Ronald L. M. Goldman retired after 60 years in the practice of law on January 10, 2023. He held the positions of vice president and senior trial attorney at Baum Hedlund & Aristei & Goldman (now Wisner Baum) and was a pillar of Baum Hedlund for 19 years. We marked his retirement with this special commemorative article.
While practicing, Ron was a skilled trial lawyer and board-certified by the National Board of Trial Advocacy as a Civil Pretrial Practice Advocate and Civil Trial Advocate, Senior Specialist. For 18 years, Ron served as a senior shareholder, board member, vice-president, secretary and senior trial counsel for Baum Hedlund Aristei & Goldman. He transitioned to “of counsel” status in July 2022. Ron handled a wide variety of sophisticated litigation at both the trial and appellate levels, and litigated hundreds of cases involving personal injury and wrongful death related to commercial transportation liability and to drug product liability.
Ronald F. Phillips
Vice Chancellor & School of Law Dean Emeritus
Pepperdine University
He successfully led our firm’s transportation department, litigating and overseeing hundreds of cases stemming from aviation disasters and commercial ground transportation accidents. Ron taught for 21 years at Pepperdine School of Law as an adjunct Law Professor, where he created and taught the course on Aviation Accident Law. He also taught courses in Torts, Insurance Law, Legal Writing, and Analysis.
In 1969 Ron handled his first aviation case and has continued handling aviation cases ever since, in accidents such as the 1972 British European Airways crash near London; the 1978 Pacific Southwest Airlines Flight 182/Cessna 172 Midair Collision at San Diego, California; the 1986 Aero Mexico Flight 498/Piper Midair Collision at Cerritos, California; and the 2000 Southwest Airlines runway accident at Burbank, California. He also handled the September 11, 2001 aviation (passenger) tort litigation in which he also served on the Plaintiffs’ Executive Committee. Since joining the firm in 2003 he has worked on all of the firm’s general aviation and airline disaster cases.
He was the lead negotiator in one of the firm’s most significant aviation litigation achievements. He won, as part of the settlement in the January 8, 2003, Air Midwest Flight 5481 crash in Charlotte, NC, the agreement of the airline and maintenance company, in an organized ceremony, to deliver an unprecedented official public apology to the families for the crash. Three years later Ron appeared in a dramatic reenactment of the crash, its subsequent investigation, and the ultimate public apology, which aired on National Geographic Television.
Ron’s expertise extends far beyond aviation into many forms of commercial transportation accidents. Due to his experience with train accident cases, he was chosen as a member of the Plaintiffs’ Steering Committee for the 2008 Chatsworth Metrolink train collision in California, which is the deadliest train accident in Metrolink’s history. He also litigated the fatal 2012 Coal Train Derailment in Ellicott City, Maryland.
Ron was involved in ground-breaking pharmaceutical litigation which helped pave the way for the drug product liability litigation lawyers are facing today. In the 1960s he was actively involved in exposing Richardson-Merrell’s (later known as Marion Merrell Dow) cholesterol-lowering drug, MER/29 (triparanol), which was blamed for severe side effects and birth defects. The company was ultimately indicted for supplying the FDA with falsified information about the drug.
While at our firm, Ron maintained an AV® Preeminent™ Peer Review lawyer rating through Martindale Hubbell and was listed in the Bar Register of Preeminent Lawyers, and The Best Lawyers in America® 2013-2022 (Copyright by Woodward/White, Inc., of Aiken, SC). He was also published in Million Dollar Verdicts by the Masters and was listed in Southern California Super Lawyers® from 2005 to 2022. As lead trial counsel, Ron won one of the largest verdicts of its type in Ohio’s history in December of 2006. The case concerned an unmarried person who died in a Tyson Foods truck crash. The case, Brumfield v. Tyson Foods, Inc., N.D. Ohio Case No. 1:05CV847, before Judge Donald C. Nugent, resulted in a jury verdict of $7,028,687.
