Bridgeport Attorney Wins Prestigious National Award
July 27, 2005
BRIDGEPORT — The highest honor bestowed by the Association of Trial Lawyers of America will be awarded to Bridgeport Attorney Richard A. Bieder, a partner at the law firm Koskoff, Koskoff, & Bieder.
Bieder is this year’s recipient of The Leonard M. Ring Champion of Justice Award . He was presented with the award July 26, 2005 at the association’s annual convention in Toronto, Canada.
Bieder was selected by a group of his peers based on his extensive work during his 35-year career assisting victims of various crimes and accidents. The award, established in 1991, honors recipients who demonstrate Leonard Ring’s devotion to human and civil rights – a person whose life and career epitomizes that of a true champion of justice.
“Richard is well known in his community and in the national legal arena and highly regarded by his peers for his service on behalf of working families, against powerful interests like the insurance and manufacturing industries. His wit, his charm, his intelligence, and his legal prowess have endeared this man to his colleagues and rendered him an outstanding ambassador for our civil justice system. This award is just the latest in a long history of tributes to Richard’s amazing contribution to ATLA and his commitment to protecting consumers and workers everywhere,” said Todd Smith, outgoing president of ATLA.
In 2004, Bieder was awarded ATLA’s Distinguished Service Award and the Public Justice Achievement Award from the Trial Lawyers for Public Justice, both for his involvement in establishing and leading Trial Lawyers Care, the largest pro bono legal service program ever created which provided legal services for 9-11 victims. He also received ATLA’s Harry M. Philo Award for Safeguarding the Rights of Individuals and the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Connecticut Trial Lawyers’ Association.
Bieder has handled many high-profile cases including representing families of individuals killed in the Oklahoma City bombing, acting as lead council for workers injured and killed in the collapse of Bridgeport’s L’Ambiance Plaza, and for the victims’ families of the Mianus River Bridge collapse in Greenwich, CT.
Bieder was responsible for a major legal breakthrough in a Connecticut case making liquor servers liable if an accident results from serving a minor. He was lead state counsel in the Colonial Realty real estate fraud case.
Bieder, a veteran of the U.S. Navy’s JAG Corps, is listed in Best Lawyers in America and has been frequent consultant to Court TV .
Koskoff, Koskoff & Bieder has offices in Bridgeport and New Haven. This nationally known Connecticut law firm has achieved record verdicts for people who suffer serious personal injuries or economic harm from medical malpractice, dangerous products, negligence, drunk drivers, corporate or governmental abuse and commercial misconduct.