Best Lawyers logo
  • Lawyers
  • Methodology
  • NEW! Ones to Watch
  • Partnerships
  • Nominate a Lawyer
  • Log In
  • Lawyers
    • Advanced Search
    • COVID-19 Assistance
    • Featured Ones to Watch
    • Lawyer of the Year
    • Highlighted Lawyers
    • Nominate a Lawyer
  • Methodology
    • Overview
    • Ones to Watch
    • Editorial Timelines
    • Practice Areas
    • Publicizing Guidelines
    • FAQ
  • Publications
    • Family Law
    • New York Area
    • Canada
    • South Florida
    • Southern California
    • Northern California
    • Tampa
    • Midwest
  • Legal Insights
    • Featured Articles
    • In the News
    • Advisory Board
    • Meet the Board
    • Press & Events
  • About
    • Global Presence
    • Company History
    • Leadership
  • Ones to Watch
  • Partnerships
  • Nominate a Lawyer
  • Log In Log In
  • Nominate a Lawyer
  • Log In

Lawyer Profile

Image of Don M. Downing

Don M. Downing

Gray, Ritter & Graham, P.C.
  • Recognized Since:
    2005
  • Recognized in:
    Bet-the-Company Litigation
    Commercial Litigation...
  • Law School:
    University of Missouri - Columbia
  • Lawyer Page:
    https://www.grgpc.com/attorney...
  • Website:
    http://www.grgpc.com
  • Firm's Phone Number:
    (314) 241.5620
  • Location:
    701 Market Street, Suite 800
    St. Louis, MO 63101

Don M. Downing is a former Missouri Chief Deputy Attorney General and managing partner of the St. Louis office of one of the region's largest law firms.

As Chief Deputy Attorney General - Missouri's top appointed legal officer - from 1993 to 1995, Mr. Downing was the lead lawyer in cases involving consumer protection, antitrust, environmental, securities and many other areas of law. He appeared before the Supreme Court of the United States four times, including one case he personally argued. He also argued cases on behalf of the state six times before the Missouri Supreme Court, and tried substantial cases in federal and state court. Mr. Downing was responsible for hiring, training and supervising more than 170 assistant attorneys general.

His private practice has focused on complex commercial and class action litigation. He has represented large and small businesses in complex commercial disputes, including class actions, banks in insurance coverage litigation and other commercial disputes, Big Four accounting firms in securities and malpractice litigation, and cities, school districts and other public entities in actions against providers of products and services.

Mr. Downing has also represented farmers in numerous cases. He was appointed national co-lead counsel for thousands of plaintiff farmers and other businesses in multi-district litigation involving contamination of the U.S. rice supply by genetically modified rice. He was lead trial counsel in three bellwether rice trials, and obtained plaintiffs' verdicts totaling in the millions of dollars. Mr. Downing led a negotiation that resulted in a global settlement for farmers of $750 million. Additional settlement payments to affected businesses have brought total settlement payments to over $1 billion.

He has represented hundreds of farmers in several states and recovered millions of dollars in cases involving defective cotton seed and crop damage caused by herbicide drift. He has obtained a multi-million dollar settlement for a class of farmers in a federal court lawsuit against the federal government. He also has represented farmers in several states in antitrust claims against seed and technology providers.

In 2015, Mr. Downing was appointed national co-lead plaintiff counsel in multi-district litigation involving U.S. corn growers’ claims that actions by Switzerland-based Syngenta with its genetically modified strains of corn led to the loss of a chief market for U.S. corn, causing them economic harm. In 2017, in the first certified state class action bellwether trial, he and the three other co-lead plaintiff counsel won a $217.7 million verdict on behalf of Kansas corn farmers.  That verdict amount equaled 100 percent of actual damages requested by co-lead counsel.  Following the verdict he was named a recipient of a 2018 “Influential Lawyer” award by Missouri Lawyers Weekly.

In 2018 he and the other co-lead plaintiff counsel obtained a $1.51 billion settlement of the nationwide class action lawsuit, believed to be the largest agriculture litigation settlement in U.S. history. It was named the Largest Plaintiff’s Settlement in 2018 by Missouri Lawyers Weekly.

Additionally, Mr. Downing has represented thousands of consumers in class action litigation against cellular telephone and internet service providers, drug companies, hospitals, and other entities that engaged in deceptive and unfair trade practices. For example, Mr. Downing served as co-lead counsel in a pharmaceutical class action that resulted in a $220 million settlement for Missouri consumers.

