Jerry N. Paul
Jerry Neil Paul, a founding partner of Paul & Hanley LLP, is a nationally recognized attorney focusing on personal injury and wrongful death resulting from occupationally related injuries and toxins.
He first began working with union members in 1985, when UA Local Union 250 (Steamfitters/Refrigeration Fitters/Welders) in Los Angeles asked for help on behalf of their members who were developing asbestosis. From that start, he developed a special relationship with the Pipefitters of the Western United States and has represented all 30 of the Pipefitters Locals in California. Paul & Hanley also has worked with members of California’s Boilermakers Lodge 92, Boilermakers Lodge 549, and Bricklayers Local 4. The firm also has represented union members in other allied crafts such as plasterers, electricians, insulators, and machinists.
Mr. Paul is the founding board member of the Mesothelioma Research Foundation of America, volunteering his time to raise funds for mesothelioma research. The Foundation supports the only mesothelioma research facility for USC/ Norris Medical Center. The focus of this research is the Veglin clinical trial initiative led by Dr. Parkash Gill, a board-certified oncologist and hematologist.
Jerry N. Paul was born and raised in Los Angeles, California. In 1975, Mr. Paul received a Bachelor of Science degree in Business and Accounting from California State University, Northridge to pursue his career in benefits and estate planning for Equitable Life Insurance. Mr. Paul was a member of the Teamsters Union for several years while loading and unloading United Parcel Service trucks in Los Angeles as he paid his way through college. At one point the Teamsters actually saved his job. That's when he came to clearly understand the importance and benefit of what it means to be a union brother.
While continuing his education through law school, Mr. Paul became the sole proprietor of his own insurance brokerage business. In 1979, Mr. Paul received his degree in law from the San Fernando Valley College of Law (merged in 2002 with the University of West Los Angeles (UWLA)). For approximately five years, Mr. Paul maintained both a sole proprietorship legal practice and insurance brokerage firm. In 1980, Mr. Paul was admitted to the California Bar. In 1993, Mr. Paul entered an elite group of attorneys when he was admitted to practice before the U.S. Supreme Court. Mr. Paul is also very active in the Consumer Attorneys of California where he serves on the Board of Governors.
Mr. Paul has been requested to present lectures for Union organization members and retirees. Mr. Paul's presentation topics include a discussion of the Mesothelioma Research Foundation where he advocates consumer education and support for funding mesothelioma research. Presently, Mr. Paul serves on the Board of this Foundation.
Mr. Paul maintains an active membership in the following organizations: the Consumer Attorneys of California; the Consumer Attorneys of Los Angeles, San Diego, and Ventura; and the American, California, and San Francisco Trial Lawyers Associations. Mr. Paul has been appointed as a mediator to arbitrate Manville asbestos bankruptcy claim appeals and serves as an arbitrator for the Eagle Pitcher Industry Bankruptcy Victims Trust Fund. He is a Fellow of the Pound Civil Justice Institute, an institute dedicated to the cause of promoting access to the civil justice system. Mr. Paul has also been accepted as a Life Member of the National Register of Who's Who for his work on asbestos litigation and for co-founding the Mesothelioma Research Foundation of America.