KoriEllis
09-27-2004, 07:11 PM
Bryant Faces Shrewd, Media-Savvy Attorney
By Jon Sarche, Associated Press Writer
Sep 27, 2004
DENVER (AP) The Kobe Bryant defense team that saw rape charges against the NBA star thrown out three weeks ago faces a tough new challenge in civil court: L. Lin Wood, a fearless, media-savvy Atlanta lawyer once called the "attorney for the damned."
Wood is representing Bryant's 20-year-old accuser in a lawsuit in which the woman is seeking an unspecified amount of money, as well as public vindication.
"If you're going to go to war and I do adopt the philosophy that every lawsuit is a war and each step along the way can be described as a battle then you've got to believe in what you're fighting for and in the person you're fighting for," Wood said in a recent interview. "I do that."
The federal lawsuit against Bryant is unusual territory for Wood, who is best known for bringing libel and defamation cases on behalf of the accused.
Tall, with silvery blond hair, Wood is known for wearing pressed jeans and cowboy boots everywhere except the courtroom. But then, his cases often end before he ever has to stand before a judge.
Wood can point to a long list of settlements he has wrung from high-powered defendants for clients such as former Rep. Gary Condit, Richard Jewell and the parents of JonBenet Ramsey.
"I don't think there's any question that Lin's presence in the Kobe Bryant case has turned the heat up several notches for Kobe and his legal team," said Wayne Grant, Wood's former law partner. "The only thing that I can say is Kobe better be well-prepared for his deposition."
The 51-year-old Wood earned his law degree from Mercer University in Macon, Ga., and began his legal career in 1977 as a medical malpractice attorney. He started specializing in defamation lawsuits after he was hired by an attorney for Jewell, the man falsely suspected in the deadly bombing at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics.
Under Wood's fierce attacks, the Justice Department issued a letter exonerating Jewell, and several media organizations settled defamation suits. Wood, years ago dubbed the "attorney for the damned" by Dan Rather, is still involved in litigation against the Atlanta Journal-Constitution over its reporting on the bombing.
In representing the parents of JonBenet, Wood has won settlements in a string of defamation lawsuits he has filed and dismissals of all lawsuits brought against John and Patsy Ramsey, who have come under suspicion in the death of the 6-year-old beauty queen found beaten and strangled in the family's Boulder home in 1996.
Wood used one of those lawsuits to force the first judicial review of the case. The judge said the evidence suggested an intruder killed the girl.
Last month, Wood won a libel settlement for Condit against three tabloid newspapers that connected the former congressman to the disappearance and death of Chandra Levy.
In the Bryant case, the woman accusing the basketball star of rape watched months of unflattering news reports about her sex life and her mental health. In July, her family and her lawyer John Clune decided to bring in outside expertise. Wood's name kept coming up.
Within a month, Clune and Wood had sued Bryant for damages and launched a media blitz on her behalf. The woman later refused to go ahead with the rape case, and the criminal charges were dropped. But the lawyers are pressing ahead with the civil case.
Wood said his goal in working for clients such as the Ramseys and Bryant's accuser is not only to obtain financial compensation for what they have been through, but also to help polish their damaged images.
"You can't restore a client whose reputation has been damaged solely with (financial) compensation," said Grant, the former partner. "That's what our system provides, but Lin goes a step further and gets the message out there that what was said was wrong, what was portrayed was false."
John Ramsey recalled contacting Wood, a married father of four, three years after his daughter was slain.
"There's two types of attorneys: one that you'd use to review contracts, and the other you'd use to fight for your rights and for what's right and he's the latter," Ramsey said.
Peter Canfield, the lawyer defending the Journal-Constitution in the Jewell case, said Wood's tough questioning amounts to "a lot of theatrics but not a lot of substance."
"If you want publicity, he's your lawyer," Canfield said. "Clients sort of have to figure out whether that's what they want or not."
Wood's sometimes abrasive style is "absolutely" the kind of advocacy Bryant's accuser needs, said Neville Johnson, a libel attorney who represented Condit's wife in a 2003 lawsuit against a tabloid.
"What you have to recognize is he is for the most part fighting giant institutions or very wealthy adversaries who are used to intimidating or attempting to intimidate the other side," Johnson said. "He is fearless and cannot be intimidated."
