$5.25 million verdict in an "un-winnable" case

Nelson singing & teaching to the TLC 2012 September Class 

Nelson Tyrone, TLC '00 Grad & TLC Faculty. 9/26/2012 

On September 14th , TLC Alum Richard Jones (‘03) and I obtained a substantial verdict on behalf of our client, Nathaniel Polite who had been shot in the back running away from attackers at his apartment complex. He suffered an incomplete spinal cord injury and consequent loss of feeling and spasticity in his legs. Nathan’s family came to me for help, and I brought Richard in as co-counsel. We filed a case against his apartment complex and the management company for inadequate security. Most lawyers I talked with urged me to reject the case but by relying on the TLC methods and the TLC family, we were able to obtain a verdict for Nathan that will help take care of him for the rest of his life.

Preparing for Trial:

Don Clarkson: Don flew to Atlanta to work with Nathan for a day early in the case. Don took him through re-enactments of scenes of vulnerability in his life. This was the starting point for us in understanding Nathan’s disability.

Alumni Tom Metier (’94), Maren Chaloupka (’99), Mel Orchard (’08) and Marj Russell (’94) spent a day during Staff Training in May 2012 to work with me on discovering the story in Nathan’s case and working on a values-based voir dire. Later this summer, Marj flew to Atlanta and spent a day with us working further on discovering the story of our client and of this case. We also relied on several other folks from the Atlanta TLC Local Working Group who spent a day serving as a focus group as we worked on the social atom and more discovering the story.

1997 grad takes on, and beats, the IRS

We are proud to report that 1997 TLC Grad Patrick A. Mullin took on and beat the IRS! Here is the PRNewswire article that circulated on the web and is featured in the Bloomberg Businessweek.

NEW YORK, May 21, 2012 /PRNewswire/ --On Monday, May 14, 2012, after deliberating for less than two hours, a federal jury found George J. Dilworth not guilty on all counts of conspiracy to defraud the IRS and making false statements to IRS agents. This acquittal represents the third consecutive contested federal criminal indictment in which Dilworth's counsel Patrick A. Mullin, a veteran federal criminal defense attorney, has secured an acquittal or dismissal on all charges.

Mr. Mullin said the jury's speedy verdict served justice in this two-week trial which had commenced on April 30, 2012. "The jury's resounding not guilty verdict on each and every count should send a loud and clear message to the IRS, which prosecuted these charges, that there must be greater selectivity before utilizing its vast powers to pursue American taxpayers." According to the IRS 2012 current fiscal year statistics, more than four out of every five IRS prosecutions result in conviction.

Voir Dire: Trusting our jury with the danger points

Sam McGee, 2011' Grad. 9/12/2012

Mike was 24 when he was hit from behind while waiting at a light to let a fire truck clear the intersection. The light had turned green but he did not go because of the fire truck. He had a L-1 burst fracture which required a fusion. He has had a strong recovery. He can walk for miles but cannot run. Reaching up is no problem but reaching down us painful. He can lay on his back with no pain, side with some pain, and cannot lay face down at all. It hurts to lift his child.

He has a long list of misdemeanor convictions, 12 of which came into evidence. The worst were the 4 violations of DV protective orders. The case was on a calendar in November, and we planned on saying he had not been in trouble in a long time. The case was continued, and he was arrested... Twice. Stealing construction supplies the first time and then a domestic incident that led to some nasty charges.

He also got fired by his pain doctor for running out of pain pills too early on 3 occasions. By contrast, the person who hit him was an attractive, pleasant young woman working on her masters in Christian counseling.