Ron Goldman has appeared in the media more than 2,000 times concerning aviation accidents and pharmaceutical drug product liability, including safety oversight issues. Numerous media have sought Ron’s expert opinion as a pilot and former adjunct aviation accident law professor concerning airline accidents in the U.S. and abroad as well as regarding runway incursions at LAX.
He has made numerous TV, radio, and other media appearances as a legal expert for some of the world’s leading news agencies, including Good Morning America, NBC Nightly News, ABC World News Tonight, CNN, Bloomberg News, Chicago Tribune, Forbes.com, Fox News Channel, The Guardian, Los Angeles Times, MSNBC, National Law Journal, NPR, Associated Press and the Washington Post.
Ron received his B.S.L. in 1960 and his law degree in 1962, both from the University of Southern California.
Practice Areas
Education
- University of Southern California (B.S.L., 1960)
- University of Southern California (J.D., 1962)
- Private Pilot License, USA (1980)
Court Admissions
- California, 1963
- U.S. District Court, Central District of California, 1963
- U.S. Court of Appeals, Tenth Circuit, 1970
- U.S. Supreme Court, 1971
- United Kingdom, Court of Inquiry, 1972 (Investigating crash of British European Airways Trident jet in June 1972, London, England)
- U.S. Court of Appeals, Ninth Circuit, 1973
- United States Court of Federal Claims, 1974
- U.S. District Court, Eastern District of New York, 1975
- U.S. Court of Appeals, Second Circuit, 1977
- District of Columbia, 1979
- The District of Columbia Court of Appeals, 1979
- U.S. Court of Appeals, Sixth Circuit, 1982
- U.S. District Court, Northern District of California, 1983
- U.S. District Court, Northern District of Illinois, 2006
- U.S. District Court, Eastern District of California, 2006
- U.S. Court of Appeals, Seventh Circuit, 2006
- U.S. District Court, Central District of Illinois, 2008
- U.S. Court of Appeals, Third Circuit, 2008
- U.S. District Court, Western District of New York, 2009
- U.S. District Court, Eastern District of Wisconsin, 2009
- U.S. District Court, Eastern District of Michigan, 2012
- U.S. Bankruptcy Court, Northern District of California, 2022
Board Certified
Awards and Honors
- AV® Preeminent 5.0 out of 5 Peer Review Rating through Martindale Hubbell®
- The Best Lawyers in America® 2013 – 2022 (Copyright by Woodward/White, Inc., of Aiken, SC)
- California Powerhouse, Law360 Regional Powerhouse Series, 2021
- Client Champion Silver Award - Martindale Hubbell, 2021 - 2022
- The National Trial Lawyers Top 100 Trial Lawyers
- The National Trial Lawyers Top 10 Aviation Trial Lawyers
- The National Trial Lawyers Top 10 Trucking Trial Lawyers
- Lexis-Nexis® | Martindale-Hubbell® Client Distinction Award
- Top 100: 2016 Southern California Super Lawyers®
- Selected to: Southern California Super Lawyers® 2005 – 2022
- 2018 Elite Trial Lawyers, Finalists Consumer Protection, The National Law Journal
- Selected to: Southern California Super Lawyers®, Corporate Counsel Edition, 2009
- Avvo.com Superb Score 10 out of 10
- America’s Top 100 Attorneys – Lifetime Achievement Recipient
- Published in Million Dollar Verdicts by the Masters
- Listed, The Bar Register of Preeminent Lawyers™
Litigation Leadership
- Leadership Member, Ad hoc, Asiana Airlines Flight OZ214 litigation, MDL-2497, in re Air Crash at San Francisco, on July 6, 2013
- Plaintiffs’ Executive Committee, MDL-2085, In Re: Air Crash near Clarence Center, New York, on February 12, 2009 (Colgan Air dba Continental Connection)
