Mr. Bennett has acted as a first chair trial attorney in multiple cases. In U.S. ex rel. Gonzalez v. Fresenius Medical Care, Mr. Bennett successfully tried to jury verdict a seven-count False Claims Act case in a month-long trial in the United States District Court for the Western District of Texas. The case was reported to be the longest civil case in the El Paso Division and the jury returned its verdict 45 minutes after it started deliberations. In Olson v. Viking Global Investors in the Delaware Chancery Court, he successfully tried a case involving $280 million in dispute between the founding members of a large New York-based hedge fund. In Bi-State v. Cross County Collaborative, Mr. Bennett successfully represented the engineering and architecture firms who designed the third MetroLink light rail segment. This $100 million lawsuit was the longest in St. Louis County history and Mr. Bennett examined more than 40 witnesses over more than 3 months in trial and made closing arguments that were accepted by the jury on all 12 counts, including his clients’ counterclaims. In SP v. Zoltek, his clients were awarded $36 million by the jury shortly after Mr. Bennett’s closing argument in this four-week trial. Mr. Bennett has tried to conclusion multiple other matters in state and federal court.
Mr. Bennett’s litigation practice involves a heavy emphasis on complex criminal and civil litigation. He has extensive experience under the False Claims Act, in large-scale environmental matters, and in complicated commercial disputes. He is currently representing Fortune 500 companies in cases pending in multiple jurisdictions. His representation of a major oil refiner includes cases in Cook County, IL, St. Louis, Ohio, and Tennessee. His representation of a major healthcare company has included matters in the Western and Eastern Districts of Texas, the Middle District of Tennessee, and the Northern District of Illinois. He has represented St. Louis based clients such as Anheuser-Busch and Solutia in public matters. He has been selected as counsel for a major retailer for all employment cases arising in Missouri. He has represented many clients on a confidential basis in successful criminal and administrative matters involving allegations of fraud.
Mr. Bennett is a former law clerk to the Hon. Anthony M. Kennedy, Associate Justice of the United States Supreme Court, and to the Hon. J.L. Edmondson, United States Circuit Judge for the Eleventh Circuit. He acted as an adjunct professor on the subject of complex litigation at Washington University Law School. He was selected by the Riverfront Times as the Best Lawyer in St. Louis for 2008. He was selected by Missouri Lawyers Weekly as one of 10 “Lawyers of the Year” in 2007. He has been recognized by various publications as among the top 50 lawyers in St. Louis for 2010, the top 100 lawyers in Missouri for 2010, and, for 2007 – 2010 he has been listed in the Best Lawyers in America, as a Missouri/Kansas “Super Lawyer,” and as among the best lawyers in St. Louis by St. Louis Magazine. He graduated Order of the Coif from Vanderbilt and was an articles editor on the law review.