John Simmons

Practice areas

Personal Injury – Products: Plaintiff, Class Action/Mass Torts: Plaintiff

Focus areas

Asbestos, Class Actions, Medical Devices, Motor Vehicle Defects, Toxic Torts

In 1999, John Simmons established the company with a team of seven members, focusing primarily on handling cases related to asbestos. During his tenure as the leader, the company has undergone significant growth, expanding to encompass over 250 staff members, with more than 80 of them being attorneys. These professionals are distributed across five different offices situated in Alton, St. Louis, New York, San Francisco, and Los Angeles.

Under John’s guidance, the company has overseen some of the most substantial outcomes in the realm of asbestos litigation. The initial trial conducted by the firm centered around an individual who had been a roofer and had previously worked for Shell Oil, and who was diagnosed with mesothelioma. With John’s assistance, the firm secured a jury verdict amounting to $34.1 million. At the time, this was considered one of the most substantial jury verdicts in the history of asbestos litigation. However, this record only held briefly before the firm achieved an even larger victory, obtaining a $250 million verdict on behalf of a steelworker from Indiana.

The firm’s legacy of achievements endures to this day, extending beyond mesothelioma litigation and encompassing diverse areas of complex legal cases. These include matters such as dangerous drugs and devices, litigation concerning prescription opioids, cases involving sexual abuse, environmental disputes, personal injury claims, and various mass torts and class actions. Since that initial case, the company, under John’s leadership, has successfully recovered over $9.6 billion in settlements and verdicts, benefiting numerous clients throughout the nation.