In 1998, I worked with a number of very talented attorneys general to hold Big Tobacco accountable for the damage it caused to millions of Americans through years of deception, improper marketing and a number of other nefarious tactics. Until this coordinated effort, no one – not attorneys general nor the civil justice system – could lay a glove on Big Tobacco. They had a virtual army of attorneys and lobbyists, and mountains of cash to fund their effort to avoid accountability.

And it worked, for a while.

But thanks in part to a courageous whistleblower, former Brown & Williamson executive Jeffrey Wigand, Big Tobacco finally had its day of reckoning, and eventually agreed to an omnibus settlement of $206 billion – the largest settlement ever at the time.

This article can also be found in its entirety on Steve Berman's Seattle PI blog page.