- Plaintiffs’ Steering Committee, MDL-1967 In Re: Bisphenol-A (BPA) Polycarbonate Plastic Products Liability Litigation, 2009
- Leadership Group, East Coast Jets, Owatonna, Minnesota, July 31, 2008
- Plaintiffs’ Steering Committee Member, Chatsworth Metrolink Collision Cases, Chatsworth, California, 2008
- Plaintiffs’ Steering Committee, MDL-1953, Heparin Products Liability Litigation
- Lead Trial Counsel, 2006; 2004 Tyson Foods truck crash near Crestline, Ohio
- Lead Trial Counsel, 2006; 1998 Bell Helicopter crash in Los Angeles, California
- Member, Lead Trial Counsel, Plaintiffs’ Steering Committee, MDL-1574, Paxil Products Liability Litigation
- Plaintiffs’ Executive Committee, September 11, 2001 Tort Litigation
- Co-Lead Plaintiffs’ Counsel for the Coordinated Discovery Cases, Southwest Airlines Flight 1455 accident, Burbank, California, 2000
Member
- State Bar of California
- District of Columbia Bar
- National Board of Trial Advocacy
- The National Trial Lawyers Top 100 Trial Lawyers
- American Academy of Trial Attorneys
- Fellow, American Bar Foundation, 2021 -
- American Association for Justice: Leader’s Forum - Champion; Aviation Law Section
- American Bar Association: The Forum on Air and Space Law; Litigation Section and Tort Trial & Insurance Practice Section
- Consumer Attorneys of California, President’s Club Benefactor
- Consumer Attorneys Association of Los Angeles
- Lawyer-Pilots Bar Association
- International Bar Association, Aviation Law Committee
- International Brain Injury Association (IBIA)
- North American Brain Injury Society (NABIS)
- The American Society of Mechanical Engineers
- Life Member, Ostriches Anonymous Association (OAA), Promoting Aviation Safety and Risk Awareness
- Aircraft Owners & Pilots Association
- Public Justice
- American Civil Liberties Union
- Public Citizen
- World Jurist Association of the World Peace Through Law Center
- Founding Member, World Association of Law Professors of the World Peace Through Law Center
- Legal Expert Witness, Westlaw Round Table Group, 2012
Legal Teaching Position
- Adjunct Professor of Law, Pepperdine University School of Law, 1968 to 1989
Courses Taught by Professor Goldman:
- Aviation Accident Law
- Torts
- Insurance Law
- Legal Writing and Analysis
Judge Pro Tem / Arbitrator and Mediator (Former Positions)
- Orange County Superior Court (1975)
- Beverly Hills Municipal Court
- Los Angeles Municipal Court
- Arbitrator/Mediator–Los Angeles Superior Court
- Arbitrator–American Arbitration Association (to 1994)
- Mediator–42 hours training at Pepperdine University’s Institute for Dispute Resolution
Presentations / Speeches
Topic: Panel Discussion on Forced Arbitration
Organization: Alliance For Justice
Event: Los Angeles Film Premiere of “Lost in the Fine Print”
Location: Beverly Hilton Hotel, Beverly Hills, California
Date: May 7, 2015
Topic: Ruminations on the Practice of Law – A 50-Year Perspective
Organization: Ventura County Trial Lawyers Association
Event: VCTLA Monthly Program
Location: Oxnard, California
Date: October 28, 2014
Topic: OJ Simpson criminal and civil jury verdicts
Organization: Shanghai School of Social Science
Event: Lecture
Location: Shanghai, P.R.C.
Date: 1998
Topic: Special Guest Lecturer on The American Judicial System
Event: Lecture
Organization: Christchurch Polytechnic, School of Broadcasting
Location: Christchurch, New Zealand
Date: 1997
Topic: “Product Liability – Didn’t Business Learn From the ‘Malpractice’ Crisis?”
