HarrisMartin's Valsartan & Losartan Recall Litigation Conference Speaker Profiles

Ruben Honik immigrated to the United States more than 50 years ago speaking not a word of English. He became the first member of his family to attend college and, subsequently, to obtain a professional degree. In the three decades since earning his law degree, Mr. Honik has achieved an extraordinary record of professional accomplishment, including the accolades and recognition of many from the civil trial bar, without ever forgetting, or straying very far from, his immigrant and working-class roots.

In cases spanning from environmental disasters to insurance and financial services fraud, from civil rights to product design defects, and from professional malpractice to mass torts, Mr. Honik has earned for his clients more than a half-billion dollars in verdicts and settlements over his distinguished career. No less importantly, his appellate advocacy has changed the law in numerous respects to help the victim and those in need of access to our civil courts. This record of accomplishment has earned him the title of Super Lawyer in the areas of class action, mass torts and environmental law. Mr. Honik's body of work, and his lifelong commitment to the ideals of justice and service, allowed him to be elected president of both the Philadelphia Trial Lawyers Association (1997-98) and the Pennsylvania Trial Lawyers Association (2007-08, now the Pennsylvania Association for Justice) with which he remains actively involved. He is the longtime past editor of The Verdict, the monthly newsletter of the Philadelphia Trial Lawyers Association, and is a frequent lecturer and writer in his areas of practice.

Daniel Nigh graduated from Stetson Law School cum laude in 2006, earning a Juris Doctorate degree. While attending law school, he clerked at Brasfield, Fuller, Freeman & O’Hern, a civil defense firm in Saint Petersburg, Florida. He also served as the vice president of the school’s Maritime Law Society and placed runner-up in the Steve Yerrid Trial Competition. He received the Book Award in Constitutional Litigation, Agency & Corporation Law, and Sports Law. He also received the highest grade on the Appellate Brief, the final written project in Research and Writing. He received the Academic Merit Full Tuition Scholarship to attend Stetson Law School.

Mr. Nigh graduated from Florida Southern College magna cum laude in 2003, earning a Bachelor of Science degree in Psychology, a minor in Business Administration, and a minor equivalency in mathematics. While attending college, he worked as a claims examiner at Auto Owners Insurance and later as a summer management intern and sales/underwriting associate at GEICO. He also served as the president of Psi C hi, treasurer of Phi Mu Alpha, and member of Kappa Alpha Order. He received the Academic Merit Full Tuition and Board Scholarship to attend Florida Southern College.