Wednesday, April 12, 2006
Page 3
Local Attorney Inducted into Trial Lawyers Group
By JIM RIGGIO, Staff Writer
An El Segundo attorney has been inducted into the International Academy of Trial Lawyers.
Jacques Soiret, 63, of Kirtland & Packard was among a handful of lawyers whose admission to the select group was recognized last week at its annual meeting in Washington D.C. Membership is limited to 500 members from the United States and 100 from the rest of the world.
“It’s a tremendous honor to be inducted into the international academy,” Soiret told the MetNews yesterday. “It’s an exclusive group of trial lawyers. They’ve had some of the most famous in the world. I’m humbled.”
In order to obtain lifetime membership to the IATL, inductees undergo a difficult evaluation process that includes many recommendations from both attorneys and judicial officers.
“The nominating process is secret. The nominee doesn’t know about it,’’ Soiret said. “They send out letters to lawyers you’ve appeared against, and they send out letters to all federal and state judges in your jurisdiction.”
The four-day annual meeting was hosted by Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia and also featured Chief Justice John Roberts, Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Arlen Specter, R-Pa., as well as Senators Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., and Joseph Biden, D-Del.
Another honoree also has strong local ties. Barry A. MacBan grew up in Pacific Palisades before going on to Arizona State University and a successful career as a trial lawyer in Tucson.
McBan, 58, who graduated from Palisades High School in 1965, said he felt honored to be put in an elite class. He specializes in personal injury and wrongful death cases.
“The organization is run by the top 1 percent of the trial bar in the U.S. and Europe,’’ McBan said. “It’s an international academy. They are the best of the best. I’m very humbled.”
Copyright 2006, Metropolitan News Company