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Lawyer Profile

Image of Anne McGinness Kearse

Anne McGinness Kearse

Motley Rice LLC
  • Recognized Since:
    2011
  • Recognized in:
    Mass Tort Litigation / Class Actions - Plaintiffs
  • Law School:
    University of South Carolina-Columbia
  • Website:
    http://www.motleyrice.com
  • E-mail:
    akearse@motleyrice.com
  • Location:
    28 Bridgeside Boulevard
    Mount Pleasant, SC 29464

With more than two decades of experience in complex litigation, Anne brings a passion for justice to each case, working for her clients and seeking to bring those responsible to account.

Through litigation, including mass torts, class actions and individual cases, Anne pursues the implementation of better safety practices and corporate governance measures for those corporations, as well as just compensation for victims of toxic exposure, extreme and life-altering injuries, workplace injuries and diseases, severe burns, brain damage, loss of limb and paralysis, and wrongful death resulting from negligence and defective products. 

She works closely with victims and their families, often meeting with them in their homes for consultations. She strives to provide each client with personalized attention and individual justice, whether the case is part of a class action or stands alone. 

Anne often collaborates with other attorneys, including estate and probate counsel, in order to approach each case from a team perspective. She also consults with experts to provide input on cases. 

She is a member of the firm’s litigation team currently representing dozens of states, cities, towns, counties and townships targeting the alleged misrepresentation of highly addictive opioids by manufacturers and distributors, a suspected cause of the opioid epidemic plaguing communities nationwide.  

Anne represents workers diagnosed with the devastating disease mesothelioma caused by asbestos exposure in the chemical, electric power generation, steel or construction industries. She also represents victims of household exposure—children and spouses who developed mesothelioma or other asbestos-related diseases after being exposed to asbestos fibers that a family member unwittingly brought home from work on clothes or belongings. Anne has tried several noteworthy asbestos cases, including Cox vs. A&I Company, West Virginia’s first household asbestos exposure case, and the 2002 West Virginia Consolidated Asbestos Trial against Union Carbide in which unsafe working conditions were found at its plants throughout the state. In addition to maintaining an active trial schedule, Anne represents Canadian Workers’ Compensation Boards in U.S. courts to recoup benefits they paid Canadian asbestos victims.

Devoted to worker safety and health in all forms, Anne also represents and has secured settlements for flavoring workers who suffered respiratory ailments and other diseases caused by toxic chemical exposure. She also recently secured a jury verdict against SAR Automation, L.P. for $8.8 million* for the wrongful death of a worker who fell at a Boeing facility and left behind a widow and two small children.

As a law clerk, Anne supported the team representing the State Attorneys General in the historic lawsuit against Big Tobacco, which resulted in the largest civil settlement in U.S. history. Shortly after, she was a member of the trial team that litigated Falise v. American Tobacco Company. 

Well-versed in navigating complex litigation, Anne holds several leadership positions within the firm, managing legal teams associated with occupational disease, toxic exposure and severe personal injury. Anne has written several articles of interest to the plaintiffs’ bar and frequently speaks on asbestos litigation, general product liability, legal ethics and tort reform at seminars across the country. She has been published on major legal issues, including forum non conveniens and defective products abroad, corporate misconduct, medicolegal aspects of asbestos litigation and mass tort litigation. Anne co-authored the 12th chapter of the book, “Pathology of Asbestos-Associated Diseases” (Medicolegal Aspects of Asbestos-Related Diseases: A Plaintiff’s Attorney’s Perspective, 3rd ed., 2014). Edited by Victor L. Roggli, MD; Tim D. Oury, MD, PhD; and Thomas A. Sporn, MD, this publication is a comprehensive asbestos reference book used by both physicians and attorneys. 

Anne served as the 2016-2017 President of the Public Justice Foundation, a charitable organization focused on protecting people and the environment and increasing access to justice. She has been on the Board of Directors since 2010. In 2011, Anne served on the Executive Board for a local chapter of Safe Kids USA, advocating for childhood injury prevention. She also serves as a Section Councilor in the Law Section of the American Public Health Association.

