Lawrence A Rouse

email	Email Me
vCard

Larry Rouse has a law degree from the Georgetown University Law Center. But he says one of the greatest lessons he learned came not from a classroom in Washington, D.C., but in an overcrowded and tumultuous courtroom 998 miles away in Alabama.

From 1971 to 1973, Rouse served as law clerk for the Honorable T. Virgil Pittman, Chief Judge for the United States District Court for the Southern District of Alabama in Mobile. Judge Pittman was often called upon to hear disputes involving permits for civil rights marches over the historic Pettus Bridge in Selma. The Pettus Bridge was the site of the infamous “Bloody Sunday” crackdown by state troopers against civil rights marchers in March of 1965. In the years following “Bloody Sunday”, activists applied for permits to allow them to stage events commemorating the day. There was almost always a legal battle over whether the permits should be allowed.

“We would be in a packed, stifling hot courtroom with lawyers for both sides performing what amounted to political and legal theater,” Rouse says. “They played to their audiences.” But then, in chambers, when it was just the attorneys and the judge, the real work got done. They compromised, negotiated, and came to an agreement that both sides could live with.

“What that taught me was that attorneys must always strive to maintain two tracks,” Rouse says. “The courtroom track, and the behind the scenes track. In the courtroom track, you are unwavering in your advocacy for your client’s position. But behind the scenes, you will work to get what you need and what’s best for your client. You must always keep your options open, through trial and beyond.”

That philosophy—always be an ardent advocate in the courtroom, but recognize the need to maintain negotiable options behind the scenes—has served Rouse well through nearly 40-years of practicing law.

Rouse spent more than 20-years at Stinson Mag & Fizzell in Kansas City before becoming one of the founding shareholders of what would become Rouse Hendricks German May PC in 1992.

Rouse’s focus is high stakes, complex business and commercial and patent litigation. His track record, both in the courtroom and behind the scenes on behalf of his clients has made him one of the most successful, and trusted, trial attorneys in the Midwest. And while the multi-million dollar cases and courtrooms he concentrates on now are a long way from arguments over parade permits in a steamy Alabama courtroom, he says the same principles hold true: “Remember the multiple roles you play in the process. And always make sure that the way you conduct yourself allows the maximum number of options for your client to choose.”

Areas of Practice:

100% Complex Business and Commercial Litigation

Bar Admissions:

District of Columbia, 1972
Virginia, 1971
Missouri, 1973
Kansas, 2005

Education:

Georgetown University Law Center, Washington, District of Columbia, 1971
J.D., Doctor of Jurisprudence

University of Kansas, Lawrence, Kansas, 1967
B.S., Bachelor of Science
Major: Industrial Engineering

Attorney Experience & Judicial Clerkship:

Stinson Mag & Fizzell, Partner

U.S. District Court Western District of Missouri
U.S. Court of Appeals 8th Circuit
U.S. Court of Appeals 10th Circuit
U.S. Court of Appeals Federal Circuit
U.S. Supreme Court