profile-picture

L. Lin Wood

lwood@linwoodlaw.com

Mr. Wood has now retired after more than 45 years of experience as a trial lawyer focusing on civil litigation, representing individuals and corporations as plaintiffs or defendants in tort and business cases involving claims of significant damage. Mr. Wood also has extensive experience in First Amendment litigation and management of the media in high profile cases.

Experience
  • lead civil attorney for the late Richard Jewell in matters arising out of reporting about Mr. Jewell in connection with the 1996 bombing of Centennial Olympic Park in Atlanta
  • lead civil attorney for Jeff Greene in libel litigation against The St. Petersburg Times and The Miami Herald related to Mr. Greene's 2010 campaign for the Democratic Nomination for the U.S. Senate from Florida
  • lead civil attorney for Sheldon Adelson in New York libel litigation against the National Jewish Democratic Council
  • attorney for Republican Presidential candidate Herman Cain in defense of false accusation
  • attorney for Dr. Phil McGraw in connection with false and defamatory articles published by Newsweek, the Daily Beast and the National Enquirer
  • lead civil attorney in Whistleblower cases alleging Medicare fraud against DaVita, Inc. in federal court in Atlanta and against Halifax Hospital Medical Center in federal court in Florida
  • lead civil attorney for Howard K. Stern in the prosecution and defense of defamation claims arising out of the death of Anna Nicole Smith
  • lead trial counsel for The Estate of Martin Luther King, Jr., Inc. in connection with claims related to corporate governance
  • lead attorney for John and the late Patsy Ramsey and their son in matters relating to the 1996 murder of JonBenet Ramsey in Boulder, Colorado
  • attorney for Beth Holloway in matters relating to the media coverage of the May 2005 disappearance of her daughter, Natalee Holloway, in Aruba and in a pending civil action against the National Enquirer in federal court in Alabama

attorney for Sharon Rocha in matters relating to the media coverage of the December 2002 murder of her daughter, Laci Peterson

attorney for former U.S. Congressman Gary Condit in defamation matters relating to the May 2001 abduction and murder of Chandra Levy in Washington

co-counsel for the victim in the civil actions in Colorado against Kobe Bryant

lead counsel for AirTran Airlines, Inc. in defamation litigation against the Cleveland, Ohio newspaper, The Plain Dealer

lead counsel for Esquire Deposition Services LLC in multi-state class actions dealing with billing practices

lead trial counsel for the Estate of Anna Nicole Smith in federal action for misappropriation and theft of estate property

lead trial attorney for Sun Trust Bank in litigation arising out of claims by trust beneficiaries related to an inheritance of Coca-Cola stock

lead trial attorney for Phoebe Putney Health Care System and Phoebe Putney Memorial Hospital in the defense of 42 U.S.C. 1983 claims by a former staff physician

lead trial attorney for NextGen Fuel, Inc. in the defense of claims alleging breach of contract and intellectual property infringement

lead defamation attorney for Nicholas Sandmann in matters against the Washington Post and NBC

Experience

Mr. Wood is a regularly featured speaker on cutting edge legal issues and concerns. Recent speeches, panel appearances and seminars include:

"How to Weave Your Trial Theme into the Entire Trial," American Bar Association's 2007 Annual Conference, Tort Trial & Insurance Practice Section, San Francisco, CA, August 2007

"High Profile Cases -High Profile Headaches," Mississippi Bar Association's Annual Meeting, Sandestin, FL, July 2007

"The Crisis Case: Marketing the Client by Managing the Media," Georgia Defense Lawyers Association's 2007 Annual Meeting, Amelia Island, GA, June 2007

"Not Guilty," Poynter Ethics Fellows Reunion, St. Petersburg, FL, March 2007

"Legitimate Lawyer Expectations of the Presiding Judge in High Profile Cases," ICJE Superior Court Judges Summer Conference, St. Simons, GA, July 2006

"Representing High Profile Victims of Flawed Investigations," The National Crime Victim Bar Association Annual Conference, Washington, D.C., May 2006

"Public Relations in Product Liability Litigation: Crisis or Opportunity?" Product Liability Seminar, ICLE, Atlanta, GA, April 2006

Mark Luchinsky Memorial Lecturer, The Schreyer Honors College & The College of Communications, Pennsylvania State University, January 2006

"False Accusations from Flawed Investigation," Successful Trial Practice, ICLE, November, 2005

"The New Media Era: It's Impact on Reputation," GA, October 2005

"Managing Public and Media Perception," 2005 Brintech Bank Holding Company Idea Exchange, Reynolds Plantation, GA, September 2005

"Managing the Media," 2005 Brintech Bank Executives Forum

"David Taking on Goliath: Taking on the Media in the High Profile Case," Successful Trial Practice, ICLE, February 2005

"Handling the High Profile Case," Proving Damages, ICLE, March 2004

"Ethical Roles and Responsibilities of the Media," 2002 Georgia Tech Executive Round Table Student Faculty Industry Conference, April 2002

"Media and the Law," Houston Bar Association's Annual Seminar

"Libel: Pitfalls for the Unwary," Successful Trial Practice, ICLE, January 2000

On behalf of his clients, Mr. Wood has made numerous national television and radio appearances, including appearances on NBC's The Today Show, CBS' 60 Minutes and 60 Minutes II, Larry King Live, The Oprah Winfrey Show, ABC's Good Morning America, CBS' The Early Show, CNN's American Morning, MSNBC's The Abrams Report, Imus in the Morning and Hardball, Court TV, and the CBS, NBC and ABC evening news programs. Mr. Wood was profiled in the cover article of the January 1998, issue of Atlanta magazine, on the July 12, 2000, broadcast of NBC's The Today Show and in the cover article of the November 27, 2000, issue of Editor & Publisher magazine. Additionally, Mr. Wood was recognized as a Notable Georgian in the January 2002, issue of Georgia Trend magazine.

Mr. Wood was recognized in the August 2004, and September 2005, Atlanta Business Chronicle list of Who's Who in Law and was recognized from 2005 to 2020 as a Georgia Super Lawyer in Law & Politics magazine and Atlanta magazine.

Mr. Wood is the subject of an article published in the Fordham Intellectual Property, Media & Entertainment Law Journal, entitled "Suing the News Media in the Age of Tabloid Journalism: L. Lin Wood and the Battle for Accountability," 16 FORDHAM INTELL. PROP. MEDIA & ENT. L.J. 467 (2006).