Missouri

A force among Midwestern firms, Husch Blackwell boasts a network of outposts spanning beyond its Missouri routes to Wisconsin, Nebraska, Illinois, Arizona, California, and a host of other states both east and west of the Mississippi River. Clients from across the country have tapped the firm for litigation in practice areas across the board, ranging from employment, False Claims Act lawsuits, liability, commercial disputes, arbitrations, and Lanham Act lawsuits. One client describes the firm assisting them successfully in “a large, complicated coverage matter with many moving parts, involving tenuous liability and significant inflammatory damages.” The same client commends the team’s ability to “think problems through, deal with complex coverage issues, and partner to find solutions.” Clients also appreciate the firm’s overall client relationships, praising the teams they worked with for “understanding our business” and providing “business-minded advice.” Specifically, one says, “Husch Blackwell has a deep understanding of the pharma industry and provides efficient and practical advice on a variety of pharma-related issues.” Another client commenting on the firm’s team organization and expertise says, “They are extremely diversified and seem to have an expert in every area of the law.”

     Kansas City partner Jeffrey Simon has experience handling cases in a wide variety of disciplines. As co-counsel with another recognized law firm, Simon represents Provisur Technologies in its patent infringement case filed in the Western District of Missouri against competitor Weber. After a 10-day trial, the jury found that the defendants infringed three of the four asserted patents and awarded full damages for the infringement. The jury also found that the defendants’ infringement was willful, leaving Simon the opportunity to seek more in damages and attorneys’ fees. In a separate and differing matter, he is lead counsel to the Kansas City Board of Police Commissioners defending a member of the KCPD against topical claims of civil rights violations in connection with the officer’s fatal shooting of a suspect who was being apprehended. After an adverse summary judgment motion decision, Simon argued the appeal before the Eight Circuit, which reversed and remanded the case for reconsideration. The trial court granted summary judgment on remand, dismissing the case entirely. The plaintiff appealed again to the Eighth Circuit, which Simon again argued, and won. In St. Louis, Chris Smith offers his commercial litigation expertise to healthcare clients throughout the country. He is lead counsel to Cigna and Express Scripts against New York City Transit Authority, which alleges that it was damaged by increasing prescription drug costs and healthcare fraud by its employees. Smith is engaged in pre-trial proceedings to address the NYCTA’s broad indemnification standard and claim liability. In New Mexico, Smith represents Centene in a putative class action alleging the client is obligated to provide medical marijuana coverage within the state. The issue of jurisdiction is being litigated currently, as Smith moved the matter to the District of New Mexico, arguing that it is a federal issue, whereas the plaintiffs have moved to remand the matter to the state court. St. Louis-based intellectual property specialist Rudy Telscher represents a subsidiary of Honeywell in a trade secret and breach of contract matter. He successfully transferred the case from the Western District of Texas to the Southern District of Texas and the matter is currently in discovery. In a cross-border dispute, Telscher represents Fosbel in the Western District of New York and Canada in a lawsuit filed by Vancour Refractories, a competing company in the coke over industry, as well as co-defendant Stelco in a parallel lawsuit. The case was brought under a seldomly litigated statute that allows plaintiffs to allege infringement claims in the US for exporting components from the US for assembly in another country that is alleged to be infringing. Beau Jackson of the Kansas City office is an International Trade Commission expert, successfully resolving several cases over the last year, including a complete victory on behalf of Larid Connectivity against the Netherlands-based subsidiary of Philips RS North America which alleged violations of Section 337 under the Tariff Act. After trial in 2021, the ITC adopted the Administrative Law Judge’s decision, finding that the asserted patents were not infringed and the claims of the three patents were invalid as indefinite or lacking written description.

     Chicago-based intellectual property star with an emphasis on the life sciences industry Don Mizerk is described as “very experienced in a variety of matters related to FDA-approved pharmaceuticals.” He recently defended Sigmapharm Laboratories in an ANDA dispute filed by H. Lundbeck and Takeda Pharmaceuticals after the client sought approval for its generic version of antidepressant vortioxetine. Mizerk took the case to trial before Judge Leonard Stark in the District of Delaware, who found that the client’s generic version would not infringe any patents-in-suit. The plaintiffs have appealed two issues regarding the use of patents to the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit.

