Fighting Back: U.S. Litigation In The #MeToo Era

California trial lawyers Paul Llewellyn and Ryan Erickson will discuss their groundbreaking work pursuing civil lawsuits on behalf of survivors of sexual abuse.  In 2012, before the #MeToo movement had begun, Llewellyn and Erickson represented a survivor of horrific sexual abuse perpetrated by two California teachers.  After numerous law firms declined to take her case, their San Francisco-based law firm, Lewis & Llewellyn LLP, took on the fight.  The case garnered worldwide media attention and together with two other victims from the same school, it became the largest ever sexual abuse settlement by a school district in United States history.  Since then, Llewellyn and Erickson have earned a reputation as two of America’s leading practitioners pursuing civil lawsuits on behalf of survivors of sexual abuse, including childhood sexual abuse.  In the process, they have recovered millions of dollars on behalf of their clients, and have helped to drive institutional change to prevent future instances of abuse.  In this presentation, Llewellyn and Erickson will discuss their fascinating work helping survivors of sexual abuse to fight back through the U.S. court system.

An audio recording of this event is available to listen to on Soundcloud

After earning his law degree from the University of Oxford, and after learning the art of advocacy at the Inns of Court School of Law in Temple, London, Paul honed his trial skills as a barrister, trying approximately one hundred cases to verdict as prosecuting counsel for the Crown. After moving to California in 2001, Paul practiced at an elite Los Angeles litigation boutique—which twice won the highest verdict in California—and Latham & Watkins LLP, one of the world’s premier international law firms. In 2012, Paul co-founded Lewis & Llewellyn LLP, a San Francisco-based civil litigation boutique. The firm specializes in high-profile, high-stakes business litigation and trials. In addition to his business litigation practice, Paul has also earned a reputation as one of the country’s leading practitioners pursuing civil lawsuits on behalf of survivors of sexual abuse, including childhood sexual abuse. In this field, he has obtained numerous multi-million dollar recoveries on behalf of his clients, often overcoming significant statute of limitations hurdles. These lawsuits have garnered both national and worldwide media attention, helping to bring about institutional change and raise community awareness, ultimately reducing the opportunity for future instances of sexual abuse. 

Ryan Erickson is an experienced litigator who thrives in the high-pressure environment of civil litigation. As a partner at Lewis & Llewellyn LLP, Ryan brings years of experience representing plaintiffs and defendants in a diverse array of complex disputes. He enjoys combining strategy, grit, and efficiency to best meet his clients’ litigation objectives. After graduating with High Honors from Princeton University, Ryan received his law degree from UCLA, where he was an Editor of the Law Review and selected as a member of the Order of the Coif (top 10% of his class). Ryan began his career in the San Francisco office of Latham & Watkins LLP, one of the world’s premier law firms, where he represented several Fortune 500 companies in high-profile commercial disputes.