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Bubalo Goode Sales & Bliss: Investing in Justice
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ast April, in true David versus Goliath fashion, Kentucky plaintiffs’ attorney Greg Bubalo scored nothing short of a major victory for the proverbial little guy. That’s when a jury in Connecticut found that Wyeth—a division of Pfizer, Inc., the world’s largest drug company—was liable for causing breast cancer in a client who had taken Prempro, a popular postmenopausal drug. Margaret Fraser, a retired school principal, recovered $4 million in damages after a three-week trial in federal court, a figure that could double once the judge in the case decides on the amount of punitive damages authorized by the jury verdict. As large as the Prempro verdict may seem, this was not the highest verdict for Bubalo, who in 2001 recovered almost $17 million in Evansville, Indiana, for a severely injured neurosurgeon. Make no mistake, the Prempro case was hard-fought on both sides and garnered national press, says Bubalo, managing partner of Bubalo Goode Sales & Bliss, a boutique Kentucky plaintiffs’ personal injury firm that’s known both locally and nationally for packing quite a punch. “But the jury found that Wyeth misrepresented the risks and benefits of Wyeth’s drug to doctors and patients,” he says. “Wyeth’s drug caused breast cancer, which my client should never have suffered.” The victory is all the more impressive considering some previous Prempro trials ended in Wyeth’s favor—despite the fact Gregory J. Bubalo and Kenneth L. Sales that breast cancer cases in the United States saw a precipitous drop once the true risks of Wyeth’s Prempro were finally revealed. But tough cases—with seemingly insurmountable odds—are de rigueur for Bubalo and his partners, who handle a wide variety of cases in addition to work regarding prescription drugs. Earlier this year, the firm, which has offices in Louisville and Lexington, Kentucky, as well as one in Boston, Massachusetts, further expanded its capabilities with the addition of new partner, Kenneth Sales, a veteran trial attorney with more than three decades of courtroom experience. “I’ve had a multi-pronged practice for well over 30 years, from asbestos litigation to products liability, personal injury and commercial litigation,” says Sales, a nationally known litigator who has worked with some of the country’s top lawyers and firms. “I’ve been involved in cases all over the United States.” Sales has recovered millions of dollars in settlement and trial for victims of asbestos exposure, often leading to deadly cancers, such as lung cancer and mesothelioma. One of his most memorable verdicts was against Ford Motor Company, in a $6.3 million recovery that
ballooned to over $9 million after being affirmed in the United States Supreme Court. Sales’ relationship with Bubalo itself stretches back more than 25 years, and the two say joining forces was something of a nobrainer. “Ken is one of the best trial lawyers in the state, and so to have him in the name and as part of the practice is a tremendous strength for us and a great match,” says Bubalo. “It’s a fortuitous alignment. We do products liability on a national level and he has done that for years.” But that’s not where Sales’ practice ends. He has defended a radio personality against a defamation claim, takes on catastrophic injury cases and handles commercial litigation. “It’s safe to say that together we’ve done every type of litigation there is,” says Bubalo. Sales’ and Bubalo’s experience in the courtroom (experience to the extent that few attorneys can claim) is the obvious asset they offer their clients. The firm’s other partners are legal heavyweights in their own right; partner Chris Goode just finished a term as president of the Fayette County Bar Association, while Paula Bliss (who headlines the Boston office and was co-counsel in trial against Wyeth in the Prempro case) has been recognized as a top lawyer under 40 and has done significant work representing victims of domestic violence and in the pharmaceutical mass-tort arena representing victims injured by defective drugs and devices. Bubalo started out his practice as a defense attorney defending doctors in malpractice claims and as corporate litigator before switching sides in 1999. “I actually served as the vice president of an insurance company for a while before I became a plaintiff’s trial lawyer,” he says. “It’s an advantage because I can think like the other side thinks. But I learned early on that to do this type of work, you really have to believe in yourself, and more importantly, you have to believe in your client.” That sense of confidence—that Sales, Bubalo and their partners are doing important work for people who otherwise would not get their shot at justice—is an undercurrent at the firm and is at the heart of what it is all about. “This hormone therapy litigation is a great example of that,” says Bubalo. “If we had not financed our client against the biggest pharmaceutical company in the world, my client would not have had her day in court. The defense fought tooth and nail, hiring some of the biggest New York based law firms in the country. For us, the ultimate challenge is to be able to invest with our clients in the justice of their cause. That’s why I get up, blessed to go to work every day.” n For more information go to www.bestlawyers.com | 7