User:Jawodele/Jeff Anderson (lawyer)

Jeff Anderson is widely recognized as a pioneer in sexual abuse litigation and a champion of survivors of childhood sexual abuse. In nearly four decades as a litigator he has represented thousands of clients, has tried over two hundred and fifty jury trials to verdict and is credited with being instrumental in exposing the large scale cover-up of pedophile priests in the early 1980's.

As one of the first trial lawyers in America to publicly and aggressively initiate lawsuits against sexual predators—and the institutions that conceal and protect them—his efforts have obtained justice for thousands of survivors of childhood sexual abuse.

In an effort to expose Catholic bishops, and the Pope himself, in what Anderson says is a global conspiracy to cover up the sexual abuse of children by clergy, he has obtained and released thousands of church documents pointing to church officials moving priests from parish to parish while knowing of their history of sexually abusing children.

An indicator of the impact Anderson’s work has had in the effort to seek justice for children who have been sexually abused is the number of national and international media outlets that have featured his work. Anderson’s work has resulted in major stories on CBS, NBC, ABC, CNN, BBC, and Italian Public Television. In addition, he has been featured in articles and profiles in the New York Times, Washington Post, Los Angeles Times, St. Paul Pioneer Press, Minneapolis Star Tribune, People Magazine, the ABA Journal and the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.

Anderson's efforts extend beyond the courtroom where he is a frequent lecturer, survivor advocate and author who argues for legislative and judicial protection of children and the prevention of childhood sexual abuse.

In 2009, Anderson received the National Crime Victim Bar Association’s Frank Carrington Champion of Civil Justice Award for his efforts to pursue justice for victims of crime through civil litigation.

In 2011, Anderson’s firm joined with London-based Solicitor Ann Olivarius to create an office in the United Kingdom.

John V. Doe v. Holy See

Currently, Anderson has filed three lawsuits against the Holy See, including John V. Doe v. Holy See.

The facts of the case are that John V. Doe was allegedly abused multiple times in 1965, when he was a minor, by Father Andrew Ronan, in Portland, Oregon. Before Portland, Father Ronan was caught by Catholic Church officials sexually molesting seminarians in Ireland and children in Chicago. Anderson brought the suit on behalf of John V. Doe against the Servites, a religious order, and the Holy See, which is the head of the Catholic Church.

The claims against the Holy See included vicarious liability for the acts of its instrumentalities and domestic corporations, respondeat superior for the actions of Ronan as an alleged employee of the Holy See, and direct liability based on the Holy See’s own negligence in retention and supervision of Ronan, and its failure to warn of his harmful propensities. In response, the Holy See claimed sovereign immunity from suit under the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act and moved the court to dismiss the case. The district court denied the motion to dismiss and the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals also denied the Holy See’s motion. In 2010 the U.S. Supreme Court denied the Holy See’s petition to hear the case on appeal. As a result, Anderson is the first attorney to begin discovery in a clergy abuse case against the Vatican.