#9: Keith Givens in The Heart of Law

In the first-ever, face-to-face episode, Mirena invites business and legal mogul Keith Givens of The Cochran Firm to The Heart of Law. While he calls himself  "a custodian of the brand of Johnnie Cochran," faithfully overseeing the 50-year-old Cochran dynasty,  Keith is no slouch himself. With a master’s degree in Psychology and another graduate degree in Business from Georgia Tech, his aptitude did not go unnoticed by a professor who corralled him into pursuing law despite his disinterest in the field. Who would have thought a gigantic, old oak tree would pave the way for his accidental success as a plaintiff lawyer?

After four decades of making history with his friends Jack Smith and Johnnie Cochran, they turn the legal world upside-down and inside-out, helping hundreds of clients and winning billions of dollars in settlements. Throughout the show, we listen to Keith paying extraordinary homage to the superstar litigator, Johnnie Cochran. While Keith walks us through Johnnie's fame and courageous battle against cancer, we find ourselves shocked at the otherworldly work ethic of a genius who refused to let death overcome his mission. Keith says, “ … [Johnnie is] our greatest asset and ally.”   During the deep dive, our astute host asks Keith to describe the delicate balance between the business of law and the practice of law. We have to agree with Mirena; Keith makes it all look effortless—even after he says,  "It's very hard to run 42 law firms in a way that they're all kind of humming together.” After all, who else can say they head 42 successful firms? Meanwhile, even as he talks about the joys of running the conglomeration with his sons (and a few other family members), Keith keenly gives sage advice on risk measurement and management, superior research and preparation, and not having an aversion to courtroom losses. Steadily providing credit to the brand and reputation of his progenitor, Keith gives five core values (or the 5 “C’s”) he fiercely upholds at The Cochran Firm: Commitment, Client-Focused, Compassion, Competence, and Community. 

As Keith consistently understates his role in the Cochran empire—recalling Johnnie’s humility, motivation, compassion, focus, and dedication to family—we cannot help but admire our modest herald who refuses to call attention to himself. Perhaps, even if he doesn’t care to admit it, he has all these splendid qualities himself. As far as we know, like the old oak tree that marked his journey into law, Keith Givens stands stalwart and steadfast “providing tremendous shade”  and deeply rooted into our American way of life.

EPISODE SURVEY

[00:03:09] Humble beginnings and a serendipitous journey to law
[00:12:52] Keith’s friendship and partnership with Johnnie Cochran
[00:35:37] The future of the Cochran firm
[00:40:50] Navigating the balance between litigation and business
[00:54:25] Working as a lawyer alongside two sons
[01:12:32] The five core values of success for trial lawyers

QUOTABLE QUOTES:

• “Our core and our continued focus on what we do well and enjoy is not going to change.”
• “Never risk more than you can afford to lose.”
• “In our firm and in my professional life … my legacy is not nearly as important as my obligation to recognize, promote, protect the brand … and the legacy of Johnnie Cochran … I think what he stood for as a man and what he represented as a lawyer over decades of his service is something that, if I spend the rest of my professional career trying to give that honor and recognition and live up to those standards then that makes me happy.”
• “In order to be successful, you have to be committed to whatever you're going to do.”
• “When you make it, from a business standpoint … you never become bulletproof and invincible because there's always a project that will and can wash you up … ”
• “ … You can't possibly calculate all of the things that could happen over time. So you need to stay humble. You need to stay alert. You need to stay open to all … changes.”
• “Capital is important to success ... you can't do a lot of good if you're not doing pretty well yourself.”
• “You have to understand this is a service industry ... It's not about the lawyer … it's not really about the system. You just have to function within it and use the system [because] it's about the client.”
• “Dial into the community of what you are doing … and not giving back. It's giving. I mean, there should be a level of unconditional giving. Giving back implies that somebody's giving something to you, and you've got to give back. It’s more important to give than it is to think in terms of giving back.”
• “Being a trial lawyer and protecting the right to trial by jury, fighting for the Constitution, everything associated with justice is extremely noble and very right and very good. But if you do not recognize the business aspect of what we do, you're not going to be well enough financially or otherwise, or even develop the infrastructure to best serve the clients.”

ABOUT OUR GUEST: 

• Co-founder and Managing Partner of The Cochran Firm P.C.
• Obtained over $1 Billion in case verdicts and settlements for clients, including the largest settlement of an Environmental Case in the U.S. 
• Read about Keith’s $700 Million Dollar Settlement 
• Largest verdict for a Wrongful Death case in Alabama 
• Former President of the National Trial Lawyers (2008), The Alabama Trial Lawyers Association (1999 - 2000), The Alabama Civil Justice Foundation (2001), and the Southeast Alabama Trial Lawyers Association (1994, 1997), Member of the Editorial Board for The Trial Lawyer Magazine and The RoundTable: America’s 100 Most Influential Trial Lawyers (2011, 2012, 2013)

LINKS FROM THE SHOW

• Check out Keith’s killer bio, Instagram, and LinkedIn
• The Cochran Firm and the legend behind the name
• The Cochran Firm’s Instagram
• Visit Mirena’s posh website and LinkedIn
• Quote Card and Thumbnail Design by Luisa de Macedo
• Shownotes and podcast content management by Caryl Veloso, founder of Almond Tree Writers’ Ink, LLC.