Member Accolade: Harvey Kaplan

Shook, Hardy & Bacon Partner Harvey Kaplan will be honored for Excellence in Legal Writing during the 11th Annual Burton Awards for Legal Achievement ceremony at the Library of Congress on June 14, 2010.

Kaplan’s article, “Developments in U.S. Product Liability Law and the Issues Relevant to Foreign Manufacturers,” was one of 30 that a distinguished panel of legal writing experts selected from entries submitted by the nation’s largest 1,000 law firms. Guest speakers during the awards event will include U.S. Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, author and editor Bryan Garner and CNN Worldwide Senior Analyst Jeffrey Toobin.

Kaplan prepared his winning entry as a chapter in a dispute resolution handbook, and it was then reprinted in the December 2009 issue of the Australian Product Liability Reporter. It provides a detailed overview of the American legal system for the benefit of foreign product manufacturers who need to understand how best to minimize their liability risks when exporting goods to the United States. Among other matters, the authors address the types of claims available to injured plaintiffs, potential defenses, tort reform initiatives, personal jurisdiction, and discovery issues.