Benfield pulls from naval experience

Law Talk profile for The Memphis Daily News

Jan. 20, 2011

Mark Benfield says his training with the Judge Advocate General corps while in the U.S. Navy helped ready him for a civilian career as a plaintiff’s lawyer in medical malpractice, catastrophic injury and nursing home neglect cases with Apperson Crump PLC. Founded in 1865, it is the oldest continuously operating law firm in Memphis.

“What I do now is so much different than the cases I tried in the Navy. However, I think just the basic principles of how to get ready for trial, how to set your case up, the things that you need to do and how long it actually takes to get prepared for trial … all of those things kind of cross over,” he said. “I think the most important thing that crossed over, and that you get a taste of immediately in the Navy and that doesn’t go away, is the amount of pressure involved in a trial.”

He’s learned to handle the pressure and to excel in the types of trial that can be intense and are intensely personal and important for those involved. Throughout his career, he’s had no better teacher and colleague than that of Gary Smith with Apperson Crump, the firm Benfield joined in October … (read more)