3 Best Trial Attorneys I Have Seen – by Chuck Boyk
(See Mike Bruno’s 3 Best on back page)
I have been a practicing attorney in Ohio for 40 years. The criteria for this article is that I saw the attorney with my own eyes for a complete trial. Therefore, some great trial attorneys like Timmy Green, Jon Richardson, and Alan Konop are excluded because of that criteria. Further, the three are listed in chronological order of my seeing them in action.
■ Max Rayle – Max was a Bowling Green attorney with a larger-than-life personality. When I saw him in action, he was defending a wrongful death case in front of Judge James Jensen in Lucas County. I was defending a co-defendant. Plaintiff’s counsel was Jim Godbey who had an equally large personality similar to Max. Max owned the courtroom. The jury was enthralled by his every question. His cross-examination was fantastic. Max was the ultimate storyteller. He came across as credible, likable, and very entertaining. His battle with Jim Godbey came across like a heavyweight fight in both size and personality. The end result was a complete defense verdict on a young boy who died while crossing the street after being hit by Max’s client’s vehicle after my client the babysitter let go of the boy’s hand. I was so impressed by Max that I chose him as my personal attorney after that case. Max was an absolute force as an attorney and an even better person. He died much too young.
■ John Thebes- John has a reputation as a top-notch criminal defense attorney. He usually gets the toughest cases with a horrible set of facts to argue. I saw him in action in a Wood County civil case in front of Judge Reeve Kelsey. We represented co-plaintiffs in a disputed liability motorcycle accident. Both of us had horrible offers so we had no choice but to try our cases. John did not have good facts, but they were probably fantastic compared to his typical criminal defense trial. John’s best attributes were his likability, courtroom presence, andcommon-sense approach. He scored his top points by destroying the defendant in cross-examination. Ultimately, we both received verdicts over the $100,000 policy limits. He proved the point that an excellent criminal defense attorney can also try a fantastic civil case.
■ Alyssa Sterling – Alyssa is an Assistant U.S. Attorney in the Northern District of Ohio. I saw her in action during a RICO Drug Conspiracy case in front of Judge Zouhary. I was the second court-appointed attorney for my client because the first attorney resigned due to my client’s attitude. Alyssa went out of her way to reach a fair plea agreement in a professional manner. When that was unsuccessful the case proceeded to trial. Alyssa had a great set of facts. Her problem was that her main witnesses were also cooperating snitch witnesses who were friends of my client. My problems were unflattering audio and video tapes, and the snitch witnesses. Alyssa did not just go through the motions. Her organizational skills, storytelling, and courtroom presence were first-rate, as she pieced together a complicated set of facts with multiple defendants. She was compliant with discovery. However, her strategy and use of evidence kept all the defense attorneys on their toes. The result was convictions against all the defendants. I was impressed because she kicked our butt and at the same time I respected her character in the way she tried the case. There are many great trial attorneys in Northwest Ohio. It has been a pleasure watching them in action.
