Bob Clifford Interviews Chief Justice Kilbride on WYCC

Robert Clifford was named the Best Lawyers Top 2010 Chicago Medical Malpractice Lawyer of the Year by the oldest peer-reviewed organization in the country, which featured him on the cover of their guide. Best Lawyers in America also named Mr. Clifford the Top 2009 Chicago Personal Injury Litigator of the Year based upon his particularly high ratings for his ability, professionalism and integrity. He was profiled in 2009 as the cover story of the Illinois Leading Lawyers' publication as well as the 2010 Best Lawyers' cover story in a supplement that accompanied the Chicago Tribune. Bob Clifford was profiled in a lengthy article in Chicago Magazine in March, 2011, that detailed his work in aviation law.

He was named as one of the Top 10 Attorneys who Raised the Bar Over the Last Decade in Chicago by the Law Bulletin Publishing Company. He was selected as one of the "five most respected and feared plaintiffs' attorneys in the country by Corporate Legal Times in 2004, calling him "the best of the bad." He was featured on the cover of the inaugural 2005 issue of Illinois Super Lawyers where they called him "Chicago's Most Likeable Tough Guy." The feature story headlined him as "Chicago's Most Feared Attorney – Bob Clifford is a lamb who turns into a lion when he's confronted by injustice." And he was on the cover story of the 2009 Leading Lawyers' Consumer Edition. The National Law Journal named Mr. Clifford's firm on the "Plaintiffs' Hot List: 20 Go-To Teams" in 2004 as well as in 2003. He was named one of the Top Ten Litigators in Illinois in 1999 as well as one of the nation's Top Ten Litigators of 1993 by the prestigious National Law Journal. American Lawyer Media recognized Mr. Clifford as one of the Top Ten Most Influential Lawyers in Illinois in 2000. Chicago Lawyer Magazine named Clifford Law Offices the top plaintiffs' firm in the state in its topping the charts with $100.70 million in settlements in 2009, $136.85 million in 24 settlements in 2002, and again was the leading firm in 2005 with settlements topping $86 million. Robert Clifford was singled out as the leading individual attorney with the highest total dollar figure in settlements at $77.32 million in 2002. Robert Clifford consistently garners multi-million dollar settlements and verdicts in aviation litigation, representing those injured or killed in every major commercial airline crash in the United States in the last two decades and currently representing 11 families in the Turkish Airlines crash in Amsterdam in 2009 and five families who lost loved ones in the Buffalo plane crash.

Recognized as a leader among his peers, Bob Clifford has been inducted into the nation's most prestigious legal organizations. In 2005, he was inducted into the International Society of Barristers, an honor society of outstanding trial lawyers chosen by their peers on the basis of excellence and integrity in advocacy. The Inner Circle of Advocates also invited Mr. Clifford to join its prestigious group which is comprised of outstanding trial attorneys from across the country who share their expertise and ideas. He also was elected to the American Law Institute, a group of 3,000 prominent judges, lawyers and academics from around the world who are selected on the basis of professional achievement in the law. Justice Benjamin Cardozo and Justice Learned Hand were among its early leaders. Mr. Clifford was elected to a second term in 2008 as the Illinois State Delegate to the House of Delegates of the American Bar Association (ABA). He was elected Vice President of the Chicago Bar Association and will ascend to the presidency in 2011. He is Past President of the Illinois Trial Lawyers Association and a Past President of the Chicago Inn of Court which upholds the highest of principles of the profession. He has been inducted into the prestigious American College of Trial Lawyers and the exclusive International Academy of Trial Lawyers. He has been selected to be a member of the National Judicial College, a select assembly of legal and corporate leaders from across the country dedicated to furthering the education and training of judges. Robert Clifford was selected to participate in a select group of aviation experts who advised the Rand Institute for Civil Justice, a California-based think tank, on the investigation process of the National Transportation Safety Board. Mr. Clifford also has been asked to sit on the Rand Institute's Board of Overseers. He was appointed a member of the Illinois Supreme Court Committee on Civility which was established to discover and promote appropriate ways to promote civility among Illinois lawyers. He also was elected to be a trustee of the Supreme Court Historical Society, a non-profit organization supporting historical research and publications of the Supreme Court of the United States.

