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Nicholas J. Lamb

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  • Overview
  • Affiliations
  • Civic Involvement
  • Clients
  • Honors
  • Noteworthy

Nick's practice at the firm includes substantial experience as lead trial lawyer in all types of civil litigation, including the defense of product liability, railroad, and other personal injury claims, and the management of complex tort and commercial litigation.

As one of the firm's most experienced and successful trial lawyers, Nick has served as lead counsel for major corporations in high exposure cases in Missouri and Illinois state and federal courts, and in other federal courts throughout the country, including dangerous venues such as the City of St. Louis. He is frequently called upon to defend clients throughout the firm in dangerous cases and has enjoyed jury verdicts, summary judgments, favorable settlements and appellate victories in numerous cases involving product liability, FELA, maritime, health care, employment, class action, patent infringement and business litigation. In the last decade Nick has served as lead counsel in more than a dozen trials. He has also lectured at national trial lawyer seminars on federal preemption, juror evaluation and mitigation of damages.

Nick has combined a successful trial practice with a wide range of civic and charitable endeavors in the St. Louis community.

National Association of Railroad Trial Counsel
Executive Committee, 2003-Present
Federation of Defense and Corporate Counsel
Lawyers Association of St. Louis
Missouri Athletic Club
President (2003-2004)
Governor, Board of Trustees (2001-2003)
De Smet Jesuit High School
Former Chairman, Board of Trustees
Boys Hope/Girls Hope of St. Louis
Board of Directors (1997-2008)
Knights of the Cauliflower Ear
President (2004-Present)
MS Society
Chairperson, 2005 Sports Celebrity Dinner
Bunzl USA, Inc.
De Smet Jesuit High School
Horner & Shifrin, Inc.
Michelin North America
Performance Food Group, Inc.
Union Pacific Railroad
Verizon Communications
Westlake Chemical Company
Zee Medical, Inc.
Listed in The Best Lawyers in America® (Copyright 2011 by Woodward/White, Inc., of Aiken, S.C.) 2007-2012
Listed in Missouri & Kansas Super Lawyers® 2005 - 2011
Bettcher Industries, Inc. v. Bunzl Distribution LLC. Nick served as lead trial counsel for Thompson Coburn client Bunzl USA in the successful defense of a patent infringement case involving rotary knife blades before a federal district court jury in Toledo, Ohio. During a seven-day trial, Nick persuaded the jury that Bettcher’s claims of induced and contributory infringement were not supported by the evidence—keeping Bunzl in the market and saving them from an eight-figure damages claim. (2010)
Brubaker v. Union Pacific Railroad Company. Nick recently received a favorable opinion from The Missouri Court of Appeals for the Eastern District on behalf of Union Pacific Railroad. The Court affirmed a very low verdict for plaintiff, and issued a lengthy opinion that rejected numerous challenges of the lower court’s rulings on various issues, including dismissal of one count and several evidentiary issues. The opinion rejected plaintiff’s attacks on defendant’s evidence of plaintiff’s failure to mitigate his damages – an important issue for all railroads in FELA litigation. Nick had served as lead trial counsel in the case, which was originally tried in 2006. (2010)
State ex rel. Union Pacific Railroad Company v. The Honorable Michael P. David. Nick recently received a favorable opinion from the Supreme Court of Missouri for Union Pacific Railroad in this case as well. The Court made permanent a preliminary writ of prohibition holding that the two cases at issue were not subject to consolidated arbitration because there were no written arbitration agreements between Union Pacific and the two plaintiffs. The Court rejected the plaintiffs’ argument that although they were not signatories to the arbitration agreement, the parties orally modified the arbitration agreement to include them in the arbitration. Union Pacific successfully maintained its position that Missouri Statute 435.350 required “written” arbitration agreements between the parties. Nick argued the case before the Missouri Supreme Court in 2011. (2011)
Nicholas J. Lamb
Georgetown University Law Center
J.D., cum laude (1983)
Editorial Board, Georgetown University Law Journal
Georgetown University
B.S.F.S., magna cum laude (1980)
Thompson Coburn LLP
Partner (1991-Present)
Co-Chair, Railroad Practice Area (2001-Present)
Associate (1983-1990)
Missouri (1983)
Illinois (1984)