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Law school to host national punitive damages symposium
Nationally-recognized legal scholars, judges and lawyers to speak

CHARLESTON, S.C., Aug. 29, 3007 -- The Charleston School of Law will host a major national one-day symposium next week that explores implications of a recent U.S. Supreme Court ruling on damages awarded to punish wrongdoers.

The conference, which starts at 8:30 a.m. Friday, Sept. 7, will be held in the Charleston Museum auditorium on Meeting Street. It will be the first major gathering of national legal scholars since a major February 2007 ruling on punitive damages in Philip Morris USA v. Williams.

"In the continuing debate over civil justice reform, punitive damages remain a hot-button issue," said symposium chair Sheila Scheuerman, an associate professor of law at the Charleston School of Law. "This symposium brings together nationally-recognized legal scholars, lawyers and judges to discuss recent landmark Supreme Court cases and major changes in the law and practice on punitive damages."

In layman's terms, punitive damages are awarded in civil cases to punish and deter wrongdoers. They require that the defendant's conduct be shown in court to be "reprehensible" to justify an award of monetary punitive damages.

The symposium will feature five panel discussions ranging from "The Theory of Punitive Damages" to "Philip Morris v. Williams At The Trial Level: Jury Decision Making and Trial Strategy." More than a dozen distinguished panelists will participate, including:

  • Robin Conrad of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce;
  • Theodore Eisenberg of Cornell University Law School;
  • Robert S. Peck of the Center for Constitutional Litigation;
  • Neil Vidmar of Duke Law School;
  • Edward J. Westbrook of Charleston, who practices with Richardson, Patrick, Westbrook & Brickman, LLC; and
  • The Hon.William W. Wilkins, Jr., of Greenville, a judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit.

For more information on the symposium, including details on costs, CLE credits and a schedule, go online to:
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