Trial Magazine

The Lifetime Achievement Award recognizes an AAJ member of at least 20 years’ standing whose courtroom advocacy has significantly furthered the cause of justice and the association’s mission. This year, the award was presented to Bridgeport, Conn., lawyer and AAJ Past President Kathleen Nastri. She has won numerous precedent-setting verdicts, including the largest medical negligence verdict in Connecticut history at one point, for a family whose son suffered a birth injury resulting in cerebral palsy. More recently, she won a significant verdict for the family of a 5-year-old girl who drowned at the Waterbury Boys & Girls Club. She became the first female president of the Connecticut Trial Lawyers Association in 2003.

The Howard Twiggs Award recognizes a member who exemplifies AAJ Past President Howard Twiggs’s principles of professionalism, cordiality, and civility in the law and for courtroom advocacy and distinguished service to AAJ. This year’s recipient was Hamilton, N.J., attorney and AAJ Past President Bruce Stern, who represents victims of traumatic brain and spinal cord injuries and wrongful deaths. He previously chaired the Traumatic Brain Injury Litigation Group and the Motor Vehicle Collision and Highway Section. Stern is also a past president of the New Jersey Association for Justice.

The Leonard Weinglass in Defense of Civil Liberties Award, which is named after civil rights attorney Leonard Weinglass, honors an attorney or a civil rights advocate who has made a noteworthy contribution to the defense of civil rights and civil liberties by bringing, trying, or resolving a suit, or by otherwise protecting or advancing civil liberties. This year’s recipient was Roseland, N.J., attorney Beth Baldinger for her work in Ingram v. Camden County. The case, which lasted over eight years, settled in 2022 for $10 million after a four-week trial ended in a mistrial—the largest police brutality settlement in New Jersey history.

The Women Trial Lawyers Caucus Marie Lambert Award recognizes female members of AAJ who exemplify selflessness, leadership, honor, integrity, and dignity. This year’s recipient was Dallas attorney and former WTLC chair Krisi Kastl, who founded her own personal injury firm in 2006. Kastl is a former president of the Texas Women Lawyers and the Dallas Women Lawyers Association. She has successfully tried over 75 trials to jury verdict and has been a longtime advocate for women in the legal profession.

Dallas attorney Gerson Smoger received the Harry Philo Award for his outstanding contributions to the civil justice system and work that has advanced consumer safety. His firm has had many significant cases, including the U.S Supreme Court’s reversal of the 1984 Agent Orange settlement; “light” cigarette class actions; and mass tort cases involving corporate misconduct, including groundwater contamination and lead exposure. A past chair of the Legal Affairs Committee, Smoger has authored numerous briefs as part of AAJ’s amicus curiae program. He also previously chaired the Public Justice Foundation.

Dallas attorney and AAJ Past President Les Weisbrod received the Leonard M. Ring Champion of Justice Award. Presented by the Stalwarts Committee, this award honors an AAJ member of at least 10 years’ standing with outstanding integrity and character who has demonstrated Leonard Ring’s devotion to human and civil rights. Weisbrod, who has been at the forefront of national birth injury litigation for 40 years, is committed to families and children and to educating other trial lawyers to excel in representing those families. Weisbrod also provided pro bono representation for the family of the first Ebola victim in the United States. He co-founded AAJ’s Birth Trauma Litigation Group and is a founding co-chair of AAJ’s Medical Negligence Information Exchange Group.

Austin attorney and longtime civil rights advocate Gary Bledsoe was honored with the Johnnie L. Cochran, Jr. Soaring Eagles Award. The Minority Caucus presents this award to an attorney who, despite the challenges of their journey, pursues excellence and has made outstanding efforts and contributions to the legal profession in paving the way for others. Bledsoe, who has been president of the Texas NAACP since 1991, focuses his practice on public interest, civil rights, and employment law. His handling and eventual settlement of the Cedar Avenue case led to widespread changes in how police misconduct cases are handled, including the creation of a scholarship program for college-bound minority youth.

The Hall of Fame Award is presented posthumously to an AAJ member whose career made a significant and positive impact on the civil justice system. The Hall of Fame Award honors those who were active, longtime members of AAJ, as well as active members of their state trial lawyer associations. This year’s inductee was Bridgeport, Conn., attorney Michael Koskoff, who was best known for his pursuit of justice for victims of medical negligence. In one notable case, he represented a 29-year-old man who was left permanently blind and brain damaged after heart surgery at Yale-New Haven Hospital. Koskoff was also a passionate defender of civil rights and committed to fighting discrimination. He received AAJ’s Lifetime Achievement Award posthumously in 2019.