Husch Blackwell received national recognition in 23 practice areas in the recent U.S. News — Best Lawyers’ 2011-2012 “Best Law Firms” survey. The firm received coveted Tier 1 national recognition in the areas of Mass Tort Litigation/Class Action – Defendants and Litigation – Trusts & Estates. In addition, 101 Husch Blackwell attorneys were named 2012 Best Lawyers, and 46 practices were Tier 1 ranked in cities where the firm has offices.
Husch Blackwell’s Litigation attorneys frequently provide lead trial strategy in “bet the company” cases where the outcome is crucial to the continued financial viability of a client’s business. More than 300 Husch Blackwell trial attorneys have won verdicts and negotiated settlements resulting in the recovery of hundreds of millions of dollars for firm clients. In addition, Husch Blackwell partners with several Fortune 100 companies to provide consistent, high-quality legal representation on a nationwide basis.
The attorneys in Husch Blackwell’s Toxic and Mass Tort practice are routinely selected by industry leaders to represent large joint defense groups in many of the country’s most dangerous jurisdictions. These attorneys’ significant knowledge regarding disease processes, medical monitoring and state-of-the-art medical and scientific literature enables Husch Blackwell to design tailor-made defense strategies. The firm currently serves as regional or national toxic tort litigation counsel to manufacturers in many major industrial sectors, including aerospace and defense parts, agricultural products and biotechnology, petroleum and chemical products, paints, coatings, plastics and synthetic fiber products.
The Class Actions practice group at Husch Blackwell comprises experienced members of various substantive litigation practice groups with significant jury and bench trial experience in federal courts, state courts and arbitration forums nationwide. The group’s experience includes representing companies in the airline, natural gas, real estate, insurance and banking industries in cases brought by customers alleging a wide variety of causes of action. The firm also represents large regional and national employers in class and collective actions in federal and state courts. In several cases, attorneys have successfully defeated attempts at initial class certification and have obtained decertification of previously certified classes.
Husch Blackwell's Trusts & Estates litigation attorneys provide sophisticated litigation guidance in conflicts among beneficiaries, grantors, trustees, executors, partners and corporations. The firm’s Trusts & Estates practice focuses on accomplishing clients’ unique estate planning and business succession planning goals through the use of the most effective and tax-advantaged planning methods available. The group serves a wide variety of clients, ranging from individuals with moderate estates to high net worth families, executives of Fortune 500 companies, entertainers and sports figures.
In addition to the National Tier 1 ratings, Husch Blackwell received national recognition in the following practice areas:
Appellate Practice
Bankruptcy and Creditor Debtor Rights / Insolvency and Reorganization Law
Commercial Litigation
Corporate Law
Employment Law - Management
Energy Law
Environmental Law
Equipment Finance Law
International Trade and Finance Law
Litigation - Environmental
Litigation - ERISA
Litigation - Real Estate
Litigation - Securities
Litigation - Tax
Mergers & Acquisitions Law
Private Equity Law
Real Estate Law
Securities / Capital Markets Law
Securities Regulation
Tax Law
Trusts & Estates Law
The “Best Law Firms” rankings are based on a rigorous evaluation process that includes the collection of client and lawyer evaluations, including evaluations from every Fortune 100 company and 587 Fortune 1000 companies, peer review from leading attorneys in their field, and review of additional information provided by law firms as part of the formal submission process. Firms participating in the survey were ranked on expertise, responsiveness, understanding clients’ businesses and needs, cost-effectiveness, civility, integrity, number of attorneys, diversity and a host of other factors.