David P. Niemeier

Sarah Kuehnel is a top attorney recognized by Best Lawyers in the practice area(s) of Employment Law - Management and Litigation - Labor and Employment. Sarah, who practices law in St. Louis, Missouri, has been recognized since 2023. This recognition is based on an exhaustive peer-review survey, reflecting the high esteem in which Sarah is held by other top lawyers in the same geographic and legal practice area.

James F. Bennett has a national practice of cases that are not expected to settle before trial or appeal. He is lead trial and appellate counsel in high-profile cases, and has tried to verdict many cases involving eight- and nine-figure amounts in dispute. He has also prevailed before trial in other, similar cases and has argued appeals in eight different appellate courts around the country. Three times in recent years, he was awarded the “largest” defense or plaintiff verdict awa...

Penney Rector is a top attorney recognized by Best Lawyers in the practice area(s) of Education Law. Penney, who practices law in St. Louis, Missouri, has been recognized since 2026. This recognition is based on an exhaustive peer-review survey, reflecting the high esteem in which Penney is held by other top lawyers in the same geographic and legal practice area.

John S. Sandberg is a top attorney recognized by Best Lawyers in the practice area(s) of Commercial Litigation, Litigation - Construction, Litigation - Real Estate, Personal Injury Litigation - Defendants and Product Liability Litigation - Defendants. John S., who practices law in St. Louis, Missouri, has been recognized since 2005. This recognition is based on an exhaustive peer-review survey, reflecting the high esteem in which John S. is held by other top lawyers in the same geographic and...

Michael J. Payne is a partner at Frankel, Rubin, Klein, Payne & Pudlowski, P.C. and focuses his practice on estate planning, fiduciary litigation and civil litigation. He counsels individuals, couples, families and small business owners in creating an estate plan that is specifically tailored to their individualized needs. His passion for estate planning is evident in his approach of collaborating with clients to solve their most important personal, legal and business planning decisions. ...

James C. Hetlage is an experienced employment attorney, litigator, and municipal attorney. He represents government and private-sector employers before state and federal administrative agencies, trial courts and appellate courts. Mr. Hetlage is experienced in resolving employment discrimination claims and other labor and employment disputes in court and through mediation and arbitration. He has addressed the impact of social networking sites such as Facebook and Twitter for employers, and has...

A former federal prosecutor with extensive investigation and first chair trial experience, Michelle Nasser focuses her practice on white collar criminal defense, internal and government investigations, and complex litigation. Before joining the firm, Michelle served for more than 13 years as an assistant U.S. attorney in the Major Case, Financial Crimes, General Crimes, and Violent Crimes sections of the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Chicago. She led and supervised government investigations...

John Simmons founded the firm in 1999 with seven employees and a focus on asbestos litigation. Under his leadership, the firm has expanded to more than 250 employees, including more than 80 attorneys, spread between five offices in Alton, St. Louis, New York, San Francisco and Los Angeles. John has overseen some of the biggest verdicts and settlements in the history of asbestos litigation. The firm’s first trial involved a roofer and former Shell Oil employee diagnosed with mesothelioma...

AJ Bruning – Attorney at Law AJ Bruning is a nationally recognized trial lawyer and founding attorney at The Bruning Law Firm in St. Louis, Missouri. For more than two decades, AJ has dedicated his career to representing individuals and families injured by negligence, workplace accidents, and unsafe products. His practice focuses on workers’ compensation , personal injury , and catastrophic injury claims , where he has built a reputation for securing meaningful results for his cli...

Litigator James G. Martin defends corporations and individuals facing high-stakes, complex business lawsuits, white collar criminal charges, and allegations of corporate governance and compliance violations. A former U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of Missouri, Jim is regularly lead defense counsel in class action and civil litigation matters, including SEC fraud and healthcare fraud in False Claims Act (FCA) litigation. Corporations also call on him to lead internal investigations rel...