Sheridan: Con-Law

TRANS FAT

Wonderful article by veteran S.F. Chronicle writer Carol Ness on Tiburon, CA attorney Steven Joseph, who shows what a good lawyer can do.  Here's an excerpt:

By October 2003, Joseph was back in court, suing McDonald's  --  not because its famous french fries were cooked in trans-fatty oil, but because Mickey D's had promised to change its oil and reneged, without telling the public. 

The result was the $8.5 million settlement. McDonald's paid most of the money to the American Heart Association for a publicity campaign about trans fat, and for trans-fat information signs put up in McDonald's outlets nationwide. 

Critics accused him of doing it for the money  --  and Joseph didn't deny published reports saying he earned $2 million in attorney's fees on the case.

"I worked hard," he says, adding that the money has all gone into his trans-fat campaign.

To people who object that he's misused the court system by suing, maybe even frivolously, instead of working toward new trans-fat laws, Joseph offers a rationale from his former career as a lobbyist.

"Litigation is the only avenue people have as long as Congress refuses to protect Americans from the excesses of corporate America," he says. "I know that when I walk into the courtroom, it's a level playing field. I know the judge hasn't been paid by the food industry."

Steve Joseph says the trans-fat campaign has been won  --  but there's still much to do. 

For example, while trans fats now appear on food labels, the FDA hasn't yet set a maximum on daily intake, even though the government's health arm has said no amount is safe. Even the labeling requirement has a loophole  --  amounts less than  1/2 gram per serving don't need to be listed. 

No wonder, Joseph says, cities and states all over the country are starting to take action. At least three bills have been introduced in California's Legislature to do what New York City did  --  stop restaurants from selling foods made with trans fat. Joseph compares local action to Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's proposals to curb global warming, faced with the Bush administration's paralysis. 

When asked, he's counseling cities and states to adopt New York's law as is, to avoid ending up with a patchwork of different laws across the land.

Hmmm...the whole national gummint is as crooked as hell, but not the judges.

Let's think about that for a second.

Say, you don't suppose we could get Attorney Joseph to take on the lobbyists, do you?

Steve?

Steve?!

The article is below.

STANDING UP FOR SOMEONE WHO CAN'T SPEAK FOR HIMSELF

The origin of the French-rooted word, "attorney," meaning to attorn to, or stand in for another, as in his shoes, is to stand up for another and say, better, what he cannot.

Whether you know in advance that his case, your case, is going to be a big construction project, or you took it on thinking it routine and it became great, your job as an attorney is to be prepared, just like the Boy Scout you were, to dash into the ocean, just as the lifeguard you were, and swim to the rescue of someone who will not make it without your fearless skill.  After all, it's only the government you are up against, not the deep blue sea.

Reprinted below is the story of Neal Katyal, the attorney, by NPR's Supreme Court reporter Nina Totenberg, for Mr. Hamdan, of Guantanamo fame.  Neal Katyal, with Charles Swift, the Navy JAG attorney appointed to represent the prisoner, are the attorneys who took the case all the way up to the Supreme Court and beat Pres. Bush and the entire legal team of the United States government.  As I keep saying, it's one person's mind against another, and may the more just side win.

CEREBRAL PALSY - RANDALL HOWE, ESQ.

Cerebral palsy is a condition that affects motor, not mental, skills.  Deficiencies in motor skills affect appearance, and in a world where appearances count, cerebral palsy can put one who lives it at a disadvantage.

The Arizona Republic article, below, by John Faherty, who seems to be an excellent reporter, is about a young man who put his mind to good use, became an attorney, found employment with the Arizona Attorney-General's Office, and is scheduled to represent his state before the United States Supreme Court next week. 

His name is Randall Howe, who speaks slowly and chooses his words carefully, of more than usual necessity.  He's been arguing before the appellate courts of Arizona for years.  He supervises over a dozen other attorneys in his office.  When the A-G was looking for the best attorney to represent the state before the high court, Howe was chosen.

When the going gets tough, you might do well to remember this guy.