PROMINENT DC ATTORNEY FEATURED AT AHI BUSINESS NETWORK LUNCHEON

WASHINGTON, DC—On Thursday, February 19, 2004, the American Hellenic Institute’s (AHI) Business Network luncheon featured AHI member Thanos Basdekis Esq., Attorney at Law, Regan, Halperin & Long, PLLC, at Capital Hilton Hotel. Mr. Basdekis gave a riveting presentation on the various proposals for legal reform now dotting the political landscape, and how those proposals, if passed, would impact the rights of victims and defendants.

More specifically, Mr. Basdekis focused on three proposed reforms: (1) the reform of medical malpractice litigation, (2) new limits on "frivolous" lawsuits, and (3) caps on punitive damages.

	Thanos Basdekis speaking at the AHI Business Network Luncheon.

On the subject of medical malpractice, Mr. Basdekis explained that there does indeed exist a crisis, but that the crisis has nothing to do with lawsuits being filed on behalf of victims. The real crisis is the crisis of medical malpractice itself in this country, where quite shockingly, 98,000 people die annually due to medical errors. Lawsuits are simply a response to the woefully inadequate medical care that many people receive here in the United States.

Mr. Basdekis also explained that studies by independent entities such as the National Center for State Court show that the number of tort filings actually decreased, per capita, between 1989 and 1998, contrary to the false statements of many tort reform advocates. As Mr. Basdekis explained, "so-called tort reformers, if left to their own devices, would effectively eviscerate a civil justice system that is rightly seen as a beacon of hope by regular people in this country and all over the world."

Mr. Basdekis also pointed out that, due to the efforts of trial lawyers, America is safer today than it has ever been. "When juries speak, corporate America listens," explained Mr. Basdekis, who cited the fact that numerous defective products—including defectively designed cribs that once strangled infants, flammable children's pajamas, and once-harmful medical devices—have all been redesigned as a result of successful lawsuits brought by plaintiff's attorneys on behalf of injured victims.

Mr. Basdekis is also an Adjunct Professor at the Catholic University of America's Columbus School of Law, where he has taught a class in Advanced Federal Practice and Procedure since August 2000. He graduated with honors from Yale Law School in 1997, where he also served for two years as an editor on the Yale Law Journal. Following a clerkship for the Honorable Leonard B. Sand, United States District Judge for the Southern District of New York, Mr. Basdekis joined the trial law firm of Regan, Halperin & Long, and his successes include a recent $5 million verdict against the District of Columbia in a pool accident case. Mr. Basdekis has also published numerous articles, including one piece entitled "Perfection by Nullification" in the Yale Law Journal, and others entitled "The Ancient Greek Origins of the Modern American Legal System," "Winning Gold: The Role of Greeks in Modern American Sport," and "The Perils of Scapegoatism: A Hellenic Perspective."

For additional information, please contact Angeliki Vassiliou at (202) 785-8430 or at angeliki@ahiworld.org. For general information on AHI, see our Web site at www.ahiworld.org.

The AHI Business Network is a division of the American Hellenic Institute initiated in 1989 to reach out to the business experience of Greek Americans and to put it to work helping other Greek Americans. Its purpose is to share business information and contacts. Its concept is people helping people by sharing experience, knowledge and ideas.