GREAT FIRM!
Dowd Bennett
Dowd Bennett has earned a reputation for its trial strength and ability to guide clients through some of the most complex, high-stakes litigation in the country. The firm’s practice spans environmental torts, business disputes, and cutting-edge antitrust cases, with its lawyers frequently handling matters that test the boundaries of established law.
James Bennett is lead trial counsel for the City and County of St. Charles in ongoing tort litigation against Ameren Missouri over alleged contamination of the city’s drinking water supply. The case, which intersects with an EPA-led remediation under CERCLA, raises critical questions about the role of state tort remedies alongside federal oversight. The firm successfully defeated Ameren’s attempts to remove the case to federal court and dismiss the claims. John Comerford recently secured a decisive win for Ronnoco Coffee and its affiliates in a contentious commercial dispute with Smart Beverage. Facing $40 million in pretrial demands and $10 million at trial, Comerford led a defense that resulted in the jury rejecting the bulk of claims, including business disparagement and tortious interference, and the court granting judgment as a matter of law on a civil RICO allegation. In the antitrust arena, Matthew Johnson and Milton Wilkins are representing Label Creative LLC, a boutique consulting firm, in litigation that could help define the limits of lawful conduct in emerging digital marketplaces.
Husch Blackwell
Husch Blackwell is nationally recognized for handling complex, high-stakes disputes across industries including healthcare, energy, real estate, and financial services. The firm is trusted by clients to manage everything from class actions and multidistrict litigation to sensitive regulatory investigations and appeals. Clients describe the firm as possessing a team of “very experienced litigators who know the courts, judges, etc.” adding that “they are very detailed-oriented regarding the substance of the litigation.” Another client describes them as providing “excellent advice and direction to prepare [us] for all eventualities.” Clients continue to sing the firm’s praises, citing “Husch's leading partners and supporting attorneys are experts in their field, provide exceptional customer service, and respond quickly when called upon.”
St. Louis partner Rudy Telscher is representing Motion Control in a patent infringement case involving prosthetic hands where Vincent Systems GMBH alleges that a glued and welded finger component is axially moveable and infringing the claims of their patent. Due to an adverse ruling in Germany which was recently partially reversed, the matter became further complicated and required careful consideration of the international implications and value of the case. The matter is scheduled to go to a Markman hearing. Fellow St. Louis partner Sonni Nolan is a highly regarded commercial litigator with a specialization in employment discrimination matters. She is described as a “rock star and a fabulous team leader.” Springfield partner Bryan Wade is described as “very knowledgeable, very responsive and [a] well communicated individual, while DC partner Brian Waagner is described as “professional, thorough, and provides superior customer service. He is accessible and always responds promptly when needed.” Kansas City partner Beau Jackson represents Altronic who initiated an action in January 2024 seeking ITC relief against their top competitor, Motortech GmbH and Motortech Americas, who import and sell ignition control systems alleged to infringe an Altronic patent. A client described Jackson as providing “excellent communication and case strategy development.” Minneapolis-based partner Richard Morgan was part of the lead team who secured summary judgment in Missouri state court on behalf of the Nalco Company in a toxic exposure matter brought by employees of a compressor factory in Lebanon, Missouri who alleged that exposure to contaminated metal working fluid resulted in numerous injuries including decreased respiratory function, hypersensitivity pneumonitis, interstitial lung disease, cancer, and death. Omaha partner Marnie Jensen was selected to represent the Nebraska Legislature in a constitutional showdown involving the separation of powers between Nebraska’s Executive and Legislative branches. After the issuance of an Attorney General Opinion in August 2023, the Legislature sought Jensen as outside counsel to advise it regarding compliance with statutory regimes involving the independent Inspectors General for Child Welfare and Corrections. Jensen’s representation is ongoing and involves litigation preparation, advising the Executive Board of the Legislature regarding all aspects of the opinion and statutory compliance, and statutory revisions. California-based partner Mhare Mouradian represented Vivotein in a suit filed against the City of Ontario, California, for unlawful taking of business, conversion of personal property, abuse of discretion, and ordinary write of mandate. Vivotein sought an injunction against the City for enforcing abatement warrant and declaratory relief. Mouradian filed suit on Vivotein’s behalf and reached an agreement that the parties would not go to court.
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.