While at UNC, he met _Elizabeth Anania_ (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elizabeth_Edwards) , who is four years his senior. They married in the summer of 1977 and had four children. _Wade_ (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wade_Edwards) , was born in 1979, _Cate_ (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cate_Edwards) in 1982, Emma Claire in 1998, and Jack, born in 2000. Their son Wade was killed in a car accident when strong winds swept his Jeep off a North Carolina highway in 1996. Edwards and his wife began the Wade Edwards Foundation in their son's memory; the purpose of the nonprofit organization is "to reward, encourage, and inspire young people in the pursuit of excellence." The Foundation funded the Wade Edwards Learning Lab at Wade's high school, _Broughton High School_ (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Broughton_High_School) in Raleigh, along with scholarship competitions and essay awards. Just weeks before Wade died, he had been honored at the White House by First Lady _Hillary Clinton_ (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hillary_Clinton) for an essay he wrote on entering the voting booth with his father._[4]_ (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Edwards#_note-FoxNewsWade) _[5]_ (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Edwards#_note-WadeFoundation) On _November 3_ (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/November_3) , _2004_ (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2004) , Elizabeth Edwards revealed that she had been diagnosed with _breast cancer_ (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Breast_cancer) . She was treated via _chemotherapy_ (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chemotherapy) and _radiotherapy_ (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Radiotherapy) ,_[6]_ (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Edwards#_note-2) and continued to work within the Democratic Party and her husband's _One America Committee_ (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/One_America_Committee) . On _March 22_ (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/March_22) , _2007_ (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2007) , Edwards and his wife announced that her cancer had returned; she was diagnosed with _stage IV_ (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cancer_staging) _breast cancer_ (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Breast_cancer) , with newly discovered _metastases_ (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Metastasis) to the bone and possibly to her lung._[7]_ (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Edwards#_note-pressconference) _[8]_ (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Edwards#_note-3) They said that the cancer was "no longer curable, but is completely treatable"_[9]_ (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Edwards#_note-4) and that they planned to continue campaigning together with an occasional break when she requires treatment._[10]_ (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Edwards#_note-Elizabethhealth) _[7]_ (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Edwards#_note-pressconference) Legal career (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Four_Trials.jpg) (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Four_Trials.jpg) _Four Trials_ (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Four_Trials) by John Edwards After law school, he _clerked_ (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Law_clerk) for a Federal judge and in 1978 became an associate at the _Nashville_ (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nashville) law firm of Dearborn & Ewing, doing primarily trial work, defending a Nashville bank and other corporate clients. The Edwards family returned to North Carolina in 1981, settling in the capital of _Raleigh_ (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Raleigh,_North_Carolina) where he joined the firm of Tharrington, Smith & Hargrove._[11]_ (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Edwards#_note-EdwardsTrialWork) In 1984 Edwards was assigned to a perceived unwinnable medical malpractice lawsuit; the firm had only accepted it as a favor to an attorney and state senator who did not want to keep it. Nevertheless, Edwards won a $3.7 million verdict on behalf of his client, who suffered permanent brain and nerve damage after a doctor prescribed a drug overdose of anti-_alcoholism_ (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alcoholism) drug _Antabuse_ (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antabuse) during alcohol aversion therapy._[12]_ (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Edwards#_note-findlaw) In other cases, Edwards sued the _American Red Cross_ (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_Red_Cross) three times, alleging transmission of _AIDS_ (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AIDS) through tainted blood products, resulting in a confidential settlement each time, and defended a North Carolina newspaper against a libel charge._[11]_ (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Edwards#_note-EdwardsTrialWork) In 1985, Edwards represented a five-year-old child born with cerebral palsy whose doctor did not choose to perform an immediate Caesarian delivery when a fetal monitor showed she was in distress. Edwards won a $6.5 million verdict for his client, but five weeks later, the presiding judge