* Please remember that every case is different. Any result we achieve for one client in one matter does not necessarily indicate similar results can be obtained for other clients.

Continue Reading
  • Lawyer Bio
  • Client Comments
  • Lawyer Practice Areas
  • Firm Details

Lawyer Bio

With more than two decades of experience in complex litigation, Anne brings a passion for justice to each case, working for her clients and seeking to bring those responsible to account.

Through litigation, including mass torts, class actions and individual cases, Anne pursues the implementation of better safety practices and corporate governance measures for those corporations, as well as just compensation for victims of toxic exposure, extreme and life-altering injuries, workplace injuries and diseases, severe burns, brain damage, loss of limb and paralysis, and wrongful death resulting from negligence and defective products. 

She works closely with victims and their families, often meeting with them in their homes for consultations. She strives to provide each client with personalized attention and individual justice, whether the case is part of a class action or stands alone. 

Anne often collaborates with other attorneys, including estate and probate counsel, in order to approach each case from a team perspective. She also consults with experts to provide input on cases. 

She is a member of the firm’s litigation team currently representing dozens of states, cities, towns, counties and townships targeting the alleged misrepresentation of highly addictive opioids by manufacturers and distributors, a suspected cause of the opioid epidemic plaguing communities nationwide.  

Anne represents workers diagnosed with the devastating disease mesothelioma caused by asbestos exposure in the chemical, electric power generation, steel or construction industries. She also represents victims of household exposure—children and spouses who developed mesothelioma or other asbestos-related diseases after being exposed to asbestos fibers that a family member unwittingly brought home from work on clothes or belongings. Anne has tried several noteworthy asbestos cases, including Cox vs. A&I Company, West Virginia’s first household asbestos exposure case, and the 2002 West Virginia Consolidated Asbestos Trial against Union Carbide in which unsafe working conditions were found at its plants throughout the state. In addition to maintaining an active trial schedule, Anne represents Canadian Workers’ Compensation Boards in U.S. courts to recoup benefits they paid Canadian asbestos victims.

Devoted to worker safety and health in all forms, Anne also represents and has secured settlements for flavoring workers who suffered respiratory ailments and other diseases caused by toxic chemical exposure. She also recently secured a jury verdict against SAR Automation, L.P. for $8.8 million* for the wrongful death of a worker who fell at a Boeing facility and left behind a widow and two small children.

As a law clerk, Anne supported the team representing the State Attorneys General in the historic lawsuit against Big Tobacco, which resulted in the largest civil settlement in U.S. history. Shortly after, she was a member of the trial team that litigated Falise v. American Tobacco Company. 

Well-versed in navigating complex litigation, Anne holds several leadership positions within the firm, managing legal teams associated with occupational disease, toxic exposure and severe personal injury. Anne has written several articles of interest to the plaintiffs’ bar and frequently speaks on asbestos litigation, general product liability, legal ethics and tort reform at seminars across the country. She has been published on major legal issues, including forum non conveniens and defective products abroad, corporate misconduct, medicolegal aspects of asbestos litigation and mass tort litigation. Anne co-authored the 12th chapter of the book, “Pathology of Asbestos-Associated Diseases” (Medicolegal Aspects of Asbestos-Related Diseases: A Plaintiff’s Attorney’s Perspective, 3rd ed., 2014). Edited by Victor L. Roggli, MD; Tim D. Oury, MD, PhD; and Thomas A. Sporn, MD, this publication is a comprehensive asbestos reference book used by both physicians and attorneys. 

Anne served as the 2016-2017 President of the Public Justice Foundation, a charitable organization focused on protecting people and the environment and increasing access to justice. She has been on the Board of Directors since 2010. In 2011, Anne served on the Executive Board for a local chapter of Safe Kids USA, advocating for childhood injury prevention. She also serves as a Section Councilor in the Law Section of the American Public Health Association.

* Please remember that every case is different. Any result we achieve for one client in one matter does not necessarily indicate similar results can be obtained for other clients.

