Welcome to an occasional spin-off of our “Litigation Leaders” series, “Across the ‘v,’” featuring the leaders of top plaintiffs-side firms.

Meet Motley Rice co-founder Joe Rice—though there’s a good chance you know his name already. In 1998, Rice and his law partner, the late Ron Motley, along with Dickie Scruggs, brokered the $246 billion tobacco master settlement agreement—the largest civil settlement in U.S. history.