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 Norman J. Watkins Member of the Firm Los Angeles Office / Orange County Office Phone | 714-937-1010 This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it  |
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Education:
• Texas Christian University, Fort Worth, Texas.
• Lycoming College, Williamsport, Pennsylvania. (B.A.)
• University of Pittsburgh, School of Law, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. (J.D.)
Professional Affiliations:
• All State and Federal Courts of California and Pennsylvania.
• Supreme Court of the United States.
• U.S. Court of Appeals, D.C. Circuit.
• Association of Southern California Defense Counsel, Amicus Committee Co-Chairman.
• American Bar Association (Tort and Insurance Law Sections).
• International Association of Defense Counsel.
• Defense Research Institute.
• American Board of Trial Advocates, Rank: Diplomate.
Professional Experience:
• Executive Director, Northwestern Pennsylvania Legal Services Association.
• Deputy Attorney General; Chief of the Civil Litigation Division, Pennsylvania Department of Justice, Civil Litigation Division, jury and bench trials and appeals in both federal and state courts; successful arguments before the Supreme Court of the United States, various Circuit Courts of Appeal and State Supreme and Intermediate Appellate courts.
• Member, Lynberg & Watkins.
• Conducted more than 100 Federal and State jury trials in various jurisdictions, including Southern and Northern California, Michigan, Texas, Arizona and Pennsylvania.
• Argued numerous appeals in both state and federal courts of appeal, including the 3rd, 9th and D.C. Circuits, as well as in the Supreme Court of the United States.
• Instructor, National Institute of Trial Advocacy.
• Judge, American Board of Trial Advocates trial academy.
Practice Areas:
Civil trials and appeals involving: civil rights, employer liability, toxic tort bad faith defense, professional malpractice, police liability, product liability, construction defect and commercial hauler (trucking) liability.
Publications:
"Kremens v. Bartley, The Case For The State," 27 Hospital and Community Psychiatry 706.
"Defending Multi-Plaintiff Toxic Tort Cases," 26 For the Defense 12.
"Voir Dire: The Defense Perspective”, Advocate (Consumer Attorneys Association of Los Angeles publication).
“An Approach to Cross-Examination of an Expert”, For the Defense (Defense Research Institute publication).
“Negotiating the Complex Case”, For the Defense (Defense Research Institute publication).
Reported Cases:
Supreme Court of the United States —
Kremens v. Bartley, 97 S.Ct. 1709.
Beal v. Doe, 97 S.Ct. 2366.
Secretary of Public Welfare v. Institutionalized Juveniles, 99 S.Ct.
2523.
O'Bannon v. Town Court, 100 S.Ct. 2467 [Retained as Special Deputy Attorney General of Pennsylvania for Argument and Briefing].
Pennhurst State School and Hospital v. Haldermann, 101 S.Ct. 1531 [Retained as Special Deputy Attorney General of Pennsylvania for Briefing].
Courts of Appeal —
O'Burn v. Shapp, 521 F.2d 142.
Commonwealth of Pennsylvania v. Kleppe, 533 F.2d 668.
Erie Human Relations v. Tullio, 493 F.2d 371.
Tulco v. Ciba-Geigy, 191 Cal.App.3d 116.
Bardzik v. County of Orange, 635 F.3d 1138 (9th Cir. 2011)
State Supreme Court —
Pocono Pines Corp. v. Pennsylvania, 464 Pa. 17.
Freach v. Pennsylvania, 354 A.2d 492.
Seminars:
Children's Institutions/Community Care, Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs, Princeton University (Princeton, N.J.) Atlantic States Conference National Association of State Mental Health Directors (Washington, D.C.) Public Television: "Bad Faith And The Insurance/Litigation Crisis."
Other Professional Activities:
Individually AV-rated by Martindale-Hubbell.
Invited Witness, Hearings on S. 3296 before the Subcommittee on Administrative Practice and Procedure of the Senate Committee on the Judiciary, 94th Cong. 2nd Sess. 56, pp. 56-63 (U.S. Government Printing Office).
Named in 2011 as one of Southern California’s SUPER LAWYERS