Jan Schlichtmann
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Jan Richard Schlichtmann (19 March 1951—) is an American attorney specializing in personal injury law and toxic torts. He was educated at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, B.A., and Cornell University, J.D., and was admitted to the bar in 1977.
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[edit] Legal career
Schlichtmann became famous in the 1980s as a result of his lawsuit against W. R. Grace and Beatrice Co., which alleged that chemicals from these companies had contaminated drinking water in a small town north of Boston (Woburn, Massachusetts). Extensive tests by Schlichtmann's experts and by the EPA allegedly showed that defendants W. R. Grace and Beatrice Co. had polluted Woburn's water with dangerous levels of various carcinogenic chemicals.[citation needed]
The contamination is alleged to have resulted in the deaths of children from leukemia. This civil action case, often referred to as "Woburn," was chronicled in the 1995 book A Civil Action by Jonathan Harr, which in turn was made into a film starring John Travolta as Schlichtmann.
Schlichtmann has continued in his practice of the law, with a focus on toxic torts and consumer protection. Scott Dullea is an associate that works at Schlichtmann's firm. He is currently engaged in a legal battle with a debt collection agency known as "The Cadle Company." Schlichtmann is also representing families from Wilmington Massachusetts in a case that resembles his representation of the families from Woburn.
He is currently working with Bob Ackley, a gas specialist, in an effort to save the urban forest from natural gas leaks.
[edit] Legal Broadcast Network
Jan Schlichtmann co-founded The Legal Broadcast Network with Mark Wahlstrom in 2005. LBN is a blogging and podcasting site of interest to trial lawyers and consumers interested in various aspects of trial law and settlement issues. In 2007 he also founded The Civil Action Center as a means of educating attorneys and citizens about alternatives to litigation, means of empowering consumers and discussion of environmental law.