By Jon Sarche, Associated Press Writer
Sep 27, 2004
DENVER (AP) The Kobe Bryant defense team that saw rape charges against the NBA star thrown out three weeks ago faces a tough new challenge in civil court: L. Lin Wood, a fearless, media-savvy Atlanta lawyer once called the "attorney for the damned."
Wood is representing Bryant's 20-year-old accuser in a lawsuit in which the woman is seeking an unspecified amount of money, as well as public vindication.
"If you're going to go to war and I do adopt the philosophy that every lawsuit is a war and each step along the way can be described as a battle then you've got to believe in what you're fighting for and in the person you're fighting for," Wood said in a recent interview. "I do that."
The federal lawsuit against Bryant is unusual territory for Wood, who is best known for bringing libel and defamation cases on behalf of the accused.
Tall, with silvery blond hair, Wood is known for wearing pressed jeans and cowboy boots everywhere except the courtroom. But then, his cases often end before he ever has to stand before a judge.
Wood can point to a long list of settlements he has wrung from high-powered defendants for clients such as former Rep. Gary Condit, Richard Jewell and the parents of JonBenet Ramsey.
"I don't think there's any question that Lin's presence in the Kobe Bryant case has turned the heat up several notches for Kobe and his legal team," said Wayne Grant, Wood's former law partner. "The only thing that I can say is Kobe better be well-prepared for his deposition."
The 51-year-old Wood earned his law degree from Mercer University in Macon, Ga., and began his legal career in 1977 as a medical malpractice attorney. He started specializing in defamation lawsuits after he was hired by an attorney for Jewell, the man falsely suspected in the deadly bombing at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics.
Under Wood's fierce attacks, the Justice Department issued a letter exonerating Jewell, and several media organizations settled defamation suits. Wood, years ago dubbed the "attorney for the damned" by Dan Rather, is still involved in litigation against the Atlanta Journal-Constitution over its reporting on the bombing.
In representing the parents of JonBenet, Wood has won settlements in a string of defamation lawsuits he has filed and dismissals of all lawsuits brought against John and Patsy Ramsey, who have come under suspicion in the death of the 6-year-old beauty queen found beaten and strangled in the family's Boulder home in 1996.
Wood used one of those lawsuits to force the first judicial review of the case. The judge said the evidence suggested an intruder killed the girl.
Last month, Wood won a libel settlement for Condit against three tabloid newspapers that connected the former congressman to the disappearance and death of Chandra Levy.
In the Bryant case, the woman accusing the basketball star of rape watched months of unflattering news reports about her sex life and her mental health. In July, her family and her lawyer John Clune decided to bring in outside expertise. Wood's name kept coming up.
Within a month, Clune and Wood had sued Bryant for damages and launched a media blitz on her behalf. The woman later refused to go ahead with the rape case, and the criminal charges were dropped. But the lawyers are pressing ahead with the civil case.
Wood said his goal in working for clients such as the Ramseys and Bryant's accuser is not only to obtain financial compensation for what they have been through, but also to help polish their damaged images.
"You can't restore a client whose reputation has been damaged solely with (financial) compensation," said Grant, the former partner. "That's what our system provides, but Lin goes a step further and gets the message out there that what was said was wrong, what was portrayed was false."
John Ramsey recalled contacting Wood, a married father of four, three years after his daughter was slain.
"There's two types of attorneys: one that you'd use to review contracts, and the other you'd use to fight for your rights and for what's right and he's the latter," Ramsey said.
Peter Canfield, the lawyer defending the Journal-Constitution in the Jewell case, said Wood's tough questioning amounts to "a lot of theatrics but not a lot of substance."
"If you want publicity, he's your lawyer," Canfield said. "Clients sort of have to figure out whether that's what they want or not."
Wood's sometimes abrasive style is "absolutely" the kind of advocacy Bryant's accuser needs, said Neville Johnson, a libel attorney who represented Condit's wife in a 2003 lawsuit against a tabloid.
"What you have to recognize is he is for the most part fighting giant institutions or very wealthy adversaries who are used to intimidating or attempting to intimidate the other side," Johnson said. "He is fearless and cannot be intimidated."