Attorney Russ Herman to Receive 2019 Champion of Justice Award
Public Justice is proud to announce that veteran litigator and renowned attorney Russ Herman will receive the organization’s 2019 Champion of Justice Award. Herman will be honored during Public Justice’s Annual Awards Dinner & Gala on Monday, July 29th in San Diego. Herman, of the law firm Herman Herman & Katz, will be recognized for his extraordinary commitment to consumer rights and safety, and a career that epitomizes the very best of the trial bar.
For more than 5 decades, Russ has served justice in various roles: as President of the American Association for Justice, the Civil Justice Foundation, the Roscoe Pound Foundation, and LAJ. He is a Fellow in the American Society of Barristers, the International Society of Barristers, and the International Academy of Trial Lawyers. Russ has authored over 200 articles and books and he is the author of two best-selling books, “Courtroom Persuasion: Art, Drama and Science 2” and a 2-volume text on Louisiana Personal Injuries.
Russ has litigated against Big Tobacco, Merck, Johnson and Johnson, Glaxo, and Chinese manufacturers of defective drywall. He was a lead negotiator in the $265 billion settlement with Big Tobacco, resulting for Louisiana, a $4.5 billion award. He was Lead Counsel and a negotiator in the Vioxx case, resulting in a $4.85 billion settlement. He also secured a $591 million jury award in a separate landmark law suit against Big Tobacco.
As Liaison Counsel in the Chinese defective drywall case, Russ was instrumental in securing a $1.2 billion resolution against Knauf, the German manufacturer of defective drywall. Russ served as Lead Counsel in the class action of Propulsid; after the settlements were approved and certified, he successfully negotiated with Johnson & Johnson a $9 million payment to establish health clinics in the New Orleans area following Hurricane Katrina. Many of his achievements were contributed to by other substantial plaintiff law firms.
Russ has received numerous recognitions from third party reviewers of his work and is listed in a number of Halls of Fame: Tulane Law School Hall of Fame, National Trial Lawyers Association Hall of Fame (housed at Temple Law School), Lawdragon’s Hall of Fame the National Law Journal Elite Lawyers Hall of Fame. Russ has received the New Orleans Bar Association, Presidents’ Award, and the prestigious Federal Bar Association’s Professionalism Award.
A true champion of justice, Russ has been a force for lasting, positive change that protects consumers, holds corporate wrong-doers accountable, and promotes public safety and a justice system for all.
