One of our founding partners, Charles Landrum, Jr., served for many years as a trial attorney and later District Attorney for the Louisville & Nashville Railroad Company, a predecessor railroad of CSX Transportation, Inc. In so doing, he carried on a tradition of railroad service begun by his father, Charles Landrum Sr., who had been the General Solicitor of the L&N. When Charlie announced his retirement from the active practice of law in 1986, his friends and colleagues held a retirement dinner in his honor. The event was attended by friends, attorneys, judges and railroaders from all across the Commonwealth of Kentucky.
At the banquet, the L&N executives presented Charlie with an engine bell that had seen service on an old L&N steam locomotive. The bell was mounted on a beautiful wood frame with a placard honoring Mr. Landrum's long service with the railroad.
A few years after his retirement, Mr. Landrum donated the bell to the Landrum & Shouse, LLP offices as a token of his affection for the firm. It is kept in a public place of honor in memory of Charles Landrum, Jr.'s service to his legal craft.
The bell now is known as the "Victory Bell." When rung, the bell has a strikingly loud, some say spine shivering, peal that can be heard throughout the floors of our offices. When one of our attorneys wins a jury trial, it has become custom to ring the bell (having won one for Charlie). Folks then gather in the hallway near the "Victory Bell," and the story of the trial victory is told and shared.
