance, and offers better busi- ness opportunities and professional support to its male
THE BAR ASSOCIATION OF SAN FRANCISCO SAN FRANCISCO ATTORNEY 39
Photo by Jim Block
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