Catastrophic Injury Lawyers Selected by Peers in New Issue of Southern California Super Lawyers

February 22, 2011 (Press-News.org) Five mass disaster attorneys from the Los Angeles-based plaintiffs' firm of Baum, Hedlund, Aristei & Goldman have been chosen by their peers to be listed in the newly released 2011 issue of Southern California Super Lawyers. Baum, Hedlund, Aristei & Goldman is a nationally recognized personal injury law firm known for its dedication to clients, sincerity, and success in complex cases.

Legal Advocates for Whistleblowers, Victims of Defective Pharmaceutical Products, Major Accidents and Mass Disasters: Aviation, Trucking, Train, Bus, and Structures

Paul J. Hedlund has been a lawyer for nearly 40 years. He is a senior partner and trial attorney, overseeing the firm's commercial transportation litigation practice. His degree in Mechanical Engineering gives him a unique perspective in handling complex accident cases. This expertise led to him testifying about safer train configurations at a California State legislative hearing into the Metrolink Glendale rail disaster. He also testified about the need for labeling earthquake susceptible buildings at the California State Legislature Seismic Safety Commission hearing regarding the Loma Prieta earthquake. He has served on numerous airline and train disaster Plaintiffs' Steering Committees.

J. Clark Aristei has been practicing law for over 35 years. He oversees the firm's major aviation, bus, train, and truck accident cases. He is currently a member of the Metrolink Chatsworth Plaintiffs Steering Committee (PSC). In the past he served as a member of the Metrolink Glendale PSC, Alaska Airlines Flight 261 PSC, and as designated counsel in the Coordinated Discovery Cases for the Southwest Airlines Flight 1455 crash. He is a former adjunct professor of law. He is also active in the California Farm Bureau Federation and the California Avocado Commission, cultivating avocados, pomegranates, persimmons, figs, and citrus on his farm.

Ronald L. M. Goldman is a veteran trial lawyer, former adjunct aviation law professor and pilot, and the firm's senior trial attorney. He is board certified as a civil trial advocate by the National Board of Trial Advocacy. As lead trial counsel, Ron oversees the firm's whistleblower practice, pharmaceutical drug litigation, aviation accident cases, and other major transportation crash litigation. One of his most notable achievements was negotiating the unprecedented official public apology by an airline in the January 8, 2003 Charlotte, North Carolina, Air Midwest Flight 5481 crash. Ron has been practicing law for more than 45 years.

Robert F. Foss devotes his practice to representing victims across the nation in commercial truck accident cases. As a member of the National Advisory Board for the Association of Plaintiff Interstate Trucking Lawyers of America , he is part of a national association of lawyers committed to eliminating unsafe and illegal interstate trucking practices. Bob was on the trial team which achieved one of the largest verdicts in Ohio history for the death of an unmarried person - - a $7M verdict in a truck accident case against Tyson Foods. He previously worked on many of the firm's aviation, bus and train accident and structure collapse cases.

John A. Greaves became an attorney nearly 20 years ago, after retiring from a 37-year pilot career where he also served as an airline captain. He focuses on the firm's aviation disaster cases. Greaves' specialized aviation knowledge and technical expertise has been a great asset in his handling of more than 35 different airline crashes for the firm. He has been appointed to four airline disaster Plaintiffs' Steering Committees and was part of the team of Baum Hedlund attorneys with Ronald Goldman, which acquired an unprecedented official public apology by a commercial airline. He is also a frequent commentator on aviation issues in the news.

Over the past few months, tens of thousands of lawyers across Southern California cast their ballots to determine "the best lawyers they have personally observed in action, whether opposing counsel or co-counsel, or through other first-hand observation in the courtroom." Those chosen are included in the list of Southern California Super Lawyers, 2011 Edition. Only the top five percent of the lawyers in Los Angeles and Orange Counties are named Southern California Super Lawyers.

Attorneys Hedlund, Aristei, Goldman and Greaves maintain an AV 5.0 out of 5 Peer-Review-Rating through Martindale-Hubbell. They, and their firm, have handled over 7,000 personal injury and wrongful death cases across the nation stemming from aviation, truck, train, bus and structure accidents as well as pharmaceutical product liability cases.

Super Lawyers is a listing of outstanding lawyers from more than 70 practice areas who have attained a high degree of peer recognition and professional achievement. Polling, research and selection are performed by Law & Politics, a publication of Key Professional Media, Inc.

AV , BV and CV are registered certification marks of Reed Elsevier Properties Inc., used in accordance with the Martindale-Hubbell certification procedures, standards and policies. Martindale-Hubbell is the facilitator of a peer review rating process. "Ratings reflect the confidential opinions of members of the Bar and the Judiciary. Martindale-Hubbell Ratings fall into two categories - legal ability and general ethical standards. An AV rating reflects an attorney who has reached the heights of professional excellence. He or she has usually practiced law for many years, and is recognized for the highest levels of skill and integrity."