“
First, John Bell is a good, strong, kind, intel- ligent, human being. As result, he was well positioned to become the great lawyer he is. I have known John since we represented co-defendants in a wrongful death prod- uct liability case in the early 1980s. Most memorable was our unplanned tag team match in our respective cross-examina- tions of plaintiff’s expert witness, Marvin Salzenstein. As was my wont, I attacked the witness with a sledgehammer, trying to bash him senseless. The next morn- ing, John took his turn. Softly and ever so gentlemanly, he sliced and diced the wit- ness so deftly that Salzenstein barely felt the cuts as body parts fell away.
Bell said that this doesn’t mean that he always fought to absolve his clients of all responsibility for injuries, accidents or other matters. It did mean fighting for fair compensation. Bell didn’t want his clients to be hit with excessive penalties. He wanted the compensation paid out to plaintiffs to be commensurate with the circumstances of each individual case. And when Bell believed that his clients bore no fault at all? He fought hard to shield them from damage. Bell points to one series of cases – in 1975 – in which he represented compa- nies manufacturing heavy cranes. The plaintiffs in these cases claimed that the cranes manufactured by his client were defective because they did not have an add-on technology that would alert operators if they were moving too close to power lines. These cases drew national headlines, with Diane Sawyer from CBS’ 60 Minutes even interviewing Bell in his Chicago office. As Bell told Sawyer during the inter - view, his experts said that the crane industry should not be so quick to embrace this tech, that it could give operators a false sense of security. One big prob- lem? The presence of large trucks altered the shape of the electromagnetic field around the power lines. This could confuse crane operators and lead to
I’ve been a John Bell admirer ever since.
For the last 15 years of my career, I was John’s partner at Johnson & Bell. For the last 18, we have been regular golf partners at Evanston Golf Club, where despite re- cent physical problems, he still has a com- petitive game. John, congratulations on receiving this Lifetime Achievement Award in recogni- tion of a lifetime of achievements.”
James K. Toohey, Johnson & Bell Ltd.
Tom Demetrio, Pat Morris and John Bell at the 2023 JVR Trial Excellence Awards
“ Clarence Darrow once said “The only real lawyers are trial lawyers, and trial lawyers try cases to juries.” Thomas Jef- ferson said “Honesty is the first chapter in the book of wisdom.” Darrow and Jefferson have perfectly de- scribed my friend John Bell: A wise man and a real lawyer. I will leave it to others to wax eloquent on his courtroom skills. Simply know he is one of the best opponents I have ever faced. Juries love him because he is lovable. Judges love him because he is reasonable, professional, meticu- lously prepared, and, by the way - - did I
mention lovable? His opponents love him because he always keeps his word, doesn’t cheat, and yep you guessed it he is lovable. And his clients love him because he is a fierce advocate who consistently wins cases because well - - juries love him. I love him because he is John Bell. One of the kindest most decent human be- ings God ever created. Our polarized world needs more folks like John. In all the years we have been friends I have never known him to say a cross word about another person. I have never known him to speak anything but
the truth. He treats everyone the same way; with courtesy, respect, and genuine affection. Lifetime achievement awards normally go to folks at the end of outstanding careers in the courtroom. He surely had that. But John’s greatest lifetime achieve- ment is the life he continues to live.”
Thomas Q. Keefe, Jr., Keefe, Keefe & Unsell, P.C.
50 JURY VERDICT REPORTER • 2023 ANNUAL TRIAL LAWYER EXCELLENCE AWARDS
Powered by FlippingBook