AnitaModak-Truran
Areas of Emphasis
  • Drug and Medical Device
  • Product Liability
  • Copyright Counseling and Litigation
  • Media and Entertainment Law
Distinctions
  • AV-rated, Martindale-Hubbell
  • Adjunct Professor, Mississippi College School of Law
  • Executive Program, Harvard University
  • Technology and Intellectual Property Study Group, Mississippi Secretary of State
  • Coached Mississippi College School of Law's ABA National Moot Court team, Entertainment Moot Court team and other teams
  • 50 Leading Business Women, Mississippi Business Journal, 2002
Education & Honors
  • Loyola University Chicago School of Law, J.D., Loyola Law Journal, Student Articles Editor, National Moot Court Team, National Mock Trial Team, Regional Champion, 1987
  • Lewis F. Powell Medal for Excellence in Advocacy, American College of Trial Lawyers
  • Leadership and Service Award
  • Dean's List
  • Gustavus Adolphus College, B.A., History, cum laude, 1984
Associations
  • American Bar Association
    • Minority Counsel Program
  • Defense Research Institute
  • Trial Attorneys of America
    • Secretary
  • Litigation Counsel of America
  • Illinois Bar Association
  • Mississippi Bar Association
    • Chair, Intellectual Property Section
    • Former Vice-Chair, Select
  • Capital Area Bar Association
    • Former Chair, Film and Legal Professionalism Committee
  • Magnolia Bar Association
  • Fifth Circuit Bar Association
  • The Intellectual Property Institute at The University of Mississippi School of Law
    • Advisory Board
Bar Admissions
  • Mississippi, 1999
  • Illinois, 1987
  • U.S. District Courts
    • Illinois: Northern District
    • Mississippi: Northern and Southern Districts
  • U.S. Court of Appeals
    • 5th Circuit
    • 7th Circuit
  • Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians Tribal Court
  • U.S. Supreme Court
Legal Experience
  • Defending pharmaceutical and medical device manufacturers in mass tort and individual cases pending in various state and federal venues, including Alabama, California, Florida, Illinois, Louisiana, Mississippi, New Jersey, New Mexico, Tennessee, Texas, Utah and West Virginia.
  • Former Chief Assistant Corporation Counsel for the City of Chicago.
    • Tried over 100 cases in state and federal courts in diverse areas of the law, including constitutional, consumer fraud, environmental, housing, zoning, revenue and pension matters
    • Headed prosecutions concerning complex land use issues
    • Managed a division of lawyers and paralegals
    • Provided legal counsel and training programs to various City agencies
  • Obtained a defense verdict in federal court for chemical supplier in multimillion dollar litigation involving commercial and product liability claims.
  • Successfully struck venire in mass tort pharmaceutical lawsuit pending in Claiborne County, Mississippi.
  • Obtained a defense verdict on design and construction claims concerning Chicago's former State Street Mall.
  • Tried high-profile, public policy matter involving First Amendment issues at the 1996 Democratic National Convention.
  • Defended and tried Commerce Clause challenge to Chicago's ban on spray paint.
  • Drafted appellate briefs in state and federal courts and successfully argued before the U.S. Court of Appeals Fifth and Seventh Circuits.
  • Counseling and representing film and major recorded music companies in commercial and intellectual property matters, including negotiating and drafting production, distribution, literary option, franchise and other agreements.
  • Producing, directing and writing legal documentaries for high-stakes mass tort and commercial litigation.
  • Counseling start-up companies on intellectual property matters and working with state agencies to promote growth of local businesses.
Papers, Presentations & Publications
  • Panelist, Intellectual Property Clinic for Filmmakers and Artists, Crossroads Film Festival, Jackson, MS (2012).
  • Presenter, Film and Ethics, Mid-South Intellectual Property Institute Conference, Oxford, MS (2012).
  • Author, Part 1: A Federal Survey on Protecting Confidential Information, Pro Te Solutio, Vol. 5, No. 1, 12-15 (February 2012).
  • Presenter, Celebrity Images in the Public Domain, Tennessee Intellectual Property Law Association, Nashville, TN (2011) (approved CLE program).
  • Moderator, Patent Law Reform Applied to Small Business, 12th Annual Conference on Technology Innovation, Jackson Convention Complex, Jackson, MS (2011).
  • Panelist, Intellectual Property Clinic for Filmmakers, Mississippi International Film Festival, Jackson, MS (2011).
