NextGEN Law: Andrew S. Herring, Cory Watson PC - Birmingham Business Journal - Birmingham Business Journal

Practice area(s): Personal Injury, Product Liability, Motor Vehicle Accidents, Civil Litigation

Years Practicing: 11

Law school: Cumberland School of Law

Why did you decide to be a lawyer? I originally went to college as a pre-med student. I had never considered being an attorney and had no family or close friends whose parents were attorneys. During college, I became close friends with several people who educated me on the impact that lawyers can have on society through direct advocacy, influencing legislation, and pro bono activity. As I learned more about the legal field, I decided that I could make a more profound impact as an attorney so I changed majors attended law school at Cumberland.

What project/client/case has most influenced your career and why? The case that had the most impact on my career occurred while I was a prosecutor. I was preparing for trial on an attempted murder case which involved a teenager who was shot and paralyzed from the neck down. There were several witnesses to the shooting, however, none were willing to come and testify due to their fear of the perpetrator. After working for months to convince any of the individuals to come forward, I finally had one brave young woman appear at trial. Her simple and courageous act of showing up prompted a plea in the case and the young victim received some measure of justice for a senseless and life-altering act of violence.

Who has been somebody that has inspired your legal career (real or fictional)? My late father-in-law, Bo Landrum, dramatically impacted my legal career. He was the executive director of the Birmingham Bar Association when I finished law school and began practicing in Birmingham. I met my future wife and only after dating for quite some time did she inform me of the connection. Bo provided tremendous guidance in my career and helped me establish many of the professional connections that I maintain today. I owe a great deal of my success and understanding of the profession to him.

What is the biggest misconception that people have about lawyers from TV/movies? There are two that come to mind most often. One is that an issue can arise and be resolved through a trial within an extremely limited amount of time. If a case goes all the way through the trial process, it is often years before a trial occurs. The second is what I call the “Matlock Moment” during a trial where a witness shockingly and dramatically admits the most critical issue in a case. The discovery process reveals most, if not all, significant issues in any case and (usually) the biggest surprise at trial is how evidence is presented as opposed to what the evidence is.

What is on top of your career bucket list? I have always wanted to conduct oral arguments before a state supreme court or the United States Supreme Court.

What is the hot topic in your practice area? Right now, personal jurisdiction is a trending topic. The U.S. Supreme Court recently issued the Ford opinion which re-shaped how courts can establish personal jurisdiction over an out of state or foreign corporation. A large portion of commerce is conducted through the internet with companies which are hundreds or thousands of miles away from the ultimate user of a product. This is especially important in product liability cases where an individual is injured, and the manufacturer or distributor of the defective product is located overseas. It helps to level the playing field between individual consumers and large multinational corporations.

What is your favorite thing about being an attorney? I have always found the ability to help people to be the most rewarding. Throughout my career, I have been able to help ordinary people who have been victims of criminal acts, injured through no fault of their own, and harassed by predatory debt collectors. Being an attorney allows me to give guidance and help to people who would otherwise suffer unnecessarily.

How has Covid-19 affected your practice? The pandemic has drastically changed how litigation is conducted, mostly for the better. Covid forced the courts and practitioners to adapt to using technology to conduct hearings, depositions, mediations, and even parts of trials through the use of video conferencing. Many lawyers practice throughout the State of Alabama and some practice in multiple states. Adopting video conferencing has cut down on travel time and expenses and has allowed litigation to continue in spite of the many dangers posed by in-person meetings. While I believe we will eventually return to conducing more business in-person, the use of technology and remote work is here to stay.

What is your favorite legal TV/movie? I really enjoy the film Class Action starring Gene Hackman. While there are liberties taken for dramatic effect, many of the themes in the movie are realistic. The basic premise is that Gene Hackman is a plaintiff’s lawyer who files a lawsuit against an automobile manufacturer which designed and built cars which are likely to explode in a collision. During the discovery process, Hackman learns that the auto manufacturer made a business decision to simply pay individuals that are injured or killed by the flawed design as opposed to redesigning or repairing the cars to fix the defect. This scenario occurs in real life when companies decide whether to issue a product recall and is very similar to the lawsuits over the flawed design of the Ford Pinto and its exploding fuel tank.

If you could make any change to improve metro Birmingham, what would it be? I would like to have a dramatic reduction in violent crime in our area. As a prosecutor, I saw far too many instances of violence over seemingly trivial issues. An expansion of mental health resources, substance abuse providers, counseling, and community awareness of available jobs and training programs could result in a dramatic reduction of violent behavior in our community.

source: https://www.bizjournals.com/birmingham/news/2021/12/01/nextgen-in-law-andrew-s-herring.html

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