(July 3, 2012, Pittsburgh, PA) – Reed Smith LLP, a leading global law firm, announced today that Bruce Stanley, a partner in its Pittsburgh office, is a Finalist for the Public Justice Foundation’s 2012 Trial Lawyer of the Year Award.
“This is well-deserved recognition for Bruce, who is truly an outstanding trial lawyer and a hero to many residents of West Virginia,” said Gregory B. Jordan, Reed Smith’s Global Managing Partner. “We are proud of his dogged and successful pursuit of justice in this complex and emotionally-charged case.”
According to Foundation spokesperson Deborah Mathis, the organization presents the award annually to the attorney who has made the most outstanding contribution to the public interest through precedent-setting litigation in the past year.
Mr. Stanley was selected by the Foundation for his work on the Mingo County Coal Slurry Litigation, a 7-year dispute that settled in July 2011. He represented Mingo County residents who sued Massey Energy for contaminating their water wells by injecting billions of gallons of the coal prep plant waste known as “slurry” into the ground near their homes in the West Virginia communities of Rawl, Lick Creek, Merrimac and Sprigg. The plaintiffs asserted the slurry injections resulted in numerous health problems throughout Mingo County, many of them serious.
“I am delighted to be among the finalists for this highly-regarded award,” said Mr. Stanley. “The work we did on behalf of the residents of Mingo County was important and the victims there deserved the compensation we were able to obtain for them. No one goes into a litigation of this type expecting such recognition, but I am particularly happy that the Justice Foundation highlighted the Mingo County settlement work in recognizing me for this honor.”
Mr. Stanley and the other 2012 Trial Lawyer of the Year finalists will be honored at the Public Justice Foundation’s 30th Anniversary Gala July 31 in Chicago. The winner of the award will be announced at the event.
Mr. Stanley has a long history of representing plaintiffs in coal and coal mine matters, including the widows and estates of miners who perished in a tragic fire in a Massey Energy mine in Logan County, West Virginia. He also represented Hugh M. Caperton in his landmark appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court in Caperton v. A.T. Massey Coal Company, Inc.
Mr. Stanley is a 1989 graduate of West Virginia University College of Law. He joined Reed Smith in 2000.
About Reed Smith
Reed Smith is a global relationship law firm with nearly 1,700 lawyers in 23 offices throughout the United States, Europe, Asia and the Middle East. Founded in 1877, the firm represents leading international businesses, from Fortune 100 corporations to mid-market and emerging enterprises. Its lawyers provide litigation and other dispute resolution services in multi-jurisdictional and other high-stakes matters; deliver regulatory counsel; and execute the full range of strategic domestic and cross-border transactions. Reed Smith is a preeminent advisor to industries including financial services, life sciences, health care, advertising, technology and media, shipping, energy and natural resources, real estate, manufacturing, and education. For more information, visit reedsmith.com.
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