Paul T. Farrell Jr. | |
|---|---|
| Born | Paul Thomas Farrell Jr. (1972-07-01)July 1, 1972 (age 53) |
| Alma mater | |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Spouse | Jacqueline K. Farrell |
| Children | 3 |
Paul Thomas Farrell Jr. (born July 1, 1972) is an American attorney fromHuntington, West Virginia who ran forPresident of the United States in the2016 West Virginia Democratic primary.
Paul Thomas Farrell Jr. was born to Judge Paul Thomas Farrell and Charlene Marie Linsenmeyer on July 1, 1972.[1][2] Farrell spent his first few years inMorgantown, West Virginia before moving to Huntington. There he would graduate from Huntington East High School in 1990. Farrell would later graduate fromUniversity of Notre Dame in 1994, and theWest Virginia University College of Law in 1997, where he was the managing editor of theLaw Review.[3]
On January 28, 2016, Farrell filed for President of the United States for the Democratic Party in West Virginia.[4] He cited West Virginia's disenchantment with the national candidates as his motivation for running, noting U.S. PresidentBarack Obama's poor showing in the2012 Democratic Primary in West Virginia.[5][6][7] Farrell did not plan to run in any additional states, instead saying he would like to bring national attention to the 'economically gutted regions of the state' caused by the so-calledwar on coal.[8] Farrell came in third in the West Virginia primary, receiving just under 9 percent of the vote.[9] In his best performance, Farrell came in second place inMingo County, beatingHillary Clinton by 113 votes.[10] He lost toBernie Sanders, who won every county in the state.
Farrell practiced for 15 years at the law firm of Greene, Ketchum, Farrell, Bailey & Tweel[11] where he was a partner. His work at Greene Ketchum focused primarily on medical malpractice and personal injury lawsuits.
In January 2020, Farrell launched his own law firm, Farrell Law.[12]
Farrell's home state of West Virginia has been the epicenter of theopioid epidemic. Between 2007 and 2012, drug distribution companies shipped 780 million doses of opioids to West Virginia, and 1,728 overdose deaths occurred.[13] In 2017, Farrell filed a series of lawsuits against the drug company distributors under the state'spublic nuisance laws.[14][15] The suits, filed on behalf of various counties, seek to hold the drug distribution companies accountable for the cost incurred fighting the epidemic. InCabell County alone, 40 million tablets were distributed in a five-year period, more than 400 for each of the 96,000 people who reside there.[16]
Farrell work in the opioid cases is the subject of the 2024 documentary filmThe Bitter Pill.[17]