Trial lawyer George Knopfler faced a number of unique challenges beyond simply proving the facts of his case when he represented actor Tom Selleck and his family in a lawsuit alleging fraud in the sale of a show horse. He had to educate a jury with little experience in the horse business about the ins and outs of the show horse world; he had to make a dispute about the purchase of a six-figure animal relevant to working men and women who were suffering through one of the worst economic recessions in California history; and he had to focus the jury’s attention on the allegations of fraud rather than on the celebrity status of his clients.

Knopfler was up to the task. The jury awarded the Sellecks $187,000 in compensatory damages—$120,000 as the purchase price for 10-year-old Zorro and another $67,000 for board and veterinary bills—and the parties later settled for an additional $75,000 in punitive damages