A native of Kennett, Missouri, Mr. Downing earned a bachelor's degree in economics from the University of Missouri in 1979, and his law degree from the University of Missouri School of Law in 1982, where he served as an editor on the Missouri Law Review. After graduation from law school, Mr. Downing served as law clerk for the Honorable Edward L. Filippine, District Judge for the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri.

Mr. Downing was appointed to the University of Missouri Board of Curators in 2009, serving as Chairman in 2014. Mr. Downing has served on the University of Missouri Law School Foundation Board of Trustees and the Law Library Campaign Committee. He received the Law School's highest award, the Citation of Merit. He is also an active member of the University of Missouri Jefferson Club, serving as the chairman of its annual St. Louis regional dinner. He also has served on numerous other boards and advisory boards. In 2013, he was selected by the judges of the Eastern District of Missouri to serve on the merit selection panel for the appointment of a United States Magistrate Judge.

He is licensed to practice in Missouri and Illinois, as well as before the Supreme Court of the United States, the Eighth Circuit of the U.S. Court of Appeals, the U.S. District Court for the Eastern and Western Districts of Missouri, and the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Illinois.

Mr. Downing was named the Best Lawyers®2018 St. Louis Litigation- Banking and Finance “Lawyer of the Year,” the Best Lawyers 2016 St. Louis Banking and Finance "Lawyer of the Year," the Best Lawyers 2015 St. Louis Mass Tort Litigation/Class Actions-Plaintiffs "Lawyer of the Year," the Best Lawyers 2014 St. Louis Litigation - Banking and Finance "Lawyer of the Year," and Best Lawyers 2013 St. Louis Litigation - Antitrust "Lawyer of the Year." He is also listed in The Best Lawyers in America in the categories of Commercial Litigation, Mass Tort Litigation/Class Action - Plaintiffs, Litigation - Antitrust, and Litigation - Banking & Finance. He has an AV Peer Review Rating from Martindale-Hubbell Law Directory, which is the highest given. Mr. Downing has been annually selected to Missouri & Kansas Super Lawyers [among the top 5 percent of lawyers in Missouri and Kansas] since 2006, in the area of Business Litigation. He has been named among the Top 50 attorneys in St. Louis and the Top 100 attorneys in Missouri and Kansas by Missouri & Kansas Super Lawyers. He is included in the 2012 Lawdragon 500 Leading Lawyers in America.

Continue Reading
  • Lawyer Bio
  • Client Comments
  • Lawyer Practice Areas
  • Firm Details
  • News & Media

Lawyer Bio

Don M. Downing is a former Missouri Chief Deputy Attorney General and managing partner of the St. Louis office of one of the region's largest law firms.

As Chief Deputy Attorney General - Missouri's top appointed legal officer - from 1993 to 1995, Mr. Downing was the lead lawyer in cases involving consumer protection, antitrust, environmental, securities and many other areas of law. He appeared before the Supreme Court of the United States four times, including one case he personally argued. He also argued cases on behalf of the state six times before the Missouri Supreme Court, and tried substantial cases in federal and state court. Mr. Downing was responsible for hiring, training and supervising more than 170 assistant attorneys general.

His private practice has focused on complex commercial and class action litigation. He has represented large and small businesses in complex commercial disputes, including class actions, banks in insurance coverage litigation and other commercial disputes, Big Four accounting firms in securities and malpractice litigation, and cities, school districts and other public entities in actions against providers of products and services.

Mr. Downing has also represented farmers in numerous cases. He was appointed national co-lead counsel for thousands of plaintiff farmers and other businesses in multi-district litigation involving contamination of the U.S. rice supply by genetically modified rice. He was lead trial counsel in three bellwether rice trials, and obtained plaintiffs' verdicts totaling in the millions of dollars. Mr. Downing led a negotiation that resulted in a global settlement for farmers of $750 million. Additional settlement payments to affected businesses have brought total settlement payments to over $1 billion.

He has represented hundreds of farmers in several states and recovered millions of dollars in cases involving defective cotton seed and crop damage caused by herbicide drift. He has obtained a multi-million dollar settlement for a class of farmers in a federal court lawsuit against the federal government. He also has represented farmers in several states in antitrust claims against seed and technology providers.

