The Devil's Advocate^®
Legal Fee Management & Litigation Consulting

Detailed Resume of John W. Toothman

• Employment

• Education

• Other Experience & Publications

• Lectures & Seminars

• Bar & Related Affiliations

Employment

• The Devil's Advocate (1993-present): Founder of legal consulting firm advising clients (including law firms) on civil litigation and trial practice, including evaluation of case risk and expense, budgets and estimates, legal "second opinions," law firm screening and selection, fee agreements, bill reviews and audits, mediation of fee disputes, case monitoring, analysis of settlement options, audits of litigation strategy and tactics, training and case support for in-house litigators, and litigation avoidance techniques.  Provide testimony on related subjects.
• LitWatch, Inc. (1999-present):  Founder and publisher of litigation news service.
• The Toothman Law Firm, P.C. (1993-present): Business litigation and trial practice in federal and state courts, including appeals.
• Shulman, Rogers, Gandal, Pordy & Ecker, P.A. (1989-1993): Partner in charge of the firm's Alexandria, Virginia office. Commercial litigation practice in federal and state, trial and appellate courts, including litigation against the United States. Represented U.S. Small Business Administration in receivership proceedings.
• Grad, Toothman, Logan & Chabot, P.C. (1986-1989): Associate, then partner in firm eventually known as Grad, Toothman, Logan & Chabot, P.C. Commercial and tort litigation and trial practice in state and federal court (trial and appellate), as well as litigation against the United States.
• U.S. Department of Justice, Civil Division, Federal Programs Branch (1984-1986): Trial attorney with wide array of client agencies and issues, including constitutional, statutory, and administrative law, ERISA, FOIA, employment discrimination, boycott, and other substantive issues. Top Secret, SI, and SCI security clearances.
• Akin, Gump, Strauss, Hauer & Feld (1983-1984): Associate attorney in antitrust litigation section.
• Howrey & Simon (1981-1983): Associate attorney, primarily in antitrust and intellectual property. Representation of an industrial trade association.

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Harvard Law School, J.D., cum laude (1981)

• Ames Moot Court Competition Semi-Finalist
• Research Assistant supplementing H. Hart, H. Wechsler, P. Bator, P. Mishkin & D. Shapiro,
  The Federal Courts & The Federal System (2d ed. 1977)
• Cambridge & Somerville Legal Services (clinical education)
• "Complex Civil Litigation" (third-year paper)

University of Virginia, M.S., Chem. Eng. (1979); B.S., Chem. Eng., with honors (1977)

• National Science Foundation Fellowship
• Memminger Fellowship
• Tau Beta Pi
• Sigma Xi
• Alpha Chi Sigma
• AICHE Scholarship Award
• Dean's List
• Intermediate Honors

