We have the honor of working alongside some great attorneys and firms in each case that we are involved in.  Below is a case highlight we wanted to share because it’s a perfect example of how that collaboration can be so beneficial.

Paul recently testified in LA Superior Court (Santa Monica) in the case of Danielle Sinclair Laws v. Andrew Hsiao Chen.  After hearing all the testimony, the jury came back with an award of $21,657,000. 

Paul was hired on behalf of Ms. Laws by the firm of Carpenter, Zuckerman & Rowley in Beverly Hills.  Ms. Laws had moved to Los Angeles from London on an 0-1 visa, which was granted on the basis of extraordinary achievement as a professional fitness model.  She was working as a personal trainer and fitness model when she was severely injured in an automobile accident. 

As a result of her injuries, Paul testified that she would have a significantly reduced earning capacity for the remainder of her worklife.  Combined with the other damages in the case, the jury concluded that this substantial award was appropriate for Ms. Laws.

This was a particularly challenging case from the standpoint of proving future loss of earnings, since Ms. Laws was in a non-traditional career, and was just in the beginning stages of establishing herself.  Because there were so many unknowns in regards to the degree of success that she would achieve in her modeling career, Paul took an alternate approach.  Potential future earnings were instead calculated based on what she could reasonably achieve as a fitness trainer, since reliable data was available for this occupation, and it was something that she had already been doing.  Nevertheless, due to her young age, the difference in earnings over her the worklife, due to her injuries, resulted in a significant future loss.  This provided a substantial component of the overall award.