Victor Schwartz

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Victor E. Schwartz has been called "the undisputed king of tort reform."[1] He is a partner at the Washington D.C. offices of Shook, Hardy & Bacon LLP, and chairs the law firm's Public Policy Group.[2] In 2007, he was considered one of Washington, D.C.'s 50 top lobbyists.[3] A casebook he co-authors, Prosser, Wade and Schwartz Torts, is the most widely used torts casebooks in the United States.[4]

He is also the author of Comparative Negligence and the Guide to Multistate Litigation.[5][6]

Schwartz is a member of the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC). Schwartz is listed on ALEC's Board of Scholars and is co-chair of its Civil Justice Task Force as of 2011. He also previously won the "Jeffersonian Award," ALEC's highest award to private sector members. He has been involved with ALEC for several years.

He is also on the General Counsel to the American Tort Reform Association.[7]

About ALEC
ALEC is a corporate bill mill. It is not just a lobby or a front group; it is much more powerful than that. Through ALEC, corporations hand state legislators their wishlists to benefit their bottom line. Corporations fund almost all of ALEC's operations. They pay for a seat on ALEC task forces where corporate lobbyists and special interest reps vote with elected officials to approve “model” bills. Learn more at the Center for Media and Democracy's ALECexposed.org, and check out breaking news on our ExposedbyCMD.org site.

Career

Victor Schwartz has worked to "integrate litigation, government affairs and public relations" in Shook, Hardy & Bacon's D.C. law firm since 2001.[8] In 2011, he lobbied on behalf of Peabody Energy, Eli Lily & Co., and The U.S. Chamber of Commerce.[9][10] A 2007 ABA Journal article also identified him as a lobbyist for the Animal Health Institute in 2005[11] and a Public Citizen report listed him as a lobbyist for the General Aviation Manufacturers Association and the Product Liability Coordinating Committee, in 1997.[12]

Other clients of Shook, Hardy & Bacon include, but are not limited to:

Schwartz is also on the Board of Directors of the Searle Civil Justice Institute at George Mason University School of Law.

Before working at Shook, Hardy & Bacon LLP, Schwartz worked as a lawyer at Crowell & Moring for 21 years.[16] He was Director of the Federal Insurance Administration from 1978-1980 and was a professor and dean at the University of Cincinnati College of Law.[17] According to the U.S. Senate Office of Public Records, he was registered as a lobbyist with Crowell & Moring in at least 1999-2001.[18] He also served as chair of the Federal Inter-Agency Task Force on Product Liability at the Department of Commerce, and the Federal Inter-Agency Council on Insurance under the Ford and Carter Administrations.[19] He was the principal author of the Uniform Product Liability Act and the Federal Risk Retention Act.[20]

Articles and resources

Related SourceWatch articles

External Articles

References

  1. ↑ Terry Carter Piecemeal Tort Reform, ABA Journal, December 2001
  2. ↑ Shook, Hardy & Bacon LLP Victor E. Schwartz, lawfirm biography, accessed June 6, 2011
  3. ↑ Kim Eisler Hired Guns: The City's 50 Top Lobbyists, Washingtonian, June 1, 2007
  4. ↑ American Legislative Exchange Council, 2011 Annual Meeting Leadership Listing, conference brochure on file with CMD, August 11, 2011
  5. ↑ "Comparative Negligence." Lexis Nexis. LexisNexis.com. Accessed Aug. 17, 2011.
  6. ↑ "Guide to Multistate Litigation." Amazon. Amazon.com. Accessed Aug. 17, 2011.
  7. ↑ Victor Schwartz, Hot Coffee the Movie. HotCoffeeTheMovie.com. Accessed Aug. 17, 2011.
  8. ↑ Center for Responsive Politics Victor Schwartz, OpenSecrets.org, accessed June 2011
  9. ↑ 9.0 9.1 9.2 9.3 9.4 9.5 Mark Hansen Shook Hardy Smokes ‘Em, ABA Journal, October 1, 2008
  10. ↑ Center for Responsive Politics Lobbying: Shook, Hardy & Bacon, OpenSecrets.org, accessed June 24, 2011
  11. ↑ Terry Carter Beast Practices: High-profile cases are putting plenty of bite into the lively field of animal law, ABA Journal, November 2007
  12. ↑ Public Citizen The General Aviation Act: When it Comes to Product Liability, Don't Believe What They Claim, online report, accessed June 1, 2011
  13. ↑ Shook, Hardy & Bacon LLP Philip Morris ETS Billing Categories, lawfirm report, December 1990
  14. ↑ Bloomberg News Vonage Infringed 6 Patents of Sprint, U.S. Jury Rules, New York Times, September 26, 2007
  15. ↑ Steve Vockrodt Microsoft uploads Shook Hardy & Bacon to its law firm short list, Kansas City Business Journal, July 9, 2009
  16. ↑ Terry Carter Piecemeal Tort Reform, ABA Journal, December 2001
  17. ↑ Victor Schwartz work history, OpenSecrets.org
  18. ↑ U.S. Senate Office of Public Records, Lobbying Disclosure Act Database, Federal lobbyist database, accessed June 25, 2011
  19. ↑ Victor Schwartz, Testimony of Mr. Victor Schwartz before the Subcommittee on Administrative Oversight and the Courts of the Senate Judiciary Committee, United States Congress, Regarding S. 1428, "The Commonsense Consumption Act of 2003" United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary, October 16, 2003
  20. ↑ Tuesdays with Torts Masters: Victor Schwartz,"TortsProf Blog"


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