Nuclear Verdicts Impacting the Energy Industry

Overview

Nuclear verdicts (jury verdicts worth $10 million or more) are on the rise, particularly for large energy companies. This presentation incorporates insights from ILR's research, looking at national and state trends in nuclear verdicts over a ten-year period, along with case-specific learnings from the perspectives of a trial lawyer and a litigation strategist. This program will identify consistent challenges that arise in energy litigation and offer practical solutions.

Webinar begins at 12:00 pm Central
Duration: 1 hour

Speakers

Lauren Brogdon
Haynes and Boone, LLP
Houston, TX

Lauren Brogdon is a partner in the Energy Litigation Practice Group in Haynes Boone’s Houston office and chair of the firm's national Crisis Management Practice Group.

Certified in Crisis Leadership, Lauren brings a robust understanding of the challenges that her clients face during both routine emergencies and unprecedented incidents. She applies this knowledge and experience to planning and implementing response plans and assisting clients with crisis recovery, all with an eye toward avoiding liability.

Lauren has significant experience representing energy clients in suits related to hydraulic fracturing and other oil and gas operations, mass tort litigation arising from catastrophic industrial accidents, and toxic tort suits involving chemical exposure and environmental contamination. She has handled high-profile cases related to fires, chemical spills, pipeline explosions, and other disasters. She also frequently advises boards, C-suites, and business unit heads on a range of litigation avoidance, product liability, and marketing strategies.

Throughout the course of her career, Lauren has devoted significant time and resources to charitable activities and pro bono litigation. She has successfully represented dozens of clients in divorce and child custody suits and disputes involving domestic violence. Lauren is on the Executive Committee and Board of Directors of the Houston Area Women’s Center and previously served as chair of Houston Volunteer Lawyers, the largest provider of pro bono services in Harris County. She is also a past president of the Houston Young Lawyers Association.

Mark S. Sobus, JD, PhD
EDGE Litigation Consulting LLC
Kingwood, TX

Mark earned his doctorate in Social Psychology and his law degree from the Nation’s leading Law and Psychology Program at the University of Nebraska. The Nebraska program was designed to study and apply psychological principles and knowledge of human behavior to the legal system. While at Nebraska, Mark taught introductory and advanced social psychology courses, and he conducted basic and applied research on topics including social norms, attitudes and motivation.

Over Mark’s thirty-year career in jury research and litigation strategy, he has worked on well over a thousand cases across the country assisting clients in the development of strategy for trial and mediation, witness preparation, and jury selection.

Mark’s experience in the energy industry has involved numerous contract, personal injury, oil field legacy, intellectual property, and environmental matters. Mark has been engaged on energy industry cases from California to Maine, and he has conducted jury research and provided trial strategy on over a hundred such matters across the state of Texas.

Stephen Waguespack
Special Counsel and President of the Institute for Legal Reform
U.S. Chamber of Commerce
Washington, D.C.

Stephen Waguespack is president of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Institute for Legal Reform. Prior to his appointment earlier this year, he was a Candidate for Louisiana Governor in 2023, finishing third as a first-time candidate in a crowded field of incumbent officeholders. Before running for office, he served for ten years as the President and CEO of the Louisiana Association of Business and Industry (LABI). As the state’s chamber of commerce and manufacturer’s association, LABI is the largest business advocacy group in Louisiana, representing more than 2,200 business members and 324,000 employees.

With nearly three decades of experience in federal and state policy and politics, Stephen has earned a reputation as an active voice for reform and free enterprise in both Louisiana and amongst his national peers. Before joining LABI, Stephen served as a member of the Louisiana State Board of Education and as an executive counsel and chief of staff to former Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal. Prior to that, he spent 10 years working on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C. Stephen is a Louisiana native and holds a bachelor’s degree from Louisiana State University and a law degree from The Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C.

Registration Options

• $50 - Non-Member
• $0 - IEL Member
• $0 - IEL Supporting or Sustaining Member Employee
• $0 - Law Student

MCLE Credit

This online program has not been approved for MCLE credit in any other jurisdictions. If requested by attendees, CAIL will request accreditation in California, Louisiana, New Mexico, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia. Accreditation has not been sought or approved in these jurisdictions at this time. MCLE credit will not be requested in any other jurisdiction.

Other Information

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