sustained the verdict but overturned the award on grounds that it was "excessive" and that it appeared "to have been given under the influence of passion and prejudice," adding that in his opinion "the evidence was insufficient to support the verdict." He offered the plaintiffs half of the jury's award, but the child's family appealed the case and settled for $4.25 million._[11]_ (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Edwards#_note-EdwardsTrialWork) Winning this case established the North Carolina precedent of physician and hospital liability for failing to determine if the patient understood risks of a particular procedure._[12]_ (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Edwards#_note-findlaw) After this trial, Edwards gained national attention as a plaintiff's lawyer. He filed at least twenty similar lawsuits in the years following and achieved verdicts and settlements of more than $60 million for his clients. These successful lawsuits were followed by similar ones across the country. When asked about an increase in Caesarean deliveries nationwide, perhaps to avoid similar medical malpractice lawsuits, Edwards said, "The question is, would you rather have cases where that happens instead of having cases where you don't intervene and a child either becomes disabled for life or dies in utero?"_[11]_ (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Edwards#_note-EdwardsTrialWork) In 1993, Edwards began his own firm in Raleigh (now known as _Kirby & Holt_ (http://www.kirby-holt.com/) ) with a friend, David Kirby. He became known as the top plaintiffs' attorney in North Carolina._[11]_ (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Edwards#_note-EdwardsTrialWork) The biggest case of his legal career was a 1997 product liability lawsuit against Sta-Rite, the manufacturer of a defective pool drain cover. The case involved a three-year-old girl_[13]_ (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Edwards#_note-5) who was disemboweled by the _suction_ (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Suction) power of the pool drain _pump_ (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pump) when she sat on an open pool drain whose protective cover other children at the pool had removed, after the swim club had failed to install the cover properly. Despite 12 prior suits with similar claims, Sta-Rite continued to make and sell drain covers lacking warnings. Sta-Rite protested that an additional warning would have made no difference because the pool owners already knew the importance of keeping the cover secured. In his closing arguments, Edwards spoke to the jury for an hour and a half and referenced his son, Wade, who had been killed shortly before testimony began. Mark Dayton, editor of North Carolina Lawyers Weekly, would later call it "the most impressive legal performance I have ever seen."_[14]_ (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Edwards#_note-6) The jury awarded the family $25 million, the largest personal injury award in North Carolina history. The company settled for the $25 million while the jury was deliberating additional _punitive damages_ (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Punitive_damages) , rather than risk losing an appeal. For their part in this case, Edwards and law partner David Kirby earned the _Association of Trial Lawyers of America_ (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Association_of_Trial_Lawyers_of_America) 's national award for public service._[12]_ (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Edwards#_note-findlaw) The family said that they hired Edwards over other attorneys because he alone had offered to accept a smaller percentage as fee unless the award was unexpectedly high, while all of the other lawyers they spoke with said they required the full one-third fee. The size of the jury award was unprecedented, and Edwards did receive the standard one-third plus expenses fee typical of contingency cases. The family was so impressed with his intelligence and commitment_[11]_ (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Edwards#_note-EdwardsTrialWork) that they volunteered for his Senate campaign the next year. After Edwards won a large verdict against a trucking company whose worker had been involved in a fatal accident, the North Carolina legislature passed a law prohibiting such awards unless the employee's actions had been specifically sanctioned by the company._[11]_ (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Edwards#_note-EdwardsTrialWork) In December 2003, during his first presidential campaign, Edwards (with _John Auchard_ (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Auchard) ) published _Four Trials_ (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Four_Trials) , a biographical book focusing on cases from his legal career. The success of the Sta-Rite case and his son's death (Edwards had hoped his son would eventually join him in private law practice) prompted Edwards to leave the legal profession and seek public office. **************************************See AOL's top rated recipes (http://food.aol.com/top-rated-recipes?NCID=aoltop00030000000004) いいいいいいいいいいいいいいいいいいいいいいいいいいいいい To unsubscribe/subscribe or view archives of postings, go to the Gambia-L Web interface at: http://listserv.icors.org/archives/gambia-l.html To Search in the Gambia-L archives, go to: http://listserv.icors.org/SCRIPTS/WA-ICORS.EXE?S1=gambia-l To contact the List Management, please send an e-mail to: [log in to unmask] いいいいいいいいいいいいいいいいいいいいいいいいいいいいい