Organization: Town Hall Los Angeles
Event: Town Hall General Luncheon, Orange County Forum
Location: Los Angeles, California
Date: November 17, 1977
Topic: Speaker and Panel Member: Aviation Law, Constitutional Law, Criminal Law, Legal Malpractice, Medical Malpractice, Personal Injury, Product Liability, Right of Privacy, Tort Law
Organization: Belli Seminars
Event: Seminars
Location: Riverside, California
Date: 1970s
Topics: Aviation Litigation, International Law
Organization: World Peace Through Law Conferences
Locations: Madrid, Manila, New York
Date: 1970s
Author
- The Largest Heist in History – Law 360, June 25, 2013
- Book: U.S. Supreme Court Transcript of Record Re British European Airways, Petitioner, v. Abraham Benjamins, Etc., et al. – U.S. Supreme Court Transcript of Record with Supporting Pleadings, October 30, 2011
- American Passengers Have Limited Rights in International Airline Crashes Because of a Treaty Known as the Montreal Convention – FindLaw KnowledgeBase, June 8, 2010
- Regional Air Crash Inspires New Aviation Safety Legislation – Findlaw KnowledgeBase, September 23, 2009
- Another Level of Justice: The Public Apology – Published in Andrews Aviation Litigation Reporter, Volume 24, Issue 5 / April 2006 by Thomson West and ATLA-Association of Trial Lawyers of America Aviation Law Section Newsletter Vol. 13, No. 3, Spring, 2006
Pro Bono and Civic Activities
- Arbitrator/Mediator–Los Angeles Superior Court
- Served as Chairman of the Board, and was a founder of the Family Assistance Program, a charitable, public benefit corporation organized to assist homeless families (originally known as the Family Assistance Program of Hollywood.)
- A founder of, and general counsel for, The Women’s Clinic, a free clinic providing health care needs to needy women in Los Angeles.
Published Cases
- Inversiones Papaluchi S.A.S. et al., Petitioners, v. Superior Court of Los Angeles County, Respondent; Robinson Helicopter Company, Inc., et al., Real Parties in Interest. 20 Cal.App.5th 1055 (Feb 14, 2018 CA App 2nd) [Preemptory writ of mandate issued directing trial court to vacate its prior order denying plaintiffs’ Colombian corporations’ motion to quash service of summons and dismiss cross-complaints, and to issue a new order granting the motion to quash and dismissing the cross-complaints of Robinson Helicopter (for failure to timely effect service within 3 years of filing cross-complaint), Rolls-Royce Corporation and Honeywell (for failure to adhere to article 19 of the Hague Service Convention)].
- Selke v. Germanwings GmbH, 261 F. Supp. 3d 645 (E.D. Va. 2017) (Virginia court had personal jurisdiction over a German airline, involving Germanwings Flight 9525 from Barcelona, Spain to Düsseldorf, Germany, whose pilot committed suicide by crashing the plane into the French Alps and killing all 150 on board, because the airline sold its tickets to passengers that resided in Virginia through its authorized agent, United Airlines)
- Tucker v. SmithKline Beecham Corp., 701 F.Supp.2d 1040 (S.D.Ind.2010) (denying defendant’s learned intermediary defense and further allowing plaintiffs’ experts to testify regarding the causal association between antidepressants and increased suicidal behavior)
- Collins v. SmithKline Beecham Corp., 2008 WL 744070 (Pa. Ct.Com.Pl. March 11, 2008)
- McCoy v. Southwest Airlines Co., Inc. 208 F.R.D. 617 (C.D.Cal. 2002)
- McCoy v. Southwest Airlines Co., Inc. 211 F.R.D. 381 (C.D.Cal., 2002)
- Brooks vs. St. Mary’s Hospital 57 C.A.4th 241, 66 C.R.2d 820 (1997) [Preemption Doctrine/Constitutional Law] [Case settled pending re-hearing; depublished]