     Marnie Jensen of the Omaha, Nebraska office is a sought-after expert for food and agriculture matters, among other government relations cases. One client has remarked, “She is incredibly personable, knows our business, and is our go-to person for food issues.”  Milwaukee partner Ann Maher has a deep expertise in handling litigation and receives praise for her emphasis on client relationships. “She listens to the problem and asks appropriate questions to gather information, provides advice regarding strategy, and has great follow-through,” one client describes. “Ann is honest in her opinions. If we have some or complete culpability, she will tell you. If not, she is a great defender.” Maher represents Cleaver-Brooks in a case filed by a former distributor. The lawsuit alleges the client’s termination of the distributor agreement violated the Minnesota Franchise Act, among other claims. She prevailed against the plaintiff’s motion for preliminary injunction in the District of Minnesota and granted summary judgment as to all the plaintiff’s claims. Lorinda Holloway debuts as a Litigation Star this year with praise from clients for her talent across specialties. “She is very knowledgeable, takes a practical approach, and is extremely responsive,” notes a client. Holloway is active in litigation on behalf of clients in the healthcare industry. She represents South Austin Family Practice Clinic d/b/a Premier Family Physicians (PFP) against a False Claims Act retaliation claim brought by a former physician who quit after the clinic placed him on a performance improvement plan. Holloway succeeded in dismissing his other cliams for fraud, conversion, misappropriation, and violations of the Theft Liability Act, as well as the tortious interference claim. The Government declined to take the case following an extensive investigation into the plaintiff’s claims.

Polsinelli has grown beyond its Kansas City roots to inhabit various strategic locations throughout the country. The firm’s aggressive expansion over the years has equipped it with breadth and depth in many areas of litigation, while still maintaining its premier reputation as a go-to litigation firm for the healthcare industry.

      Chicago’s Mary Clare Bonaccorsi previously served as Polsinelli’s Cross-Department Litigation Chair, while keeping an active practice mainly focusing on the healthcare industry, routinely leading high-stakes corporate internal investigations for clients in healthcare and the pharmaceutical industry. Additionally, her casework often involves false claims act litigation in both state and federal courts throughout the country. Thomas Gemmell and Daniel Reinberg join Bonaccorsi in the Chicago office. Gemmell’s practice mixes IP and business litigation. He leads several industry-specific practices, serving as lead of the unmanned systems and advanced robotics practice and co-lead of both the aviation practice and the transportation and logistics practice. Reinberg like Bonaccorsi concentrates his practice on the healthcare industry.

      John Peterson bridges a geographic and practice divide, practicing in Nashville and Chattanooga as well as Los Angeles, Peterson is a commercial litigator with vast experience in securities as well as real estate, and he is yet another Polsinelli partner devoted to healthcare litigation, an industry essential to Tennessee's economy. New addition to this year’s Litigation Star ranking is Atlanta-based partner Kurt Erskine. His practice’s focus is white collar crime, both investigating and litigating cases against state and federal entities. He is leading a healthcare company through a civil rights investigation conducted by the Department of Justice. Beyond the healthcare industry, Erskine is handling securities and insider trading fraud investigations by the SEC and DOJ, as well as a fraud case filed by the FBI and DOJ. Farah Nicol operates out of the firm’s Raleigh and Los Angeles offices and serves chair of the firm’s litigation department -- the first leader to not be based in Kansas City, the firm’s mainstay. Nicol’s primary focus is on product liability and toxic tort litigation.

     Rounding out the South, Dallas partner Adrienne Frazior debuts this year as a Litigation Star. She leads government investigations with an added expertise in employee benefits. Currently, Frazior defends companies that managed and administered self-funded health benefit plans in a Department of Labor investigation and subsequent litigation. She also defends a company in a matter alleging violations of Missouri Sunshine Laws, initiated by the state’s Attorney General.

     Polsinelli has maintained a commitment to upholding its labor and employment practice. Denise Drake, chair of the labor and employment practice, is among the firm’s leading, Missouri-based litigators. Drake is a leader through and through – leading the practice, the expansion into growing markets, and clients in their disputes. She has been consistently distinguished as a Labor & Employment Star since its inception, maintaining the status with a roster of notable class action disputes. Los Angeles litigator September Rea serves as the firm’s arbitration and dispute resolution vice chair, with Colorado-based Donald Samuels serving alongside her as chair. . Rea leads the California-based lawsuits arising from an investigation into allegations of C-suite misconduct that included abuse, harassment, retaliation and unfair competition. The case has spanned Italy, California, and Texas. Dallas’ Angelo Spinola specializes in handling labor and employment disputes on behalf of clients in the home health industry, particularly hospice and homecare companies. He recently resolved a lawsuit alleging violations of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) challenging the company’s alleged practice of not including certain nondiscretionary bonuses in the regular rate when calculating overtime pay.