Learn more about TLC's President, Jude Basile

Profile: Jude Basile 

Nationally recognized trial lawyer stands up against corporate greed and government bullies 

BY STEPHEN ELLISON
Plaintiffmagazine.com - October 2012

Basile

 
     Nothing gives Jude Basile more satis­faction than finding the truth and using it to conquer greed and abuse of power. It’s been a mission of his since childhood, long before he became an acclaimed trial lawyer, to challenge those who unethically – and in many instances, unlawfully – exploit their positions of authority. 

     As a youngster growing up in a small, blue­collar town in western Pennsylvania, Basile experienced firsthand accounts of such abuse. To this day, one incident in particular involving his father’s business and a certain teen employee serves as the driving force behind Basile’s pursuits. 

     “My dad’s bar got shut down for me being underage and working there. I’d help him out on Friday nights making pizzas in the kitchen; I was 14,” Basile re­called. “The liquor board came in and shut us down for a month for me working there and for having gambling devices that were actually 50­50 church raffle tickets in the bar. And my dad couldn’t do anything about it.

The Power of the TLC Soft Cross

Haytham Faraj, TLC '09 Grad & Faculty Member. 9/20/2012 

My recent jury trial victory in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia did not involve huge sums of money, at least not if measured by some of the verdicts we hear about, but it was every bit as important and significant to my client who stood to lose his livelihood.

The case arose from events that began in the summer of 2005. As the war in Afghanistan waged and as the U.S. government sought to establish some measure of normalcy in Afghanistan, it reopened the U.S. Embassy and put out solicitations to bring in contract guards to provide security for the Embassy. A large government contractor by the name of MVM won the contract. They then hired a startup company by the name of 3D Global Solutions -my client- to recruit guards from Peru to provide security outside the Embassy.

Now these are not mercenaries. They are mere guards; good and decent men whose sole function is to guard the Embassy and provide access control. They would receive a meager $1800 a month for their work. Another facet of the contract required the prime contractor to also provide senior guards who would provide security to high profile personnel and act as a roving force. MVM recruited elite former military Namibians with South African citizenship for that part of the contract. The Namibians are black. When the Namibians showed up, the Regional Security Officer (RSO) who is the State Department official responsible for security at the Embassy objected. He wanted "real expats." In other words, he wanted white mercenaries. You can imagine what he wanted, the khaki clad, muscle bound men donning Oakley shades and driving around in black 4X4 vehicles blowing away everyone in sight. After a few weeks of frivolous nitpicking, the RSO managed to terminate the contract based on a pretext that the guards provided by MVM did not meet the language requirement to effectively discharge their duties. MVM had spent nearly 7 million dollars to take over the Embassy security. The termination was devastating. MVM hired a top DC law firm and threatened to sue the State Department, effectively arguing that the guards were qualified and that the termination was pretextual to get rid of the black Namibian guards and bring in white guards.

$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.

 

My tribute to the July 2012 Class

Some thoughts... I've been on staff since 1998.... I don't remember a group of students so willing to come out of the chute running full speed like this class did...

The first small group I sat with was warmed up before we started... I was assigned to another group later that night and was disappointed to be leaving the 1st group even tho we had been together for maybe 1/2 hour....

I struggled with saying goodbye to groups, even as they were being formed... I felt so connected...especially with the public defenders and young solos who are out on their own and alone,  like i was in 1973.... I was immediately proud to know them and worried about the difficulties ahead that they will face  in their professional lives..... Some that they can't imagine yet.... I'm feeling very parental and protective of these young warriors..i guess my age is showing  in  mysterious ways....

I was beginning to think I would not experience a "tlc" moment in small group, but sure enough, in the last small group in the rec room, Connie and I watched a student become a talking cement ramp.....the student transformation was quite remarkable, as it usually is...and was appreciated by all of those in the group....they got it" and i was fulfilled....then the fun of the Dubois rodeo and a tlc team beating the "cowboys" at their own game was the cherry on top....saying good bye and leaving thunderhead was especially difficult for me this time.. I sometimes feel that my "in the moment" experiences  might never be repeated.... I wonder if I'll ever be back to thunderhead....or see my good friends ever again....or meet a new class, or participate in a large or small group...or if I will ever again  make my moose call in the big barn ............when i got home i thought of the July 2012 class every day.....wondered how they were doing.....how much they were learning, laughing, crying, living..... I wanted to fly back out for graduation and think i would have except that my family  became and still is the subject of a credible threat by an angry, heavily armed, psychotic individual  .......needless to say, I'm staying close to family and home..........

Finally, I need to say that  on my last day, when we all gathered in the big barn to say good bye, I experienced a feeling like I've never experienced in my entire life of 65 years.... I was the last staff member to be called.... I was at the end of the line and when Jim  introduced..."Paulie d'................the most wonderful thing happened... The entire class spontaneously made low, harmonious  moose calls to me............it was amazing... I can only describe the feeling as like I was  being recognized and honored by an entire herd of moose....they were my moose family....and they were showing me their approval....i was being verified  and they were saying goodbye in their moose way....i was touched like I had never been touched before... I want to thank the entire class for bestowing that honor upon me.... I'll never forget that moment....

For the finish... I hope to make it back ,meet new warriors and visit with old ones....

Pdumas

Moosecaller

TlC 95"

It was exhilarating to me - to use the TLC methods and have them work

Judith Mattern Hearn , TLC July 2012 Grad. August 15, 2012.

D.S. came to my office, following my court appointment on May, 2012, convinced he was going to do time.  The State had filed a Motion to Revoke Probation on April 12, 2012, following an allegation that D.S. had “intentionally and knowingly caused bodily injury to A.L.J. by punching, pushing, scratching, biting and choking her.”  The other allegations were that D.S. had failed to complete 240 hours of community service as directed by “her” (sic) community supervision officer, and had failed to attend, participate in and successfully complete the Batterer’s Intervention Program as directed by the Community Supervision Officer. 

D.S.’ underlying offense was a third degree family violence charge, including impeding breath by choking, for which he received seven years probation.  D.S. had been placed on probation the preceding September, 2011.  Each time, I met with D.S., I would get just another piece of information from him, but he had maintained each time, that he did not punched, pushed, scratched, bit or choked A.L.J.