Park L. Priest
Chair, Business Litigation Practice Group
Preparation, attention to detail and hard work will get you far in life and law, believes Park Priest, partner at ELPO. In representing a client, Park strives to learn and know all he can about the client’s business, how it works, its industry and the laws and regulations potentially affecting the client. A thorough knowledge of a client’s business and industry leads to superior representation and results.
Park’s practice centers primarily on defending corporate clients brought into litigation, with a significant amount of this work spent defending electric distribution corporations. Park also represents manufacturers in a wide range of industries in defending products liability lawsuits. He has experience in a range of business litigation matters, including contract disputes. He also handles litigation of first-party and third-party insurance coverage disputes for both insureds and insurers. “In addition to successfully defending claims on the merits of a case, some of the most productive work I’ve done has been in the early stages of litigation through successfully compelling other entities to indemnify a client for the claims made against it and to pay for pay for a client’s defense costs,” Park says. “Frequently, agreements and contracts exist with other companies which can save a client a significant amount of litigation costs if such agreements are searched for, located, properly worded and enforced. That’s just one way example of how we can be of value, in addition to simply defending the claims made. Of course, we can help clients draft such agreements to protect them from future claims as well.”
For Park, his decision to practice law was primarily influenced by his father’s legendary career. Park’s father, Whayne Priest Jr., is one of the founders of ELPO. “Growing up, my father did not come home and talk about work at all,” Park recalls. “But what I remember about my father growing up is how frequently people would come up and shake his hand and thank him for his work. That made a strong impression on me.”
Park borrows a theme from his father’s practice in his work: never underestimate an opponent. Park’s work has earned him the respect of peers. He is a member of the selective Federation of Defense and Corporate Counsel, an organization for seasoned corporate defense attorneys with a strong legal record. He serves as Chair of the Litigation Practice group at ELPO and is currently President-Elect of Kentucky Defense Counsel. “Respect every single opponent,” Park says. “Identify what’s good and be prepared for what’s good in every opponent. You can’t dismiss or overlook anyone.”
After graduating from law school, Park worked with Schiller, Osbourn, Barnes and Maloney PLLC in Louisville before returning home to Bowling Green. He’s glad to be here. “My entire life Bowling Green has been growing,” Park says. “It has never stood still. Having Western Kentucky University here is a great influence on the community.”
