Dennis Graves uses camera skills for legal field

Dennis Graves, often recognized from his days on-air with KY3, is still telling stories – but now, they’re for attorneys and their clients.
In January 2004, just after leaving the TV news business, he founded Dennis Graves Videography, a business that makes use of his experience with mini documentaries. Now, Graves uses his camera to create settlement documentaries for attorneys.
“I’ve covered trials for years. I know what the legal environment is like,” he said. “To bring TV experience in is not such a stretch. It’s a nice fit.”
TV and video have become powerful tools for lawyers, who are known for words on paper.
“The lawyers I know are excellent writers, but there’s a limit to what words on paper express,” Graves said. “That’s what I’m bringing to the legal profession, something other than words on paper. That’s not the way people process information in the 21st century. Some days a lawyer gets a case and thinks, ‘Gosh, I wish “60 Minutes” would tell this story.’ The client deserves more than words on paper. That’s when they call me.”
When he started his business, Graves marketed himself by attending bar association conferences and talking with attorneys. “I beat the sidewalk, knocking on doors and saying, ‘Here I am, and here’s what I can do for you’,” he said.
Springfield attorney Shawn Askinosie was the first to call Graves. Askinosie needed Graves to produce a witness impact statement for the settlement of a wrongful death case.
“Sometimes it’s (hard) for people on the other side to have a real sense of what the case is really all about because what they see is only seen on paper,” Askinosie said.
With a video, the potential impact on the jury can be seen.
“It gives a preview of what a jury trial will look like and it’s valuable to both sides. It helps cases settle quicker,” Askinosie added.
Graves said his work never goes in front of a jury. “It’s very prejudicial,” he said. Some of his work has included re-creating a crime scene or documenting a day in the life of a victim.
“I enjoy it because I really like telling stories. I love people and I love their stories. I’m still telling stories. The stories I tell now may only be seen by a half dozen people, but they’re the people who need to see the story,” Graves said.
Askinosie said that Graves brings a new dimension to settling cases.
“Lawyers are usually all about paper. What’s great about Dennis is that he can put a dimension to the story that other people can’t. He tells a story. He doesn’t just hold up a camera,” Askinosie said.
In producing victim impact videos, Graves helps their attorneys get their cases to the forefront.
“There may be dozens of settlement brochures on an attorney’s desk from plaintiffs. If there’s a DVD with one, it helps it rise to the surface. Also, for the plaintiff, it shows the level of what I call the ‘I mean business’ factor,” Graves said.
Producing the video also says the plaintiff is ready to go to trial, added Graves. “It helps the lawyer prepare for trial and also can save the expense and time of a lengthy court trial,” he said. “Federal courts, particularly in the Western District, are encouraging more pretrial meetings intended to make an agreement. That lightens the loads on the courts.”
It helps the other side, Graves said, because it gives the insurance adjusters, defense attorneys and corporate executives an opportunity to see the strength of a case early on.
“It gives them the opportunity to empathize with the victim or plaintiff and also gives an opportunity to see how well the victim expresses themselves and ask if this is a person they want the jury to see. You don’t understand the loss unless you sit down with a mother who speaks from the heart. If a person is articulate and can express their grief or loss on video, it’s a powerful tool,” he said.

Adventure in storytelling
Graves has been telling stories since the late 1960s. The Rogers, Ark., native went to University of Arkansas, graduated in 1968 and went into the service as an Army volunteer from 1968 to 1971. He then spent a summer working at a Bentonville, Ark., newspaper.
After stints as a sports editor and a city editor at other newspapers, he purchased a weekly newspaper in Van Buren, Ark. “We saved it and then sold it,” he said.
Graves said that it was at the newspaper where he learned the value of good storytelling. “When you combine that with video – the sound, motion and voice – it has an even greater impact,” added Graves, explaining his move to television. He worked in the 1970s and 1980s in Arkansas at Fort Smith and Fayetteville.
“Photography has always been a part of my life,” said Graves. “On assignments, we’d always go out in pairs and shoot each other’s stories or shoot our own. I’ve always been either a reporter or a photographer or both.”
For 20 years, Graves was a favorite of KY3 news viewers and the station’s top investigative reporter.
His documentaries and interviews told intriguing and gripping tales in his relentless pursuit of the truth. When he decided he’d been in TV reporting long enough, Graves started his business.
“Now I’m allowed to be the photographer and reporter and that’s gratifying, because you have control of the story from beginning to end,” he said. “It was helpful to work with some really talented photojournalists and (edit) their video. It was a great education.”

Not just for lawyers
Graves’ services include work for attorneys as well as wedding videos and promotional videos for nonprofit organizations. “The first year I’ve tried not to lock myself into one particular field,” he said.
Wrongful death, personal injury and medical malpractice cases comprise most of his workload, although lately he’s been busier with nonprofit fund-raising videos. “I don’t turn away work in any field. I’m ready for a challenge, “ he said.
While Graves’ company is based in Lee’s Summit and at his cabin on the Niangua River, he said much of his clientele is in southwest Missouri. The company’s Web address is www.whobetter.com.
“I do more business down here because this is where I’m known,” added Graves, who works solo for now.
The cost of producing a video varies from $90 to $130 an hour, said Graves. Services are broken down in categories, such as shooting, editing and producing.
Graves said he’s pleased with the company’s growth.
“I couldn’t take on much more without hiring someone. I’m not far enough along yet to talk about revenues. I’m still finding my way,” he said.
Graves said there’s nothing more compelling than a story that comes from the person who speaks from the heart. “I’m so amazed after so many years of interviewing common people who have not been in the limelight, but because of circumstances, they are,” he said. “I’m amazed at how eloquent people can be when speaking from the heart. I’m fortunate to be a part of helping them tell their stories.”