The law firm of Faraci Lange LLP is co-hosting a webinar about potential medical malpractice claims, Monday, Sept. 20, 2010 from 12 to 1 p.m.

The webinar, “Screening and Investigation Potential Medical Malpractice Claims,” is co-hosted by  Brian Zorn, Faraci Lange partner, and Elizabeth Zorn, legal nurse consultant, as part of the American Association of Legal Nurse Consultants’ (AALNC) monthly educational webinar series.

Brian Zorn is one of Faraci Lange’s senior trial attorneys focusing his practice on medical malpractice.  Elizabeth Zorn, BSN, RN, LNCC, has been an AALNC member for more than 15 years and recently began a three-year term on its board of directors.

The AALNC is a not-for-profit membership organization dedicated to the professional enhancement and growth of registered nurses practicing in the specialty of legal nurse consulting and to advancing this nursing specialty. AALNC is the preeminent resource for professionals with an interest in the legal nurse consulting arena including novice and veteran legal nurse consultants.

The Sept. 20 webinar costs $35 for AALNC members and $50 for non-members. To register, people can visit www.aalnc.org/edupro/WebinarSeries.cfm.

Seven lawyers from Faraci Lange LLP have been selected by their peers for inclusion in the 2011 edition of Best Lawyers in America^®.

The attorneys named are:

• Matthew F. Belanger, in the practice areas of personal injury litigation and product liability litigation. Belanger, a resident of Brighton, has been named to Best Lawyers since 2008.
• John A. Falk, in medical malpractice law, personal injury litigation and product liability litigation. The Brighton resident also was named to Best Lawyers in 2009.
• Angelo G. Faraci, in legal malpractice law, medical malpractice law, personal injury litigation and product liability litigation. Faraci, who resides in Rochester, has been listed in Best Lawyers since its inception in 1983.
• Paul K. Lange, in medical malpractice law, personal injury litigation and product liability litigation. First named to Best Lawyers in 2001, Lange resides in Rochester.
• Joseph A. Regan, in medical malpractice law, personal injury litigation and product liability litigation. The Rochester resident has been named to Best Lawyers since 2005.
• Stephen G. Schwarz, in medical malpractice law, personal injury litigation and product liability litigation. The Fairport resident was first named to Best Lawyers in 1999.
• Brian M. Zorn, in medical malpractice law, personal injury litigation and product liability litigation. Zorn, who resides in Victor, has been named to Best Lawyers since 1995.

Best Lawyers, the oldest and most respected peer-review publication in the legal profession, is based on an exhaustive annual survey in which more than 39,000 leading attorneys cast almost 3.1 million votes on the legal abilities of other lawyers in their practice areas. Since its inception in 1983, Best Lawyers has become universally regarded as the definitive guide to legal excellence.

Because Best Lawyers is based on a peer-review survey, and because lawyers are not required or allowed to pay a fee to be listed, inclusion in Best Lawyers is considered a singular honor. Corporate Counsel magazine has called Best Lawyers “the most respected referral list of attorneys in practice.”

Steven Naifeh, president of Best Lawyers, said, “We continue to believe – as we have believed for 28 years – that recognition by one’s peers is the most meaningful form of recognition in the legal profession.”

Faraci Lange LLP announced today that David L. Cook has joined the firm as a partner.

Cook focuses his practice on commercial and real estate litigation, environmental law, agriculture law, labor and employment, and personal injury law. Before joining Faraci Lange LLP he was an equity partner at Nixon Peabody LLP and previously served as the chair of the real estate litigation team.

He is a member of the Monroe County Bar Association, the New York State Bar Association and the American Bar Association. Cook earned his law degree and his master’s degree in Public Administration from Brigham Young University. He has been recognized as a “New York Super Lawyer” and has received an AV rating, the highest rating available, from Martindale-Hubbell.

The law firm of Faraci Lange LLP announced today the addition of Hadley Matarazzo as an associate.

Previously employed as an associate at the New York City law firm of Weitz & Luxenberg, Matarazzo focuses her practice on toxic torts, environmental law, medical malpractice and products liability.

Matarazzo earned her law degree from the Rutgers University School of Law Newark and her bachelor’s degree from the University of Vermont. She resides in the city of Rochester, N.Y.

Julie S. Jordan, an associate at Faraci Lange LLP, has been recognized with the Up and Coming Attorney Award from The Daily Record.

The award is given to attorneys who are active in the community, demonstrate a commitment to the community through activities or pro bono work, and who demonstrate leadership and above-average achievements in day-to-day legal assignments. 

Jordan focuses her practice on medical malpractice, complex tort and toxic tort, premises liability, products liability and automotive negligence cases. She is a resident of Farmington, N.Y.

For the second time, the Monroe County Bar Association has selected Stephen G. Schwarz of Faraci Lange LLP, as its Raymond J. Pauley Award winner.

Schwarz is being honored for his outstanding contribution to the Bar Association’s continuing legal education process. Schwarz, previously recognized with the Pauley Award in 2004, was presented the 2010 award at the Monroe County Bar Association’s annual Installation Dinner.

Faraci Lange’s managing partner, Schwarz focuses his legal practice on personal injury and business litigation, including medical malpractice, serious auto accident cases, product liability, and toxic tort and environmental contamination cases in both state and federal courts.

Stephen Schwarz resides in the town of Fairport, N.Y.

5.  Techniques in Cross-Examination

Once you have plotted your strategy there are techniques that can be used to help you execute that strategy effectively. Below are a number of techniques to keep in mind.

 a.  The rule of probability in human behavior

For a truly effective cross examination the examiner must be knowledgeable and aware of common principles of human behavior. In a trial you will be called upon to instantly analyze and react to a witness’s use of a certain word, phrase, or obvious body language. The examiner’s questions test what the witness is saying against widely known common experiences. You do not have to have direct knowledge to ask the witness certain questions since common human experience provides us with a probable answer. More…

d.  Prior testimony, publications, website text

Except for medical malpractice cases in state court, you will know who the opposition’s expert is before the trial. In federal court you will also be provided with a listing of cases in which the expert has recently testified. There is almost always something useful you can find that was authored or testified about by the expert in the past.

In a recent state court medical malpractice case the expert disclosure provided sufficient information to fairly conclusively identify who the expert was. That expert had an extensive website advertising his expertise in the field and discussing the maladies he could treat. On that website were a number of statements that were helpful in emphasizing the seriousness of the damage sustained by the plaintiff. These statements were presented at trial to the expert, who had no choice but to agree with them as he authored each of them. More…

Suit against Spall Realty Corp. and two other companies went to trial June 7, 2010

A Monroe County Supreme Court jury awarded Neil and Patti Goldstein a verdict that totals $187,393.35 (including interest) against Spall Realty Corporation and Brookwood Building Corporation for causing a mold infestation of their home at the Settlers Green development in Pittsford, New York. The jury did not find that the TJI joists on which most of the mold grew were defective at the time they left the manufacturer. The court found that Spall and Brookwood were liable for the damages due to numerous construction defects proven at trial that made the basement wet and promoted the mold growth. The homeowners’ experts had also testified that because one particularly dangerous species of mold was discovered not only on the outside of the Weyerhaeuser TJI joists but also inside them, and also inside other TJI joists that were tested from other sources, that the mold must have been inside since the time of manufacture. However, the jury did not find sufficient proof to make that determination of when the mold entered the construction materials and therefore found in favor of Weyerhaeuser on this point. More…