Jury Selection in Media-Intensive Cases (Presented by the Federal Bar Association Civil Rights Law Section)

Richard A. “Dick” Harpootlian, Owner | Richard A. Harpootlian, P.A.

Richard “Dick” Ara Harpootlian is one of South Carolina’s leading courtroom advocates with 30 years of trial experience as a prosecutor, defense attorney, and civil litigator. Mr. Harpootlian’s dynamic and persuasive advocacy style and record of success has earned him a reputation amongst South Carolina’s legal community as a lawyer who can get results. Mr. Harpootlian began his career as a prosecutor in the Fifth Circuit Solicitor’s Office. Within two years, he was named Deputy Solicitor and tasked with the administration and supervision of over 20 prosecutors and staff members.

As the Fifth Circuit’s chief homicide prosecutor, Mr. Harpootlian personally prosecuted hundreds of murder cases, including 12 death penalty cases. He defended one of those convictions on appeal before the United States Supreme Court. In 1983, Mr. Harpootlian earned a conviction in the prosecution of Donald “Pee Wee” Gaskins—South Carolina’s most notorious serial killer. Mr. Gaskins was sentenced to death. In 1990, Mr. Harpootlian was elected as Fifth Circuit Solicitor, winning by a margin of almost 2-1. He served from 1991 until 1995.

As Solicitor, he personally prosecuted and obtained convictions in a number of high-profile murder, drug, and public corruption cases. In 1991, Mr. Harpootlian prosecuted and convicted ex-University of South Carolina President Jim Holderman for public corruption charges arising from the abuse of his office for personal gain.

For the last 20 years, Mr. Harpootlian’s private practice has earned him state and national recognition for his efforts on behalf of civil litigants and criminal defendants, including a number of multimillion-dollar verdicts and settlements, some of which are listed here.

In addition to his law practice, Mr. Harpootlian has been active in South Carolina politics. He was popularly elected and served on Richland County Council from 1986 to 1991. He served as Chairman of the South Carolina Democratic Party from 1998 to 2003 and again from 2011 to 2013. During his first tenure as Chair, the Party elected Governor James Hodges, the first candidate to unseat an incumbent South Carolina governor, and five other Democrats to statewide office. Mr. Harpootlian’s views as a commentator on law and politics are regularly sought by national news programs. He has appeared on 60 Minutes, Good Morning America, ABC Nightly News, NBC Nightly News, Dateline NBC, and various CNN, MSNBC, CNBC, and Fox News broadcasts. He is also frequently quoted in local, state, and national publications, including the New York Times, the Washington Post, the Boston Globe, the Los Angeles Times, and TIME Magazine. Mr. Harpootlian has been invited to share his experience with bar colleges as a lecture for the South Carolina Bar Association on topics including class action litigation and criminal defense.

For the last 20 years, he has lectured newly barred South Carolina lawyers during the Bridge the Gap Program. He is a former chair of the Criminal Law Section of the South Carolina Bar Association and a past member of the South Carolina Bar Board of Grievance and Discipline. He has served on the South Carolina Chief Justice’s Blue Ribbon Committee on Docketing and he is an adjunct professor at the University of South Carolina School of Law.

Roberta A. “Robbie” Kaplan

A renowned litigator with decades of experience in commercial, higher education, and civil rights litigation, Chambers has described Robbie as “a modern-day legal giant. A towering intellect and a genius in court, with the instincts of a street fighter.” Robbie has the distinction of being probably the only lawyer to have taken the deposition of former president Donald J. Trump twice in two weeks.

Robbie recently led the legal team representing writer E. Jean Carroll in her sexual battery and defamation suits against Donald Trump, securing $5 million and $83.3 million jury verdicts, respectively, on her behalf in cases where both juries reached their verdicts in less than three hours.

Sharon Nelles, head of litigation at Sullivan & Cromwell, is quoted in a profile explaining that Robbie “just sees things from a thousand different angles all at once, it’s hard to keep up with her thought processes. She knows her law cold, she knows the Constitution cold and she’s not afraid, if she sees a problem, to go figure out some law that’s going to allow her to fix it. She’ll find it.” Stephen Gillers, professor at New York University School of Law, told Bloomberg Law that Robbie is “a lawyer that you don’t want to see opposing you.” Another client describes Robbie as someone who “eats bullies for lunch.”

The Washington Post has described Robbie as “a brash and original strategist, with neither a gift for patience nor silence, a crusader for underdogs who has won almost every legal accolade imaginable.” Among the numerous honors and recognitions Robbie has received, she was named to Forbes’ list of “America’s Top 200 Lawyers,” recognized as the 2020 “Attorney of the Year” by the New York Law Journal, received a Lifetime Achievement Award from the New York Law Journal, and has been honored as “Litigator of the Year” by The American Lawyer, “Lawyer of the Year” by Above the Law, and “Most Innovative Lawyer of the Year” by The Financial Times. The Financial Times noted that “the judges had little trouble picking just one of them to win the award for most innovative individual – itself an innovation for the report this year. Robbie Kaplan has been involved in some of the most important legal developments of recent years.” Robbie has consistently been listed as one of the top litigators and top women litigators in the country, as well as one of the top lawyers in New York.

Moderator, Blake A. Shuart | Hutton & Hutton Law Firm

Blake A. Shuart is a Trial Attorney with Hutton & Hutton Law Firm, L.L.C., based in Wichita, Kansas. Mr. Shuart has an active litigation practice in state and federal courts across the United States, specializing in medical malpractice, products liability, mass torts, civil rights cases and other cases involving catastrophic injury or wrongful death. Mr. Shuart is the incoming President of the Federal Bar Association Chapter for the Districts of Kansas & Western Missouri.

I. Speakers & Topic | 2:00pm – 2:05pm

II. Roundtable Discussion with Both Speakers and Moderator | 2:05pm – 2:55pm

III. Questions and Comments | 2:55pm – 3:00pm