Center on Civil Justice Board of Advisors
Sheila Birnbaum '65
Chair of the Board of Advisors
Sheila Birnbaum practices primarily in the areas of products liability, toxic torts and insurance coverage litigation. Ms. Birnbaum represents corporations in complex mass tort and insurance litigation. Among other significant matters, she secured a historic victory for State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Company, when the U.S. Supreme Court reversed a $145 million punitive damages award against the company as unconstitutionally excessive. The New York Times hailed the Court’s decision as “a major victory in the long-running effort to shield corporate defendants from unconstrained jury awards.” The Wall Street Journal characterized the decision as “a big win for business interests concerned about ballooning legal judgments,” and the Washington Post described it as “a big win for corporate America.” Ms. Birnbaum has served as national counsel or lead defense counsel for numerous Fortune 500 companies in some of the largest and most complicated tort cases in the country. She served as national counsel for Dow Corning Corporation in the breast implant litigation, for Aventis Crop Science in several class actions and multidistrict litigation arising out of biogenetic corn and for Thompson-Delaco in the over-the-counter drug “PPA” litigation.
Ms. Birnbaum has argued many significant appeals in appellate courts throughout the country. In the U.S. Supreme Court, she successfully argued the case of Buckley v Metro North, a landmark case involving medical monitoring. She successfully represented an insurer in the New York Court of Appeals on the issue of whether a punitive damage verdict awarded in another state was insurable under New York law. She also represented Chrysler Corporation before the Florida Supreme Court in a case involving the standard of proof necessary to establish liability for punitive damages. Ms. Birnbaum represented FMC Corporation in an appeal in New York that resulted in a reversal and new trial of a $5 million punitive damage award arising out of a construction accident. She has lectured extensively and has authored numerous law review articles. She is a co-author of the Practitioner’s Guide to Litigating Insurance Coverage Actions. Ms. Birnbaum also has written a regular column on New York practice in the New York Law Journal, as well as a column on products liability in The National Law Journal.
Hon. Richard Franklin Boulware II
Judge Richard Franklin Boulware II was nominated to the United States District Court for the District of Nevada by President Barack Obama on January 16, 2014, to the seat vacated by Judge Philip Martin Pro. On June 12, 2014 Judge Boulware was sworn in as a United States District Judge and maintains his chambers in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Judge Boulware received an AB degree cum laude in 1993 from Harvard College and received his JD in 2002 from Columbia Law School where he was on the Law Review. Judge Boulware served as a law clerk to the Honorable Denise Cote in the Southern District of New York. Prior to taking the bench, Judge Boulware served as an Assistant Federal Public Defender for many years. He was a public defender in the Federal Public Defender’s Office in Las Vegas, Nevada and in the Federal Defenders Office of New York in New York City.
Judge Boulware is a past president of the Las Vegas chapter of the National Bar Association, as well as a former member of the National Board of Governors of the National Bar Association. He received a special President’s Award from the national president of the National Bar Association in 2011 as well as the Medal of Justice award from the State Bar of Nevada in 2012. In 2013, Judge Boulware received the Dedicated Service award from Nevada Attorneys for Criminal Justice. He has served on numerous nonprofit boards and community committees focusing on education reform and other issues facing disadvantaged, indigent or at-risk individuals in the community.