Mr. Clifford endowed the first Chair on Tort Law and Social Policy to his alma mater, DePaul University College of Law. This generous gift provides for an annual symposium where academicians, lawyers and judges from across the country gather to speak on a timely topic of interest dealing with the relationship between tort law, popular culture and societal needs. He also sits on the Board of Directors of WTTW, Chicago's public television station, where he sponsors closed captioning. Robert A. Clifford is principal partner of Clifford Law Offices, a nationally recognized personal injury law firm in Chicago concentrating in aviation, transportation, personal injury, medical negligence and product liability law.

What are the risk factors for mesothelioma?

Working with asbestos is the major risk factor for mesothelioma. A history of asbestos exposure at work is reported in about 70 percent to 80 percent of all cases. However, mesothelioma has been reported in some individuals without any known exposure to asbestos.

Asbestos is the name of a group of minerals that occur naturally as masses of strong, flexible fibers that can be separated into thin threads and woven. Asbestos has been widely used in many industrial products, including cement, brake linings, roof shingles, flooring products, textiles, and insulation. If tiny asbestos particles float in the air, especially during the manufacturing process, they may be inhaled or swallowed, and can cause serious health problems. In addition to mesothelioma, exposure to asbestos increases the risk of lung cancer, asbestosis (a noncancerous, chronic lung ailment), and other cancers, such as those of the larynx and kidney.

Smoking does not appear to increase the risk of mesothelioma. However, the combination of smoking and asbestos exposure significantly increases a person's risk of developing cancer of the air passageways in the lung.

What is the prognosis for mesothelioma?

Like most cancers, the prognosis for this disease often depends on how early it is diagnosed and how aggressively it is treated. Unfortunately, mesothelioma is often found at a stage in which a cure is unobtainable. Many will succumb to the disease within one year of diagnosis.

Mesothelioma treatment options (traditional and new treatments being studied)

Treatment options are determined by the stage of mesothelioma (the extent to which the tumor has spread in the body). There are three staging systems currently in use, and each one measures somewhat different variables.

The oldest staging system and the one most often used is the Butchart system, which is based mainly on the extent of primary tumor mass and divides mesotheliomas into four stages.

Butchart system extent of primary tumor mass

•Stage I: Mesothelioma is present in the right or left pleura and may also involve the diaphragm on the same side.



•Stage II: Mesothelioma invades the chest wall or involves the esophagus, heart, or pleura on both sides. Lymph nodes in the chest may also be involved.



•Stage III: Mesothelioma has penetrated through the diaphragm into the lining of the abdominal cavity or peritoneum. Lymph nodes beyond those in the chest may also be involved.



•Stage IV: There is evidence of metastasis or spread through the bloodstream to other organs.
The more recent TNM system considers variables of tumor in mass and spread, lymph node involvement, and metastasis.

TNM system: variables of T (tumor), N (lymph nodes), and M (metastasis)

•Stage I: Mesothelioma involves right or left pleura and may also have spread to the lung, pericardium, or diaphragm on the same side. Lymph nodes are not involved.



•Stage II: Mesothelioma has spread from the pleura on one side to nearby lymph nodes next to the lung on the same side. It may also have spread into the lung, pericardium, or diaphragm on the same side.



•Stage III: Mesothelioma is now in the chest wall, muscle, ribs, heart, esophagus, or other organs in the chest on the same side with or without spread to lymph nodes on the same side as the primary tumor.



•Stage IV: Mesothelioma has spread into the lymph nodes in the chest on the side opposite the primary tumor, extended to the pleura or lung on the opposite side, or directly extended into organs in the abdominal cavity or neck. Any distant metastases is included in this stage.
The Brigham system is the latest system and stages mesothelioma according to resectability (the ability to surgically remove the tumor) and lymph node involvement.

Brigham system: variables of tumor resectability and nodal status

•Stage I: resectable mesothelioma and no lymph node involvement



•Stage II: resectable mesothelioma but with lymph node involvement



•Stage III: unresectable mesothelioma extending into chest wall, heart, or through diaphragm, peritoneum; with or without extrathoracic lymph-node involvement



•Stage IV: distant metastatic disease