What. A. Year! 2022 was a whirlwind at GRL. The year seemed like it was in non-stop fast-forward from the very beginning. Cases backlogged by COVID were finally able to proceed. Insurance companies that had been sitting on their reserves throughout COVID finally found themselves staring down the reality of a jury trial on civil cases and saw the writing on the wall. When trials are available, things begin to move. Move they certainly did.
The Civil Division secured over 5 MILLION dollars in verdicts and settlements making a positive impact for GRL’s clients and the community. Founding Partner Cory Gourley and Partner Grant Gangestad obtained a six-figure jury verdict in Southern Iowa on a case where the insurance company refused to budge on their valuation of the case. The verdict far surpassed the defendant’s final offer before trial.
The Criminal Defense Division was busy with jury trials. GRL had eleven criminal jury trials, with the majority of the charges being serious felony accusations including multiple Sexual Assaults and a Vehicular Homicide. EVERY GRL client who went through a jury trial on felony offenses were found NOT GUILTY. TWO of those NFG’s were entered by the presiding judge by way of Judgment of Acquittal where the judge dismissed the case without even submitting it to the jury for consideration.
In addition to the busy jury trial work, countless hearings were held on motions to suppress evidence with motions being granted, cases being dismissed and justice being secured for GRL’s clients. The complete list can be found in our Results section. GRL is successful because we are willing to take on the fights that need to be fought. Good things happen when GRL announces “ready to proceed, Your Honor.”
While we are certainly proud of the past-years accomplishments, GRL is far from satisfied. Contentment breeds complacency and no good ever came from being satisfied with past accomplishments. Every year GRL undertakes the process of self-critiquing and re-evaluating where and how we can build on the successes of the past to improve the positive impact we are able to have for our clients and community. We look forward to pushing ourselves to do more and to do better.
Cheers to the past and Cheers to what we make of 2023!
