J. Kent Emison, founding member of the personal injury law firm Langdon & Emison, was honored during the Missouri Association of Trial Attorneys’ annual banquet with the Thomas G. Strong Trial Attorney Award last night. The award was conceived to honor the Missouri attorney who best exemplifies the qualities of professionalism, ethics, character and courtroom success.
In the words of Springfield lawyer Thomas Strong, who presented him with the award, Emison is “always professional and congenial to opposing lawyers. He handles each of his cases with dedication and honesty. He has an unparalleled ability to show compassion in the most difficult of circumstances, and is a model for trial attorneys nationwide.”
A longtime MATA Board of Governors member and Past-President of the organization, Emison has had a partnership with Bob Langdon for 30 years. He is also a member of the Attorneys Information Exchange Group, the American Association for Justice Leaders Forum, and is a Fellow in the International Academy of Trial Lawyers.
“This is an incredible honor to be recognized with the Thomas Strong Trial Attorney Award,” Kent said from the MATA annual convention in Lake of the Ozarks. “I’m humbled by the quality of attorneys who have received this award before me, and it only motivates me to dedicate myself to the profession and to fighting for consumers all the more.”
Emison devotes 100% of his practice to representing injured individuals and their families. Langdon & Emison has earned a national reputation in litigating matters pertaining to truck accidents, fuel-fed fires, auto product defects, and injuries across a full array of personal injury. This summer will mark the 20th anniversary of his firm’s successful trial of Baker v. General Motors, a case that resolved with the Supreme Court agreeing in Langdon & Emison’s client’s favor that a lower court still did not have to abide by a Michigan injunction forbidding a former GM employee from testifying against GM. It is considered a landmark case in the product liability arena, and is still taught in law schools today.
Founded in 1951, MATA represents 1,300 trial lawyers who are dedicated to protecting the civil justice system and the right to trial by jury, safeguarding victims’ rights, promoting injury prevention, and disclosing information crucial to public health and safety.