HarrisMartin's Dialysis Injury Litigation Conference: GranuFlo and NaturaLyte Speaker Profiles

EDUCATION
Mississippi College School of Law, J.D.
The Citadel, The Military College of South Carolina, B.A.
United States Naval War College


Practice Areas:
Mass-Torts (Pharmaceutical)
Class Actions (Consumer Litigation)
Personal Injury
Litigation Percentage:
98% of Practice Devoted to Litigation


Bar Admissions:
Alabama
Florida


Court Admissions
U.S. District Court Northern District of Florida
U.S. District Court Middle District of Florida
U.S. Army Court of Criminal Appeals
U.S. Court of Appeals 11th Circuit
Foreign Legal Consultant, The Law Society of Upper Canada


Professional Affiliations and Memberships
Judicial Nominating Commission, Florida First Judicial Circuit
American Association for Justice, Co-chair of the VIOXX / Cox-2 Litigation Group
Florida Justice Association, Board of Directors, member at large
Escambia / Santa Rosa County Bar Association
First Judicial Circuit Trial Lawyers Association
The American Trial Lawyers Association


NOTEWORTHY VERDICTS AND SETTLEMENTS:
2010: $41.5 million confidential settlement of consumer class action
2010: $5.75 million pharmaceutical products liability
2009: $1.36 million pharmaceutical products liability settlement
2008: $3.75 million pharmaceutical products liability
2007: $1.2 million for client involved in an automobile collision; multiple injuries including the non-paralyzing fracture of a cervical vertebra
2007: $102 million co-lead trial counsel in consumer class action
2006: $2.7 million for pharmaceutical, products liability case
2006: $98 million working with national co-lead counsel in securities class action
2005: $2.8 million for pharmaceutical, products liability case


PUBLISHED OPINIONS AND REPRESENTATIVE CASES:
United States of America v. Hammond, 371 F.3d 776 (11th Cir. 2000); Lead Trial Counsel In re: High Sulfur Content Gasoline Products Liability Litigation, 344 F.Supp.2d 755; Appointed by United States District Court Judge, Elden Fallon, to lead all claims as a member of the Plaintiffs Steering Committee and Co-Lead Trial Counsel In re: Bextra and Celebrex Marketing, Sales Practices and Product Liability Litigation, 391 F.Supp.2d 1377; Appointed by United States District Court Judge, Charles Breyer, to lead all claims as a member of the Plaintiffs Steering Committee and Co-Chair of the Discovery Committee


Honors, Awards and Accomplishments
Selected “Top 100 Trial Lawyers” by The American Trial Lawyers Association
New York City Trial Advocacy Award;
Various Military Awards and Distinction including the Navy Achievement Medal, Distinguished

In 1969, Vance volunteered for the U.S. Army and ultimately attained the rank of First Lieutenant. He is a 1972 graduate of the LSU Law School where he served on the Law Review and as the legal research assistant to Professor George Pugh. Subsequently, Vance served as the law clerk for the Honorable Justice Al Tate of the Louisiana Supreme Court (who subsequently served on the U.S. 5th Circuit Court of Appeals). Thereafter, he worked as a defense lawyer before founding the plaintiff firm today named Andrus Hood & Wagstaff, and has extensive trial experience both as plaintiff and defense counsel.

Presently, Vance serves as National Co-Lead Counsel of the Plaintiffs' Steering Committee (PSC) in "In Re: Avandia Marketing, Sales Practices and Products Liability Litigation", MDL no. 1871. He additionally serves as a PSC member, as well as a member of the PSC executive committee in "In Re: Fosamax Products Liability Litigation", MDL no. 1789. He also serves as a member of the PSC in "In Re: Kugel Mesh Hernia Patch Products Liability Litigation", MDL no. 1842.

Vance received the Alumni Award as the Outstanding Graduate from the University of Southwestern Louisiana in 1969 where he served as the Student Government President of the College of Liberal Arts and a member of Blue Key National Honor Society. At LSU Law School he published articles in the LSU Law Review, co-authored with Justice Tate, in the Tulane Law Review and published in the Louisiana Bar Journal. He has lectured extensively to the Louisiana Association of Defense Counsel, the Louisiana Trial Lawyers Association, and Mealey's National Mass Tort Conferences on Baycol, Vioxx, Fen-Phen, Breast Implants, Avandia, Kugel Mesh, Permax and Dostinex. He also twice served as Co-Chair of the national Mealey's Conference on Complex Litigation, and has spoken on mass tort matters for the Mass Torts Made Perfect seminar series.

Vance moved to Colorado in 1999 and, in 2001, became a fully certified firefighter and fought forest fires with Elk Creek Fire Department until, at age 60, he decided that it was a young man's game. He also became, at age 54, a certified ski instructor for the Vail Corporation at Breckenridge, CO.