2019 Attorneys of the Year: George W. Soule and Melissa R. Stull

The case was 6 years old, the client out of business and the stakes high when Minneapolis attorneys George Soule and Melissa Stull were called in: The plaintiff’s injuries were severe and he would seek $15 million economic damages plus pain and suffering damages and punitive damages.

Yet after numerous legal setbacks and a three-week trial in a complex case that included 18 experts among 39 witnesses, Soule and Stull obtained a full defense verdict in U.S. District Court in Denver.

Jurors found their client, Immedia Inc., was neither negligent nor vicariously liable for a contractor’s alleged negligence. The suit stemmed from injuries that occurred when falling car-go struck a truck driver at an unloading site in 2010 in Minneapolis.

“It’s fair to say that everyone in the courtroom was against us except the jury,” said Soule, calling the verdict “gratifying.”

“To receive a full defense verdict was remarkable even though that was the right result,” Stull said.

Soule, a White Earth Nation member and Tribal Court of Appeals judge, and Stull felt like they had the support of a big fi rm. But Soule & Stull — their minority- and woman-owned firm — has only five attorneys, two paralegals, and two retired Minnesota judges among its professionals.

“It’s a wonderful testament to what a great team we have,” Stull said. Soule complimented paralegal Alice McGlave and attorney Thomas Boyd, whose Winthrop & Weinstine team monitored potential appeal issues.

Soule, a veteran litigator, mentored Stull, whose reputation is rising, at Bowman and Brooke before they left to launch their firm in 2014.

George W. Soule is a Circle of Excellence Attorney of the Year.

Read more about Minnesota Lawyer’s superb class of Attorneys of the Year for 2019 here.

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