  • "State Security Breach Notification Laws," Pro Te: Solutio, Vol. 4 No. 2, (May 2011).
  • Presenter, Practical Advice for Trial Preparation, Mississippi Bar, Criminal Law Section, Biloxi, Mississippi (2011).
  • Project Director, Editor and Co-Producer, American College of Trial Lawyers video series on "Code of Pretrial and Trial Conduct" (2011).
  • Presenter, Expert Disclosure Changes in Fed. R. Civ. P. 26(a)(2)(B), Trial Attorneys of America Annual Conference, Chicago, IL. (2011).
  • Presenter, Drawing the Line Between Fair Use and Copyright Infringement in the Digital Age, Mississippi Bar Association, Intellectual Property Section (2011).
  • Author, My Cousin Vinny: Trial and Error, Mississippi Bar, Litigation Section E-Newsletter, Vol. 1, Issue 1 (Dec. 2010).
  • Presenter, Notice Pleading After Ashcroft v. Iqbal, Trial Attorneys of America Annual Conference, Chicago, IL (2010).
  • "An Updated Guide on Managing Risks and Enhancing Prescription Drug Safety after Product Launch," Pro Te: Solutio, Vol. 3 No. 2, 14-19 (May 2010).
  • Presenter, Risk Management: A Review of FDA s Regulatory Guidance for the Pharmaceutical Industry (approved for multi-state CLE credits), Boehringer Ingelheim, Ridgefield, CT (2010).
  • Presenter, Successfully Navigating Through the Myriad of Legal Issues Confronting Journalists, 12th Annual HBCU Student News Media Conference, Jackson State University, Jackson, MS (2010).
  • Co-Author, Mississippi Jury Instructions for Product Liability Claims and Defenses, PLAC Handbook of Jury Instructions (2009).
  • Author, On-Line Images: A Thumbnail Sketch of Potential Legal Issues, MTA Pointe Innovation Magazine, 73-75 (Winter 2009).
  • Presenter, Copyrights and On-Line Images, TIPLA, Nashville, TN (2009).
  • Presenter, First Amendments Issues Relating to Citizen Journalism, NBPC New Media Institute, New York, NY (2009).
  • Author, Wyeth v. Levine: A Showdown Between the State Jury System and Federal Preemption," ABA Litigation Section, Mass Torts Newsletter, Vol. 8, No. 1, 6-9, 20 (Fall 2009).
  • Presenter, Corporate Counsel Issues: Privilege & Confidentiality, Trail Attorneys of American Annual Conference, Chicago, IL (2009).
  • Presenter, The Medical Peer Review Privilege, Trial Attorneys of America Annual Conference, Chicago, IL (2008).
  • Presenter, From Page to Film, Mississippi Bar Association, Intellectual Property Section, Oxford, MS (2008).
  • Presenter, Wrangling Entertainment Issues, Mississippi College of Law, Jackson, MS (2008).
  • Co-Presenter, To Kill A Mockingbird: The Atticus Finch Professional Model, (approved for CLE ethics and professionalism credits) Capital Area Bar Association, Jackson, MS (2008).
  • Presenter, The Physicians Role in Pharmaceutical and Medical Device Litigation, University of Mississippi Medical Center, The Winfred L. Wiser Conference, Negril, Jamaica (2007).
  • Presenter, Communicating Medical Care To a Jury, University of Mississippi Medical Center," The Winfred L. Wiser Conference, Negril, Jamaica (2007).
  • Panelist, Film and Literature with Morgan Freeman, Lorian Hemingway, Anita Modak-Truran and Ward Emling, TYCA-Southeast, Jackson, MS (2005).
  • Presenter, The State of Copyright Law in Music, Mississippi Bar Association, Intellectual Property Section, Oxford, MS (2004).
  • Regular commentator for WAPT News (ABC affiliate).
  • Regular commentator for Mississippi Public Broadcasting.
  • Published over 400 times in newspapers and magazines.
  • "Exhibit A:," Pro Te: Solutio, Vol. 1 No. 1, 16 (January 2008).
  • "Exhibit A:," Pro Te: Solutio, Vol. 1 No. 2, 16 (April 2008).
  • "Case Law: A Fifty State Survey of the Medical Peer Review Privilege," Pro Te: Solutio, Vol. 1 No. 4, 14-17 (October 2008).
  • "Using E-Discovery to Pop the Hot Air from Plaintiff’s Case," Pro Te: Solutio, Vol. 2 No. 3, 14-16 (July 2009).

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