Stites & Harbison, PLLC

1926-2009 In Memoriam

Lively M. Wilson Tribute

Lively M. Wilson, 82, died on July 22, 2009, after a courageous battle with cancer.

Throughout his professional career and personal life, Lively Wilson was an honored leader, beloved mentor, and generous benefactor.

In 1953, two years out of Harvard Law School, Mr. Wilson joined the Louisville-based firm that was the direct predecessor of today's Stites & Harbison, PLLC. Considered one of the deans of the trial bar, Mr. Wilson fashioned a 50+ year career in litigation, utility rate-making, and appellate advocacy. He was the gold standard for anyone aspiring to be a courtroom lawyer

Recognized as one of the country's premier toxic tort lawyers, Lively Wilson's national reputation stemmed in part from his role in the asbestos litigation saga. For three decades, the redoubtable Mr. Wilson was retained by company after company in the asbestos industry because of his acknowledged mastery of the subject matter and skill in the courtroom.

In 1969, Mr. Wilson was chosen to be a Fellow in the American College of Trial Lawyers, a prestigious, invitation-only organization limited to 1% of the U.S. and Canadian trial bars. Elected a regent of the College in 1989, he served faithfully in multiple posts culminating in being elected President for the 1994-1995 term. Mr. Wilson then assumed the role of President of the Foundation of the American College of Trial Lawyers, a charity dedicated to improving oral advocacy and promoting professional ethics.

Lively Wilson was an active leader of the U.S. Supreme Court Historical Society and friends with many of its members, including Chief Justice John Roberts, Jr., and Justices Sandra Day O�Connor, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, and Stephen Breyer.

After serving in the U.S. Navy, graduating from Western Kentucky University, and attending Harvard Law School, Mr. Wilson devoted his professional life to the ethical practice of law. Among other honors, Lively Wilson was selected by the Kentucky Bar Association in 1996 as Kentucky's Outstanding Lawyer; he co-founded the Brandeis Inns of Court at the University of Louisville; and, he is the namesake of the Lively M. Wilson Oral Advocacy Program at Louisville's Brandeis School of Law. Mr. Wilson delivered the law school's commencement address in 2005.

A member of Douglass Boulevard Christian Church for over 50 years, serving both as an elder and chair of the governing board, Lively Wilson rose to be president of the Louisville Area Council of Churches. Mr. Wilson was also chairman of the Lexington Theological Seminary and president of the Visiting Nurses Association. Most recently, he dedicated his time to developing Woodbourne House, a program of affordable housing for seniors.

The legacy of Lively Wilson lives on in his wife Frances, his four daughters, and in the generations he inspired.