When plaintiffs’ attorney Randall Rhodes faces off with Bowman and Brooke attorneys in the courtroom, he braces for the inevitable: defense lawyers who know their product — and some crafty trial techniques. “They are not typical defense lawyers in that they will do innovative things that other defense firms won’t do,” said Rhodes, name partner at Kansas City, Mo.’s Douthit Frets Rouse Gentile & Rhodes.
Rhodes recalled a 2009 jury trial in a rural Missouri town when he went up against Bowman, which was defending Ford Motor Co. in a fatal rollover case. Bowman and Brooke partner David Kelly hauled in clunky, 4-foot-wide photos taped to foam boards to show his exhibits, rather than using a digital screen. “David Kelly opted to go old-school and bring in a bunch of blowups — things that we did 15 years ago,” Rhodes said. “I thought, ‘What’s he doing?’ We’ve got this fancy courtroom with all these toys.”
