Langdon & Emison partners Bob Langdon and Mark Emison were guest speakers at a recent event hosted by the Kansas University (KU) Law School Trial Association. The partners, along with former client Lt. Col. Aaron Eckberg, spoke to nearly 20 law students about building and maintaining successful attorney-client relationships.
During the presentation, the attorneys talked about their passion for being trial lawyers and their experiences working with Eckerberg on his case. After a one-week trial, a federal jury awarded $4.5 million to Eckerberg for severe injuries he sustained in a motor vehicle accident.
In February 2014, Eckerberg was driving a pick-up truck and attached trailer on 65 Highway near Sedalia, Mo., when a driver for Interstate Studio & Publishing Co. drove through a stop sign at an intersection and crashed into Eckerberg’s trailer, causing the truck and trailer to spin and flip upside-down in a ditch.
Eckerberg lost consciousness long enough for witnesses to believe he was dead. He suffered life-altering injuries, including a fractured thoracic vertebrate and a mild traumatic brain injury.
Attorneys Bob Langdon and Mark Emison successfully argued at trial that Eckerberg’s injuries were career-ending and had a significant impact on his future earnings. Defendant Interstate Studio appealed the verdict, but it was upheld by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 8th Circuit.
During the presentation, Eckerberg shared his experience as a Langdon & Emison client. He told the students that Langdon & Emison attorneys and paralegals communicated with him weekly and, by the end of the trial, they felt like family. Eckerberg also talked about the emotion of the trial and the tears he shared with the Langdon & Emison trial team when the verdict was read.
After the presentation, the guest speakers met with law students to answer questions about trial work, attorney-client relationships and other legal topics.