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• Arbitrator, Fee Arbitration Service, District of Columbia Bar (Feb. 1994 - Feb. 1998)
• Arbitrator, Virginia State Bar, Fee Dispute Resolution Program, 18th Cir. Comm. (June 1995 to present)
• Co-author, with Douglas Danner, Trial Practice Checklists 2d (West Group 2001, 3 vols.; supplemented annually)
• Co-author, with William G. Ross, Legal Fees:  Law & Management (Carolina Acad. Press 2003)
• Author, Chapters 11-13, Fifth Annual Litigation Management Supercourse, Volume I 575-594 (PLI March 1994)
• Article, "For Trials, Get A Trial Attorney," 14(51) National Law Journal 17-18 (Aug. 24, 1992)
• Article, "Ways To Counter The Down Side of Litigation," Wash. Bus. Journal 43 (Nov. 2, 1992), republished in Newstrack (Dec. 15, 1992)
• Article, "10 Things Clients Can Do To Strengthen Later Suits," Wash. Bus. Journal 33 (Jan. 1, 1993)
• Article, "Greasing the Wheels for Civil-Justice Reform," 15(34) Legal Times 43 (Jan. 18, 1993)
• Article, "Justice May Justify Name Again," 15(30) National Law Journal 15-16 (March 29, 1993)
• Article, "Attorney Fees: The Case for 'Value Billing,'" Wash. Bus. Journal 57 (June 18, 1993), republished in Newstrack (April 6, 1993)
• Article, "Getting to the Heart of Excessive Attorney Fees," Newstrack (Aug. 3, 1993)
• Article, "A No-Nonsense Approach to Monitoring Those Legal Bills," Wash. Bus. Journal 36 (Dec. 17, 1993)
• Article, "Hire Trial Lawyers, Not Litigators, Say General Counsel," 4(27) Corporate Legal Times 39 (Feb. 1994)
• Article, "Second Opinions May Trim Legal Bills," 16(27) National Law Journal 17 (Feb. 14, 1994)
• Article, "Alternative Billing: Living With the Uncorked Genie," 7(3) Accounting for Law Firms 3-4 (March 1994)
• Article, "Billing: Considering Alternatives That Work & Others That Don't," 7(4) Accounting for Law Firms 4-6 (April 1994)
• Article, "In Litigation, It's Usually the Fall That Kills the Client," Wash. Bus. Journal 15 (May 13, 1994)
• Article, "Ten Tips for Lawyers' Clients," Nation's Business 44 (Oct. 1994)
• Article, "Legal Fees: You Can Keep Them In Check," 21(4) Directorship 8 (April 1995)
• Article, “Creating a Retainer Agreement That’s Fair to Both Sides,” 8(7) Accounting for Law Firms 6-7 (July 1995)
• Article, “Standard Hourly Litigation Retainer Agreement,” 8(8) Accounting for Law Firms 5-8 (August 1995)
• Article, "Real Reform," 81 ABA Journal 80 (September 1995)
• Article, "Audit Your Firm’s Bills Before Your Client Does," 9(11) Accounting for Law Firms 1, 6-7 (Nov. 1996)
• Article, "Integrated Legal Management: A Checklist," WMACCA Counselor 4 (July 1997)
• Article, "Estimating Legal Fees: A Primer for Law Firms," 10(11) Accounting for Law Firms 1-6 (Nov. 1997)
• Article, "Surviving a Legal Bill Audit," 15(1) The Compleat Lawyer 45-50, 62 (Winter 1998)
• Article, "Cost-Conscious Clients," 114(86) Los Angeles Daily Journal 8 (May 4, 2001)
• Article, "Accurate Accounting," 114(103) Los Angeles Daily Journal 8 (May 29, 2001)
• Note, "Like It or Not, the Law is Now a Business," 16(3) National Law Journal 16 (Sept. 20, 1993)
• Note, "We Three Kings of Corporate Law," 17(17) National Law Journal A21 (Dec. 26, 1994 - Jan. 2, 1995)
• Note, "O Little Firm of Bethlehem (PA)," 18(17) National Law Journal A19 (Dec. 25, 1995 - Jan. 1, 1996)
• Report, "Regarding Department of Energy Management of Contractor Litigation Expenses," U.S. House Subcommittee on Oversight & Investigations of the Committee on Energy & Commerce (July 13, 1994), and related reports for the U.S. General Accounting Office.
• Report, "Managing Legal Services," 27(12) MIS Report (Dec. 1995) (International City/County Management Ass'n)
• Recipient, Ross Essay Award, American Bar Association (1995)

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• Guest Lecturer, Trial Advocacy, National Law Center at George Washington University (Spring 1988)
• Lecture, Georgetown University CLE, "Receiverships" (May 1991)
• Lecture, Alexandria Bar Ass'n CLE, "Witness Preparation" (June 1992)
• Lecture, Alexandria Bar Ass'n CLE, "Beyond Rambo: Effective Civil Litigation Tactics" (March 1993)
• Panel Member, Alexandria Bar Ass'n CLE, "Ethics for the Trial Attorney" (March 1993)
• Lecture, Alexandria Bar Ass'n CLE, "What's All This Nonsense About TQM, Value Billing, And Legal Bill Audits?" (Oct. 1993)
• Panel Member, "Law Firm Governance 1994," (BDA program; Feb. 1994)
• Moderator, Alexandria Bar Ass'n CLE, "Practice Before the Virginia Court of Appeals" (April 1994)
• Panel Member, ABA Section of Litigation, "Roundtable for In-House & Outside Counsel" (Oct. 1994)
• Lecture, Alexandria Bar Ass'n CLE, "An Ounce of Prevention: Billing Problems That Drive Clients Crazy" (Jan. 1995)
• Lecture, North Carolina Ass'n of CPAs, "Legal Cost Containment Trends" (Sept. 1995)
• Lecture, Alexandria Bar Ass'n CLE, "Attorney Fees: Law & Practice in Virginia" (Jan. 1996)
• Lecture, Fairfax Bar Ass’n CLE, "Billing & Collection Practices" (May 1996)
• Lecture, Int’l Munic. Lawyers Ass’n, "Managing Litigation Costs" (April 1997)
• Moderator, RIMS, "Managing Legal Fees" (May 1997)
• Panel Member, ABA Health Law Section & Am. Ass’n of Health Plans, "In-House Counsel Workshop" (April 1998)
• Moderator, RIMS, "Warning Signs" (May 1998)
• and others...

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• Admitted to practice law in the District of Columbia (1981), Maryland (1990), and Virginia (1987).
• Also admitted to practice before the U.S. District Courts for the Eastern District of Virginia (and Bankruptcy Court), District of Columbia (inactive), Colorado, and Maryland (inactive); U.S. Claims Court (Court of Federal Claims); U.S. Courts of Appeals for the Federal, District of Columbia, and Fourth Circuits; and, U.S. Supreme Court.

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(09/10/04)

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