- In Re Aircrash Disaster Near Cerritos, DiCosta vs. Aeronaves de Mexico, SA 973 F.2d 1490 (9th Cir. 1992) [Emotional Distress]
- Gradus vs. Hanson Aviation 158 C.A.3d 1038, 205 C.R. 211 (1984) [Duty of common carrier (see BAJI 6.51); Fed. Avi. Regs., Part 135, Res Ipsa Loquitur, Negligence] [Closing argument published by Million Dollar Verdicts by Western Masters]
- Harris Corp. vs. Comair 712 F.2d 1069 (6th Cir. 1983) [Right of employer to collect for death of employee; Avi. Accid. Law; Conflict of laws, Negligence]
- Sevilla vs. Stearns-Roger, Inc. 101 C.A.3d 608, 161 C.R. 700 (1980) [Product Liability]
- Flashman v. Superior Court (Pacific Southwest Airlines) 107 Cal.App.3d 117, 165 Cal.Rptr. 680, Cal.App. 4 Dist. (1980) [Coordination and venue]
- La Pietra vs. Freed 87 C.A.3d 384, 151 C.R. 554 (1979) [Arbitration]
- Cable vs. Sahara Tahoe Corp. 93 C.A.3d 1025, 155 C.R. 770 (1979) [Conflict of laws]
- Benjamins vs. British European Airways 572 F.2d 913 (2nd Cir. 1978) [Warsaw Convention]
- Baxter vs. Superior Court 19 C.3d 461, 138 C.R. 315 (1977) [Loss of consortium]
- Drenzek vs. Inmont Corp. 57 C.A.3d 878, 129 C.R. 429 (1976) [Assumption of Risk]
- Dassin vs. Darlene Knitwear 387 F.Supp. 958 (USDC, D.Puerto Rico–1974) [In personam jurisdiction]
- Cacciaguidi v. Elliott 39 Cal.App.3d 261, 114 Cal.Rptr. 93, 39 Cal. Comp. Cases 963, Cal.App. 2 Dist. (1974)
- People vs. Powell 14 C.A.3d 693, 92 C.R. 501 (1971) [Felony murder rule]
- U.S.A. vs. Moore 427 F.2d 1020 (10th Cir.–1970) [Administrative Law; equitable relief, injunctions]
Notable Media Appearances
Feature Articles
TV
- ANN News TV Asahi Tokyo, Japan
- Buffalo News: WGRZ, WIBV, WKBW
- CBS local news Philadelphia, Maryland, Miami
- Charlotte News: WCNC TV, WSOCTV
- Discovery Channel
- Fox Business News, Fox Business Happy Hour
- Fox News Channel, Your World with Neil Cavuto
- KCBS News Los Angeles
- KNBC Ch. 4 News Los Angeles
- National Geographic Channel
- NBC Chicago
- Reelz Channel
Documentaries
- Docudrama: “Dead Weight,” aired on National Geographic Channel, “Air Crash Investigation” series and “May Day Series” on Discovery Channel Canada
Radio
- AP Radio- Associated Press Radio
- BBC Radio World Today
- BBC World Service
- Dr. Carole’s Couch, Carole Lieberman, M.D.
- KTAR AM Radio Phoenix, Drive Home with Preston Westmoreland
- WBEN Radio Buffalo News Talk 930 AM
- WBFO Radio Buffalo
- WNED-AM 970 NEWS
News
- AFX News Limited AFX – Asia
- AIDS Weekly & Law
- AIN Aviation International News
- Air Safety Week
- Andrews Litigation Reporters
- Associated Press
- Baltimore Sun
- Bloomberg News
- BNA (Bureau of National Affairs, Inc.)
- Charlotte Observer
- Chicago Tribune
- Cincinnati Post
- Dallas Morning News
- Dow Jones Newswires
- Duke Law Journal, Thirty-Ninth Annual Administrative Law Issue
- FDA News: Devices & Diagnostics Letter
- Ft. Worth Star Telegram
- Guardian Limited
- Houston Chronicle
- Kansas City Star
- La Opinion
- Los Angeles Daily Journal
- Los Angeles Times
- Law 360
- Law.com
- Lawyers USA
- Life Science Weekly via NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net
- Mealey’s Emerging Drugs & Devices
- Mealey’s Litigation Report Antidepressant Drugs
- MSN Money
- National Law Journal
- New Jersey Star Ledger
- Newsday (New York)
- Ottawa Citizen
- Pharmalot
- Philadelphia Inquirer
- Rotorhub.com
- RotorPad
- Sacramento Bee
- San Diego Union Tribune
- San Jose Mercury News
- Seattle Times
- St. Louis Post Dispatch
- St. Paul Pioneer Press
- Star Tribune
- The Korea Times
- The Pink Sheet
- The Times Picayune
- Westlaw Journals
- Wired News
