National legal journalist Mark Curriden has covered a lot of great trial lawyers over the years, including many from Tennessee. Jerry Summers, Leroy Phillips and Conrad Finnell are just a few of the locals he has profiled.
Curriden says these men are part of a generation of lawyers with great stories to tell. With the number of trials in the U.S. seemingly approaching zero, and with fewer and fewer trial lawyers taking their place, they also are a disappearing breed.
Seeing an opportunity, Curriden interviewed seven lawyers he says are among the best litigators in the U.S. – Bernie Nussbaum, Joe Jamail, James Neal, Fred Bartlit, Bobby Lee Cook, James Brosnahan and Richard Haynes. Although the six who are still alive are older than 70, when the nation’s largest corporations and most important people face serious trouble, they still turn to these old-timers. (Neal passed away at age 81 in Nashville, Tenn., in 2010.)
Called the Lions of the Trial Bar, these are the men whose names can be found in case books and on the sides of law school buildings, who have dazzled juries and swayed judges as they’ve tried some of the most important cases of the last 50 years, and who became wealthy as they won or saved billions of dollars for clients.
These seven lawyers have also represented the guilty and unpopular because they thought it was the right thing to do.
Curriden turned his interviews into an acclaimed series of articles for the ABA Journal. The stories he told are timeless, provocative, profane and laugh-out-loud funny.
Now Curriden is bringing these stories to Chattanooga for what should be a rollicking CLE presentation. Dubbed “Lions of the Trial Bar” and presented by the Chattanooga Bar Association, the event will take place Friday, October 26 from 8 a.m. to 11:45 a.m. at The Walden Club. Attorneys present will earn three hours of dual CLE credit.
Some of the stories Curriden plans to tell took place in Chattanooga. Neal shared “wonderful stories about prosecuting Jimmy Hoffa” with Curriden, and Cook discussed the Butcher banking empire case, among others, with the writer.
“Any story Bobby Lee Cook told me is a favorite. He’s great at taking the listener to the county courthouse, where the courtroom was packed with spectators for what was the biggest trial ever in that town. In those days, trials were like theater, and townspeople would attend when they had work breaks or school was over,” Curriden says.
Curriden does issue one caveat: some of the stories are intended for adults ear only.
“The seven Lions drink a lot ... and use profanity to their advantage, which I know is shocking. But famed lawyer Jim Neal told me he grew up in a family where cursing was second nature. He said he was nine years old before he realized ‘mother’ was a standalone word.”
As an added bonus, Curriden has invited Cook, widely thought to be the inspiration for TV’s Matlock, to the presentation.
Curriden hopes the presentation will do more than entertain; he hopes it also will teach.
“The stories demonstrate a lawyer’s commitment to the client and the law. They shine a spotlight on legal strategies, case preparation and attorney-client privilege. They are also guides on legal ethics. As some of my lawyers told me, they were not always the best example of legal ethics,” he says.
Those who attend the presentation should leave with a deeper understanding of history and inspired to create a legacy of their own for the next generation of lawyers.
“The seven Lions and their stories act as a history lesson, harkening back to an era before PowerPoint and jury consultants. Most of the seven didn’t come close to graduating at the top of their law school class,” Curriden says.
To register, call the CBA at 756-3222 or email Lynda Hood, executive director of the Bar, at lhood@chattbar.org.