Upholding his promise to develop and promote growth within the plaintiff attorney community, Shawn Khorrami and firm, will host the CAALA New Lawyers Meeting at 6.00 pm on Tuesday, August 17. Open to all CAALA members, Shawn will lead the meeting with a discuss on handling class action cases. Drinks and a light dinner will be available to attendees.
For more information on the meeting, and to RSVP, visit the CAALA website.
Shawn Khorrami and KPA generously donated funds to the Los Angeles County Bar Foundation to support their efforts in providing legal services to Los Angeles residents.
For more information on the Los Angeles County Bar Foundation, and to make a donation, visit: http://www.lacbf.org
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In the last few days, it has been revealed that at least one member of the Avandia FDA Advisory Committee has been contracted as a paid speaker for Avandia manufacturer, GlaxoSmithKline. Endocrinologist David Capuzzi did not promote GSK's Avandia, but has spoken on behalf of GSK's dietary supplement, Lovaza. Capuzzi voted for Avandia to be left on the market.
A different panel member also revealed he was paid to speak for Takeda, who produces Avandia's rival pharmaceutical, Actos. Abraham Thomas has not had a professional relationship with Takeda since September 2008. Advisory panel members are only required to report all financial relationships within the past 12 months, and since Thomas' relationship does not fall within this time line, there has yet to be an issue determined with his position on the panel. Thomas voted for Avandia to be pulled from the market.
The FDA is looking into the GSK/Capuzzi conflict-of-interest relationship, and will report their findings and possible courses of action to be taken at the end of this week.
Shawn Khorrami was quoted in today's issue of the Daily Journal article "Doctors Split on Pulling Diabetes Drug."
The article provides a recap of the recent decision by an FDA advisory panel to not pull the type II diabetes medication off of the market, despite warnings from doctors and scientists. "We've heard there's at least some agreement between scientists out there that it shouldn't be on the market," Shawn said.
Shawn and KPA are responsible for approximately 600 individuals who were harmed by Avandia. Discovery in these cases is currently ongoing and Shawn is hopeful of these cases being resolved shortly.
Q. What are your hobbies? A. Flying airplanes, swimming, learning, and travel.
Q. What is the last book you read? A. Practical Aviation Law
Q. Favorite musical artist or band? A. Colbie Caillat and anything Mozart or Beethoven.
Q. What is your ideal Sunday afternoon? A. Anything active, or reading outside with a cup of coffee.
Q. Drink of choice to get you through the day? A. That is simple, Venti Skinny Vanilla Latté.
Q. Biggest fear? A. Flying into a Thunderstorm.
Q. What is your biggest inspiration to help our clients? A. To help people who have been wronged, and set it right.
Q. Charity of choice? Why? A. Ronald McDonald House. The work and support they provide for families with ill children is amazing. I've done some work with their local chapter over the last year, and meeting and spending time with the families has made me realize how important it is to give back. It is incredible to witness how the littlest effort can make the biggest difference to someone.
Q. Where did you grow up? A. Archbold, Ohio
Q. If there is one thing you could do to change the world what would it be? A. Help everyone realize they have the right and ability to pursue higher education.
Q. Favorite lunch restaurant? Why? A. Wolfgang, eat there and you will know why.
Q. How does a day in the office look like for an intake supervisor? A. Hectic and full of surprises.
Q. Tell us something interesting about your job. A. I review some pretty interesting new cases; and in doing so, I learn a lot about several issues that I would not otherwise be exposed to.
Q. What do you find most challenging about your job? A. Finding enough time in the day.
Q. What do you love the most about your job? A. I get to work with a great team, and an amazing firm.
As Supervisor of the Intake Department, Anthony directs the team in charge of collecting client information pertaining to potential claims, which are then transferred to KPA attorneys for review. Retainer agreements and other pre-litigation correspondence are generated and managed by Anthony and the Intake Department.
Anthony has a Bachelors degree in Aviation Administration from Utah Valley University. Anthony graduated from ATP flight school in Mesa, Arizona with several FAA pilot certificates including Multi-Engine Commercial Pilot. He is also a Captain in the Civil Air Patrol, a civil division of the United States Air Force, where he is currently a search and rescue pilot. Anthony has been with the firm for over a year.
According to an article in today's LA Times, next week the FDA has scheduled a two-day meeting to determine the future of the popular diabetes pill, Avandia.
The GlaxoSmithKline pharmaceutical, which is still on the market, has been linked to dangerous side-effects such as heart attack and death. Consumers who have been affected by the drug are getting closer to receiving compensation for their damages, but the fight is still far from over.
This highly controversial pharmaceutical treats type II diabetes, which affects nearly 20 million Americans. Studies by such organizations as the Journal of the American Medical Association are reporting on dangers of increased chances of cardiovascular threats from using Avandia over other diabetes drugs.
Guest post from KPA litigation support clerk, Andrew Wei:
The number of law school applications this year has increased to reach record highs, as unemployed college graduates, as well as laid-off professionals, flock towards what has been traditionally, a glamorous career. Yet, major news publications are preaching doom upon the decline of the legal industry, bemoaning the shortage in the hiring of new attorneys, due to the current economic downturn. Regardless of these warnings, I have chosen to attend law school this upcoming fall.
As a litigation support clerk here at Khorrami Pollard & Abir, I interact directly with our clients, working with their very real problems. Since we are a plaintiff’s firm, our clients are often pitted against corporate giants in personal injury or wrongful death lawsuits. Many have had serious health complications, or are dealing with the losses of loved ones. As such, they have no voice of their own to seek justice for themselves. The services the attorneys provide here leave me inspired and challenged to see what I can do with a law degree of my own.
At KPA, I have gained a better understanding of the practice of law outside of Ally McBeal or Law and Order. Despite the financial insecurity of attending law school in this economy, I know now that practicing law is how I want to spend my professional career, wherever I eventually end up.
Guest post from KPA law clerk, Greg Cragg:
In the early hours of New Year’s Day 2009, BART police officer Johannes Mehserle shot and killed Oscar Grant, who had been involved in a fight and was resisting arrest while prostate on the ground. Immediately after the shooting, Mehserle and his partner began to confiscate cell phones, cameras, and video tapes, many of which have still not been returned to their owners. After the public release of many of these recordings and a public outcry culminating in riots, Mehserle was charged with murder in the first degree. Opening arguments began June 10, 2010.Some of the videos and pictures, including a picture taken by Grant on his cell phone, have been crucial in this case. The circumstances of this case have drawn parallels to Rodney King’s beating, which was another police brutality case caught on camera. As catalogued on several blogs, notably Carlos Miller’s “Photography is Not a Crime,” many police departments across the country routinely harass witnesses recording public police activities, although usually without any legal basis to do so. However, in California and eleven other states, the police have used anti-eavesdropping and anti-wiretapping laws to legally arrest civilians who have recorded police officers performing their official duties in public. See, e.g., Cal. Penal Code § 632. Arresting civilians filming police officers in public is detrimental both to police officers and to the public.
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