In 2015, Mr. Downing was appointed national co-lead plaintiff counsel in multi-district litigation involving U.S. corn growers’ claims that actions by Switzerland-based Syngenta with its genetically modified strains of corn led to the loss of a chief market for U.S. corn, causing them economic harm. In 2017, in the first certified state class action bellwether trial, he and the three other co-lead plaintiff counsel won a $217.7 million verdict on behalf of Kansas corn farmers.  That verdict amount equaled 100 percent of actual damages requested by co-lead counsel.  Following the verdict he was named a recipient of a 2018 “Influential Lawyer” award by Missouri Lawyers Weekly.

In 2018 he and the other co-lead plaintiff counsel obtained a $1.51 billion settlement of the nationwide class action lawsuit, believed to be the largest agriculture litigation settlement in U.S. history. It was named the Largest Plaintiff’s Settlement in 2018 by Missouri Lawyers Weekly.

Additionally, Mr. Downing has represented thousands of consumers in class action litigation against cellular telephone and internet service providers, drug companies, hospitals, and other entities that engaged in deceptive and unfair trade practices. For example, Mr. Downing served as co-lead counsel in a pharmaceutical class action that resulted in a $220 million settlement for Missouri consumers.

A native of Kennett, Missouri, Mr. Downing earned a bachelor's degree in economics from the University of Missouri in 1979, and his law degree from the University of Missouri School of Law in 1982, where he served as an editor on the Missouri Law Review. After graduation from law school, Mr. Downing served as law clerk for the Honorable Edward L. Filippine, District Judge for the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri.

Mr. Downing was appointed to the University of Missouri Board of Curators in 2009, serving as Chairman in 2014. Mr. Downing has served on the University of Missouri Law School Foundation Board of Trustees and the Law Library Campaign Committee. He received the Law School's highest award, the Citation of Merit. He is also an active member of the University of Missouri Jefferson Club, serving as the chairman of its annual St. Louis regional dinner. He also has served on numerous other boards and advisory boards. In 2013, he was selected by the judges of the Eastern District of Missouri to serve on the merit selection panel for the appointment of a United States Magistrate Judge.

He is licensed to practice in Missouri and Illinois, as well as before the Supreme Court of the United States, the Eighth Circuit of the U.S. Court of Appeals, the U.S. District Court for the Eastern and Western Districts of Missouri, and the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Illinois.

Mr. Downing was named the Best Lawyers®2018 St. Louis Litigation- Banking and Finance “Lawyer of the Year,” the Best Lawyers 2016 St. Louis Banking and Finance "Lawyer of the Year," the Best Lawyers 2015 St. Louis Mass Tort Litigation/Class Actions-Plaintiffs "Lawyer of the Year," the Best Lawyers 2014 St. Louis Litigation - Banking and Finance "Lawyer of the Year," and Best Lawyers 2013 St. Louis Litigation - Antitrust "Lawyer of the Year." He is also listed in The Best Lawyers in America in the categories of Commercial Litigation, Mass Tort Litigation/Class Action - Plaintiffs, Litigation - Antitrust, and Litigation - Banking & Finance. He has an AV Peer Review Rating from Martindale-Hubbell Law Directory, which is the highest given. Mr. Downing has been annually selected to Missouri & Kansas Super Lawyers [among the top 5 percent of lawyers in Missouri and Kansas] since 2006, in the area of Business Litigation. He has been named among the Top 50 attorneys in St. Louis and the Top 100 attorneys in Missouri and Kansas by Missouri & Kansas Super Lawyers. He is included in the 2012 Lawdragon 500 Leading Lawyers in America.

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

Education:

  • University of Missouri - Columbia, J.D., graduated 1982
  • University of Missouri - Columbia, B.S., graduated 1979

Bar Admissions:

  • Illinois, Illinois State Bar Association
  • Missouri, The Missouri Bar
 

Court Admissions:

  • U.S. Court of Appeals 8th Circuit
  • U.S. District Court Southern District of Illinois
  • U.S. District Court Western District of Missouri
  • U.S. District Court Eastern District of Missouri

Affiliations:

  • American Bar Foundation - Fellow
  • American College of Trial Lawyers - Fellow
  • State Historical Society of Missouri - Board of Trustees
  • University of Missouri - Member of the Board of Curators

