NEW YORK (Legal Newsline)-Erin Brockovich has been hired by a New York plaintiffs' firm to woo clients who have contracted lung cancer from asbestos exposure.

The famed legal clerk will pitch the law firm of Weitz & Luxenberg, one of the largest plaintiffs' firms in the Empire State. Brockovich will help bring the firm cases and investigate claims.

"After experiencing firsthand the way Weitz & Luxenberg operates--the tenacious way they take on defendants that have willingly placed people in harm's way--I felt proud when they asked me to join forces to fight injustices such as medical malpractice, tainted pharmaceuticals and faulty medical devices," she said in a statement issued by the law firm.

Firm co-founder Arthur Luxenberg said the public has a connection to Brockovich because of the blockbuster film that bears her name about how she helped plaintiffs' attorney Ed Masery get a $333 million judgment against Pacific Gas and Electric Company over groundwater contamination in a California desert town.

"The public shares a unique bond with Erin because they can relate to her real-life battle against a corporation that effectively poisoned a community's groundwater," Luxenberg said in a statement. "We knew there was no better partner who would add depth, value and passion to our work."

Brockovich, 48, has already filmed two spots for the law firm, which also employs New York Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver.

"I'm Erin Brockovich," she says in one of the ads. "I've seen what big corporations can do. I've seen the harm they've caused ordinary working people.

"I'm here to say to those victims and their families, do not despair. There is hope."

She ends the ad saying, "I've worked with them and I trust them," she said.

From Legal Newsline: Reach reporter Chris Rizo at chrisrizo@legalnewsline.com.