Stites & Harbison Welcomes Former Federal Prosecutor Brian Butler to the Firm

LOUISVILLE, Ky.—Stites & Harbison, PLLC welcomes attorney Brian Butler to the firm’s Louisville, Ky., office. He will join the Torts & Insurance Practice Group and Business Litigation Service Group as a Member (Partner) of the firm. Butler’s practice will focus on a wide variety of litigation matters, including but not limited to product liability, torts, white collar criminal defense and professional liability.

“We are thrilled to have Brian join the firm with his exceptional trial background and experience as a federal prosecutor,” stated Robert M. Connolly, Chair of Stites & Harbison. “Brian’s experience will complement perfectly Stites’ nationally recognized litigation practice. Brian’s depth in trial work will be very beneficial to our clients.”

Before Stites & Harbison, Butler was Co-Owner of Dathorne & Butler, LLC (2007-20) where he was a successful trial attorney representing some of the most high-profile cases in the Louisville area. Butler’s most noteworthy cases include successfully defending Jason Stinson, former Pleasure Park football coach, in a nationally significant case involving the death of a player; Katie McCoy, a former Bellarmine student, acquitted of murdering her newborn infant in a dormitory; and Brooks Houck, a well-known Bardstown resident, acquitted of contractor fraud in a high-profile change of venue trial.

Prior to that, he served the United States Attorney’s Office (2004-06) as Assistant U.S. Attorney where he prosecuted federal crimes including drug trafficking, Title III (wiretap) cases, firearms cases, violent crimes and numerous other federal crimes; successfully tried multiple jury trials; redrafted and assisted in implementing the U.S. Attorney’s Office’s policy for selecting and prosecuting gun crimes; and served as the Gang Crimes Coordinator for the Western District of Kentucky. Previously, he served the Commonwealth of Kentucky Attorney’s office (1999-2004) as Assistant Commonwealth Attorney and Chief of a General Trial Unit where he prosecuted and tried numerous murder cases while also supervising multiple prosecutors and staff as Chief of the General Trial Unit (2002-04); prosecuted crimes against children and domestic violence cases (1999-2001); and was selected to serve as adjunct faculty at the National Advocacy Center in Columbia, South Carolina, where he taught trial advocacy to prosecutors from every jurisdiction in the U.S. (2000-04). Butler started his legal career as a Judge Advocate General (JAG) with the United States Navy (1995-98). He is admitted to practice in Kentucky and Indiana.