Thomas V. Girardi

"Although Bryan got badly hurt, the truth of the matter is, he's helped a lot of people," Girardi said of his client Bryan Stow who was savagely beaten by two fans at Dodgers Stadium in 2011. In July 2014, a Los Angeles jury awarded Stow $17.9 million dollars.

According to Girardi the case was close throughout. "The guys who beat him up are the two felons, not the Dodgers. And so when you start assessing fault in a situation like that, you say, hey, wait a minute, what is the Dodgers problem here?" In 2011, the Dodgers chose not to have uniformed police officers or guards in towers throughout the parking lot, measures that could have prevented the attack on Stow, Girardi said. At trial, Girardi was able to show the jury that without those cuts in security at Dodgers Stadium Stow's serious injuries could have been avoided. Stow v. Los Angeles Dodgers LLC et al., BC462127 (L.A. County Sup. Ct., filed May 24, 2011).

Since the verdict, sports venues across the nation have beefed up security, and Major League Baseball has new security guidelines in place for the 2015 season. "That's the great part about being a trial lawyer," Girardi said. "You can definitely help sometimes, to clear up a problem, so that maybe it won't hurt other people."

- HETERT-QEBU WALTERS