First Orphans, Now Santa
Yates made his gesture on the same day that the Pitch ran my column about a couple of asbestos bills that Yates and Bryan Pratt (R., Blue Springs) have sponsored. I questioned whether Yates’ and Pratt’s employment at Shook, Hardy & Bacon -- the Kansas City law firm notorious for its work defending tobacco companies – had informed their decision to stifle product-liability suits.
It’s probably just a coincidence that Yates made a heartwarming effort to recognize Stewart just as my column hit the streets and the Web. Still, the Santa Highway proposal reminded me of a story that appeared in The Kansas City Star last October. Star legal writer Dan Margolies described a federal judge’s ruling in a tobacco case that criticized Shook Hardy and two other firms for playing “an absolutely central role” in the deception of the public about the hazards of smoking.
Margolies interviewed Shook Hardy Chairman John Murphy, who tried his damnedest to take readers’ minds off cigarettes.
“It’s interesting,” Murphy was quoted as saying. “Tonight we’re going to be honored at a dinner in New York by a national organization on children’s rights for our representation of foster kids pro bono. The way we approached our representation of foster children with respect to ethics is the same way we approached our representation of tobacco clients. No difference.”
Defending tobacco companies. Helping foster kids.
You’re right, John. No difference.
– David Martin
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