Shook, Hardy & Bacon lawyers try cases wherever they’re needed. On a single day in October, the firm achieved defense verdicts for client Philip Morris USA Inc. in two separate cases in Florida, while also representing the tobacco company at trial in an Alaska town that is only accessible by boat or plane. And on the same October day, the firm was preparing for trial in New Jersey for Tyco International Ltd., another longtime client. “I don’t think that was a unique day,” says Shook chair John Murphy.
For many years the Kansas City, Missouri–based firm has had a deep trial bench and the ability to simultaneously try cases all over the country. Shook currently has 58 lawyers with first-chair experience trying product liability cases, and has long been a go-to firm for clients including Ford Motor Company and Pfizer Inc. Given that track record, it’s not surprising that Shook has been a regular in the product liability section of the Litigation Department of the Year contest. A finalist in 2010, it won the product liability competition in 2008.