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

  • Mass Tort Litigation / Class Actions - Plaintiffs, St. Louis (2021)
  • Litigation - Banking and Finance, St. Louis (2020)
  • Litigation - Banking and Finance, St. Louis (2018)
  • Litigation - Banking and Finance, St. Louis (2016)
  • Mass Tort Litigation / Class Actions - Plaintiffs, St. Louis (2015)
  • Litigation - Banking and Finance, St. Louis (2014)
  • Litigation - Antitrust, St. Louis (2013)
 

Recognized in The Best Lawyers in America for work in:

  • Bet-the-Company Litigation
  • Commercial Litigation
  • Litigation - Antitrust
  • Litigation - Banking and Finance
  • Mass Tort Litigation / Class Actions - Plaintiffs
 

Awards:

  • 2012 Lawdragon 500 Leading Lawyers in America
  • 2011 - Legal Champion - Missouri Lawyers Weekly
  • 2012 - Top Plaintiff's Win in Missouri - Missouri Lawyers Weekly
  • 2011 - Citation of Merit; University of Missouri School of Law
  • Best Lawyers' 2013 St. Louis Litigation - Antitrust "Lawyer of the Year"
  • Faculty-Alumni Award, Mizzou Alumni Association, 2015
  • Top 100 Trial Lawyers in Missouri, The National Trial Lawyers
  • Best Lawyers’ 2014 St. Louis Banking & Finance Litigation Lawyer of the Year
  • Best Lawyers’ 2015 St. Louis Mass Tort Litigation/Class Actions – Plaintiffs Lawyer of the Year
  • Best Lawyers’ 2016 St. Louis Banking and Finance Lawyer of the Year
  • Recipient, “Influential Lawyer” Award, 2018 Missouri Lawyers Weekly Awards
  • Best Lawyers In America ® 2018 St. Louis Litigation – Banking and Finance Lawyer of the Year
  • Recipient, “2018 Top Plaintiff’s Settlement,” 2019 Missouri Lawyers Weekly Awards

Special Focus:

  • Antitrust
  • Mass Tort
 

Lawyer Client Comments

Lawyer Practice Areas

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

Firm Details

Image for Gray, Ritter & Graham, P.C. View Firm Profile
Gray, Ritter & Graham, P.C.
http://www.grgpc.com
 
Headquarters
701 Market Street, Suite 800
St. Louis, MO 63101
(314) 241.5620

News & Media

Videos

 
Add Comment
In making your comments, please do not refer to a pending legal matter.
(*) Required Fields
There was an error during saving, please try again.
If you continue to get this message, please contact us at info@bestlawyers.com or 803.648.0300 for assistance.
Please complete the captcha then submit.
Your comment was saved successfully!
Thank you for your feedback.
  • Find a Lawyer
  • Nominate a Lawyer
  • Legal Insights
  • Contact Us
Lawyers 
  • Advanced Search
  • COVID-19 Assistance
  • Featured Ones to Watch
  • Lawyer of the Year
  • Highlighted Lawyers
  • Nominate a Lawyer
  • Find a Lawyer
Methodology
  • Overview
  • Ones to Watch
  • Editorial Timelines
  • Practice Areas
  • Publicizing Guidelines
  • FAQ
Publications
  • Business Editions
  • Regional Editions
  • Partnerships
  • Become a Contributor
Legal Insights
  • Featured Articles
  • In the News
  • Advisory Board
  • Meet the Board
  • Press & Events
  • Best Law Firms
  • Subscribe
About
  • Global Presence
  • Company History
  • Leadership
  • Founders
  • Press Releases
  • Testimonials
  • Contact Us
  • Careers
My Account
  • Log In
  • Store
  • Marketing Guidance
Best Lawyers Best Lawyers logo +1-803-648-0300
801 Broad Street, Suite 950 Augusta, GA 30901
  • Twitter
  • LinkedIn
  • Facebook
  • Privacy Policy
  • Cookie Policy
  • Terms and Conditions
  • Lawyer Directory
  • Best Law Firms

© 2010-2021 Best Lawyers — All Rights Reserved.

BL Icon

LEGAL INSIGHTS

by Best Lawyers®



Get the latest insights on the news, trends, and people that shape the global legal field with our weekly email digest.

Please enter a valid email address.

You have already subscribed.





PRIVACY POLICY

Thank you for subscribing.