U.S. District Judge David Herndon will be inducted into The Trial Lawyer Hall of Fame in April at the Mass Torts Made Perfect (MTMP) conference in Las Vegas, alongside American Association for Justice president Linda Lipsen.
Attorneys Mark Lanier of Houston, Harvey Weitz of New York and Peter Perlman of Lexington, Ken. also will be honored at the upcoming annual conference.
“They primarily induct lawyers and a judge or two each year,” Herndon told Record. “It seems they select people they believe have shown excellency in their field.”
Herndon said he has had several close friends and colleagues that have been inducted into the Hall of Fame in the past and is honored to be inducted along with them.
“It came as quite a surprise,” Herndon said. “It’s a nice honor they’ve recognized my work as a judge.”
MTMP is a bi-annual conference that is held each spring and fall and geared towards people working in the field of plaintiff mass torts and personal injury litigations.
According to MTMP’s website, “The conferences are the largest plaintiff mass torts gatherings in the world, with more than 1,000 participants (from 450 law firms) at each event.”
Herndon does not see any conflict of interest for a pro-plaintiff group to honor an acting judge.
“Anybody who knows my work know I am not biased towards either side,” Herndon said.
Herndon also pointed out that many acting judges have been inducted in the past.
He went on to say that although the honor is a nice one, it won’t effect his career as a judge.
In order to be nominated for induction, the trial lawyer or judge must have 30 plus years of experience, be at least 60 years of age and among several other criteria, “have left an indelible mark on the American legal tradition through a lifetime of service to the American public, the Constitution, and the American trial bar,” the Hall of Fame website states.
The nominees are voted on by the publisher of The Trial Lawyer Magazine, immediate past president, current president, president-elect and chairman of the executive committee of The National Trial Lawyers association, and five living members of The Trial Lawyer Hall of Fame, the website also states.
Herndon served as an associate judge in Madison County. He was nominated as District Judge by President Clinton and confirmed by the United States Senate in 1998. He was named as Chief Judge in 2007.
The conference will be held April 26-28 at the Wynn Hotel.