2020 Trusted Advisers Attorney: Jake Reinbold

When a business is hit with a lawsuit, Jake Reinbold’s phone rings.

In his 16 years as an attorney, Reinbold’s focus has been on civil litigation, including insurance defense and coverage disputes, product liability defense, legal malpractice defense and general civil defense.

“I manage pretrial litigation aspects of cases, prepare liability and damage assessment evaluations for corporate clients, and prepare complex coverage opinions for insurance companies. I defend cases from beginning to end,” Reinbold says.

His work involves oral arguments, discovery, bench and jury trials, and appeals.

“During the course of the litigation process, I counsel my clients on the risks associated with taking a case to trial and provide damage and liability assessments to my clients so that they can make informed decisions on proceeding with trial or negotiating a fair and reasonable settlement,” Reinbold says.

Clients consist primarily of businesses and people who have been sued by an injured party. They include globally recognized automobile manufacturers, insurance companies and a university.

“My job as an adviser is to counsel my clients through the litigation process and provide them with all available remedies and defenses,” he says.

When there is no valid defense, his job is to facilitate a settlement.

“Litigation is very stressful for those unfamiliar with the process, and my goal is to reassure my clients that a lawsuit is not the end of the world and provide the guidance and advice necessary for my clients to endure the lawsuit and move forward,” he says.

Key to the process is pouring his energy into collecting all the evidence he can. That may include investigating accident scenes, reviewing medical and employment records or investigating a litigant’s social media history. He says the only way to present the strongest defense possible is to be armed with all available information and evidence.

And that takes time.

“What a lot of clients don’t realize is that it can take working many long nights and weekends, over and above the typical 9-to-5 business day, to accomplish all of the investigation and legal research needed to get a case ready for trial or in a position to settle,” Reinbold says.

Reinbold also is active in a number of industry associations. He’s a continuing legal education speaker for the Missouri Bar Association; serves on the board of directors of the Springfield Metropolitan Bar Association and on the Young Lawyer Committee for the Missouri Organization of Defense Lawyers; and is a member of the Springfield Insurance Claims Association.

In his off time, Reinbold can be found volunteering as an assistant soccer coach for the Magic Soccer Club and volunteering as a judge at Kickapoo High School debate tournaments. He also lends his legal expertise as president of his homeowners’ association.

“I help keep our small community running smoothly by managing the common areas and neighborhood maintenance and resolving neighborhood disputes,” he says.