Our People
Richard W. Bethea
Shareholder
Richard Bethea heads the firm's Litigation Practice Group and focuses his practice on the trial of complex business cases, with particular emphasis on product liability defense, patent and trademark infringement, unfair competition and trade practices, commercial claims, and manufacturers' risk prevention. He has been the lead counsel on cases in 35 states and has been involved in the handling of other cases in Canada, Great Britain, France, Switzerland, and Australia.
Mr. Bethea rejoined Chambliss, Bahner & Stophel, P.C. in 2003 as a shareholder in the Litigation Practice. Prior to that he spent six years at Astec Industries, Inc. as Vice President and Corporate Counsel and later as Executive Vice President and Secretary. Astec is a publicly traded manufacturer of products for building and rebuilding the world's infrastructure. Before joining Astec, he was a shareholder in Stophel & Stophel, P.C. and headed the firm's litigation practice.
Mr. Bethea has attended the National College of Advocacy, the National Institute for Trial Advocacy and the National Institute for Trial Advocacy's Advanced Advocacy Program. In addition, he has been called upon on numerous occasions by clients and organizations such as the Defense Research Institute, the National Business Institute, the Product Liability Advisory Council, the Association of Equipment Manufacturers and the Chattanooga Manufacturers Association to speak at seminars on product liability prevention, manufacturers' risk prevention, civil procedure and trial advocacy.
Mr. Bethea is a founding co-chairman of the Litigation Section of Meritas.
Mr. Bethea was named to the 2011 BTI Client Service All-Star Team for his commitment to exceptional client service. This exclusive group of 318 attorneys from 201 law firms was selected by the BTI Consulting Group on the basis of its interviews with more than 240 corporate counsel at large and Fortune 1000 companies.
Representative Matters
- Lead counsel in cases in 35 states. Has tried dozens of cases to verdict in both federal and state courts throughout the United States. Most recently, such cases include:
- A defense verdict in favor of our client, a manufacturer accused of trade secret misappropriation by a competitor (Jury-Federal Court)
- A defense verdict in favor of our client, a manufacturer accused of patent infringement by a competitor (Jury-Federal Court)
- A defense verdict in favor of our client, a fast food multiple franchise, sued for specific performance regarding proposed sale of restaurants (Jury-Federal Court)
Memberships
- American Bar Association, Litigation Section, Tort & Insurance Practice Section, Intellectual Property Section
- American Inns of Court, Brock-Cooper Chapter
- American Intellectual Property Law Association
- Chattanooga Bar Association
- Defense Research Institute, Product Liability Committee, Manufacturer's Risk Prevention Litigation Group, Agricultural, Construction, Mining and Industrial Equipment Specialized Litigation Group
- Diversity Law Institute
- Federal Bar Association
- The Trial Law Institute
- International Association of Defense Counsel
- NITA Advocates Association
- Product Liability Advisory Council, Designated Corporate Representative and Board Member
- State Bar of Georgia
- Tennessee Bar Association
Honors
- BTI Client Service All-Stars in IP & Complex Litigation, The BTI Consulting Group, 2011
- Mid-South Super Lawyers, Business Litigation
- The Best Lawyers in America, Commercial Litigation, Intellectual Property Litigation, Patent Litigation, and Product Liability Litigation
- American College of Trial Lawyers Medal for Excellence on Advocacy
- Fellow, Litigation Counsel of America
