Kings & Queens of Slip-and-Fall Take Manhattan

For those who keep an eye on the parasitic personal injury bar, it comes as no surprise that the kings and queens of slip-and-fall will gather this July 9-13 for their annual convention in New York City, aka “Sue” York City.

Regular Judicial Hellholes readers may remember that the trial lawyers of the so-called American Association for Justice similarly convened last winter in Miami, part of perennial Judicial Hellhole South Florida and the nation’s capital for fraudulent automobile insurance lawsuits.  Not coincidentally, one of last year’s break-out sessions focused on “proving” soft-tissue injuries in the absence of medical evidence.

This year in New York, according to the convention schedule, a July 11 session entitled “Storytelling and Persuasion” will include a talk by Colorado lawyer Lance Sears about “Using the Rules of Madison Avenue to Persuade Juries.”

Like the “Mad Men” of cable TV, apparently the bustling litigation industry doesn’t like getting bogged down in too many facts.  Facts, they figure, just get in the way of good storytelling.  

In any case, the only open question about the upcoming AAJ convention is whether Manhattan personal injury lawyer and New York Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver, the most dangerous lawmaker in America, will be an honored speaker.