Read more on firm website
  • Education
  • Bar & Court Admissions
  • Affiliations
  • Award List
  • Lawyer of the Year Badge

Education:

  • University of South Carolina-Columbia, J.D., graduated 1998
  • Syracuse University, BA, graduated 1983

Bar Admissions:

  • West Virginia, 14
  • South Carolina, 98
  • District of Columbia, 13
 

Court Admissions:

  • U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York, Eastern and Western Districts of Pennsylvania, District of South Carolina and the Southern District of West Virginia
  • U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit

Affiliations:

  • Pound Civil Justice Institute - Supporting Fellow
  • American Association for Justice - Committee on Asbestos Education
  • American Bar Association - Member
  • American Inns of Court, James L. Petigru Chapter - Member
  • John Belton O'Neal Inn of Court - Member
  • Litigation Counsel of America Trial Lawyer Honorary Society - Member
  • Order of the Coif - Member
  • Order of the Wig and Robe - Member
  • Public Justice Foundation - Board of Directors
  • South Carolina Association for Justice - Board of Governors

Named "Lawyer of the Year" by Best Lawyers for:

  • Mass Tort Litigation / Class Actions - Plaintiffs, Charleston, SC (2016)
 

Recognized in The Best Lawyers in America for work in:

  • Mass Tort Litigation / Class Actions - Plaintiffs
 

Awards:

  • Benchmark Plaintiff
    2014 Top 150 Women in Litigation list: South Carolina: mass tort/product liability – plaintiffs
    2012–2014 South Carolina “Litigation Star”: mass tort/product liability – plaintiffs
    2013 National “Litigation Star”: mass tort/product liability – plaintiffs
  • South Carolina Lawyers Weekly
    2020 Lawyer of the Year
  • University of South Carolina School of Law Alumni Association 2018 Compleat Lawyer Award
    1998 Bronze Compleat Award
  • Lawdragon
    2020 Lawdragon 500 Plaintiff Consumer Lawyers
  • The National Trial Lawyers
    2010 Top 100 Trial Lawyers™: South Carolina
  • The Legal 500 United States
    2007, 2009–2012, 2016, 2018 Dispute resolution – product liability, mass tort and class action – toxic tort – plaintiff

  • Super Lawyers®
    2013–2020 South Carolina Super Lawyers list
    Class action/mass torts: Plaintiff; Personal injury – general: plaintiff; Personal injury – products: plaintiff

 

Lawyer Client Comments

Lawyer Practice Areas

Key: Awarded in Best Lawyers Not Currently Awarded for this Area in Best Lawyers

Firm Details

Image for Motley Rice LLC View Firm Profile
Motley Rice LLC
http://www.motleyrice.com
 
Headquarters
28 Bridgeside Boulevard
Mount Pleasant, SC 29464
(843) 216.9000
10 Office Locations
in 1 Country

United States

United States

Connecticut

Connecticut

Hartford, CT

One Corporate Center, 17th Floor

20 Church Street

Hartford, CT 06103

United States

(860) 882.1681

Get Directions

District of Columbia

District of Columbia

Washington, DC

401 Ninth Street, NW, Suite 1001

Washington, DC 20004

United States

(202) 232.5504

Get Directions

Missouri

Missouri

Kansas City, MO

4151 North Mulberry Drive, Suite 201

Kansas City, MO 64116

United States

(816) 569.6055

Get Directions

New Jersey

New Jersey

Cherry Hill, NJ

210 Lake Drive East, Suite 101

Cherry Hill, NJ 08002

United States

(856) 667.0500

Get Directions

New York

New York

New York, NY

777 Third Avenue, 27th Floor

New York, NY 10017

United States

(212) 577.0040

Get Directions

Pennsylvania

Pennsylvania

Philadelphia, PA

40 West Evergreen Avenue, Suite 104

Philadelphia, PA 19118

United States

(856) 667.0500

Get Directions

Rhode Island

Rhode Island

Providence, RI

55 Cedar Street, Suite 100

Providence, RI 02903

United States

(401) 457.7700

Get Directions

West Virginia

West Virginia

Charleston, WV

112 Capitol Street, Suite 200

Charleston, WV 25301

United States

(304) 344.1100

Get Directions

Morgantown, WV

50 Clay Street, Suite One

Morgantown, WV 26501

United States

(304) 413.0456

Get Directions

 
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