Assuming the Risk: The Mavericks, the Lawyers, & the Whistle-Blowers Who Beat Big Tobacco

Michael Orey begins his thorough examination of the courtroom battles against big tobacco by examining Horton v. American Tobacco, the Mississippi case that launched the mid-1980s barrage of legal attacks on big tobacco and led eventually to U.S. settlements of more than $200 billion. As they read about the assault on Brown and Williamson, cinema buffs may feel they are revisiting The Insider with Al Pacino. The book combines a walk-through of the day-to-day legal procedures and motions with a look into the lives of the major players. This well-written volume presents the tobacco case like an engrossing true-crime story, although some readers may find it has too much detail to hold their interest. We [...] recommend this fascinating book to most general readers. But while executives searching for principles to apply to their own companies may find themselves captivated, they won't find much here that is generally applicable.

It may seem paradoxical to most that for trial lawyers are not afraid to lose a case. Every trial is a learning experience. You learn about your opponent; you learn about yourself. You try a losing case over and over in your head at night. You learn from your mistakes. You learn from the opposing lawyer. You become obsessed and through it all you learn how to win.This is the true story of some country lawyers in Mississippi who launched a holy war against Big Tobacco. They were unlikely Davids battling a Goliath. The country lawyers looked like easy pickings to the big firm lawyers from the big cities. The silk stocking crowd would bury them in paper, bankrupt them in endless discovery, and outdazzle them in court, if the bumpkins ever got that far. These champions of nicotine had never lost a case. The clients had never paid one dime to any tobacco victim. They were the chosen ones, selected to keep the streak alive, to bring home the scalps of the piteous Mississippi lawyers. Trial lawyers know that a lawyer who has never lost a case has never tried a case. Undeterred by the myth of invincibility of the tobacco industry these dreamers were able to use the industry's incredible arrogance on itself to bring it to its knees. In short, the truth got out, and the rest is history.If you are a law student or a young lawyer thinking about trying cases for a living, read this book. This is how its done and how you can sleep at night.

What an interesting recording how Lawyers violate their own standards of conduct just to win. The book shows how documents about Tobacco were stolen and then how the person who stole them was paid $1.8 million by the very Lawyers he helped to win billions for in fees. Yet, I wondered what those same Lawyers would have the same tactics used against them, how they would feel. But the cause was to show that smoking Cigarettes is evil and not good for our health, yet we already knew this and making the companies admit it was a victory. So in the end whenever someone is being sued and if we applaud those breaking ethics and the laws in pursuit for justice, then we encourage bad behavior. In the end when we celebrate this kind of action how far can murder, threats of murder and destruction's of families will be justified in pursuit of justice? Billions have been made, billions have been won, but by whom and for whom? No one should be proud of their actions as described in the book and if they are they can wonder later what will happen when others use the same tactics are them. What is tragic is Society knew shortly after the Native Americans gave Tobacco to Columbus that it was deadly, but people wanted it, and used it, so the governments created Sin Taxes to help discourage it. It did not work back then and it will not work now. People will be free to do what they want and nothing will stop it. At the same time, no one should begin to smoke or smoke but how do you stop it. The book is a great read. I recommend it highly but read it without smoking if you can!