Troutman Pepper partner Evan Gibbs handles complex litigation involving trade secrets and corporate espionage in Atlanta and around the country. So it seems unlikely that he would be part of the defense team in a notorious 17-year-old murder case in the small South Georgia town of Ocilla livestreamed on the internet and played back on news reports for three weeks.

But that's what happened. It was Gibbs who questioned several of the witnesses, including defendant Ryan Duke. It was Gibbs whose hand was on Duke's shoulder as the jury's verdict was read. Not guilty of the murder of beloved Irwin County High School history teacher and former Miss Georgia contestant Tara Grinstead.