Lawdragon 500 List: Motley and Flowers selected as 2012 Leading Lawyers
The seventh annual edition of national legal publication Lawdragon™ has named Motley Rice co-founding member Ronald L. Motley (SC) and Motley Rice member Jodi Westbrook Flowers (SC) to its 2012 500 Leading Lawyers in America list for their work in the plaintiffs' bar, placing them in the company of those The Lawdragon 500 calls "the very best of the legal profession."
A recipient of the American Association for Justice Lifetime Achievement Award whose career spans more than four decades, Motley has a tradition of pursuing complex and often high-profile civil litigation that others will not approach. He achieved one of the first litigation victories against the asbestos industry and has also been lauded for spearheading the historic litigation against the tobacco industry that resulted in the Master Settlement Agreement, the largest civil settlement in U.S. history in which the tobacco industry agreed to reimburse states for smoking-related health care costs. In 2002, as the leader of the firm's Anti-Terrorism and Human Rights practice group, he advanced litigation as lead counsel for the 9/11 Families United to Bankrupt Terrorism, 6,500 9/11 family members, survivors and victims seeking to bankrupt and hold accountable Qaeda's material sponsors, as well as the landmark case of Oran Almog v. Arab Bank against the financial sponsors of Israeli terrorist organizations. He continues to play a role in each of the firm's diverse practice areas. Motley has been selected for inclusion in each addition of the The Lawdragon 500 since its inception in 2005.
Since her involvement in the historic tobacco litigation, during which time she held a central role in preparing the false-marketing and child targeting case that resulted in restrictions on cartoon advertising and the retirement of Joe Camel, Flowers has developed a diverse practice. She co-leads Motley Rice's Anti-Terrorism and Human Rights team and currently serves on the Plaintiffs' Executive Committee for the anti-terrorism litigation filed by the 9/11 Families United to Bankrupt Terrorism. Flowers also litigates a variety of other anti-terrorism cases regarding the state-sponsorship of international terrorism, as well as ATS litigation involving violations of international law and human rights abuses. Using her experience in complex case resolution, she served as the lead negotiator in the last hold-out of the individual cases against Libya for the Lockerbie bombing of Pan Am Flight 103. Additionally, she has worked on toxic environmental cases in the Virgin islands involving leaking gas tanks and is currently helping clients in Florida and other Gulf Coast areas with their BP oil spill settlement claims. This is Flowers' third consecutive year being recognized by Lawdragon.
The Lawdragon™ 500 list is created through an extensive selection process that combines peer review and editorial research to evaluate more than 25,000 lawyers, creating, according to Lawdragon, Inc., "the most elite guide in the profession."