Attorneys
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John L. Cook Born: September 18, 1950 in California, MO Admitted to Missouri Bar: 1975 Education: University of Missouri B.A. 1972, J.D. 1975 Member: The Missouri Bar; Cape Girardeau, and American Bar Associations; Missouri Association of Trial Lawyers; Association of Trial Lawyers of America |
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| John graduated from the University of Missouri School of Law in 1975. The first year after law school he was the law clerk for Honorable Robert T. Donnelly on the Missouri Supreme Court. He moved to Cape Girardeau in 1976 and married Rebecca McDowell Cook, who later became Secretary of State of Missouri. John was a solo practitioner and an assistant prosecuting attorney through 1979.
John has been with the firm since 1980. For more than 30 years he has been engaged solely in trial practice representing people who have been injured and also defending people against whom claims have been brought. He is one of the few trial lawyers in Missouri who has broad experience in both plaintiffs practice and defense practice. This gives him a perspective which is useful in fairly evaluating the strengths and weaknesses of any kind of case. John’s practice includes medical negligence cases, products liability cases, automobile accidents and other serious injury cases. He has some of the largest verdicts for plaintiffs in Southeast Missouri and St. Louis. However, his practice includes any matter that is tried in front of a jury. He has recently defended a case involving several hundred acres of land in Wayne County and has prosecuted a case for misappropriation of intellectual property. John is proud of the fact that he has tried more cases to conclusion in front of juries than almost any other lawyer currently practicing in Southeast Missouri. John is an instrument rated private pilot. ——————————————————————————————————————————– |
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Phillip J. Barkett, Jr. Practice Areas: Personal Injury – Plaintiffs Admitted: MO-1975, MA-1974, IN-1973 Law School: Harvard Law School (J.D. cum laude 1973) College: University of Notre Dame (B.S. maxima cum laude 1970) Member: The Cape Girardeau County Bar Association, The Missouri Bar, Missouri Association of Trial Lawyers Born: Cairo, Illinois – November 1, 1949 |
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Phil joined the firm in 2003. He is an experienced litigator who has practiced law in Southeast Missouri since 1975. Prior to joining us here in Cape Girardeau his practice was located primarily in Sikeston, Missouri. Phil has settled or tried to verdict five personal injury and wrongful death cases for $1 million or more with the latest occurring in late 2009. In 1998 Phil received a verdict of $1.4 million actual damages and $4 million punitive damages in a case venued in the City of St. Louis. ——————————————————————————————————————————– |
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J. Michael Ponder Admitted to Missouri Bar: 1990 Education: Courts: |
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Mike joined the firm in 1996 and has been a partner since 1998. He has successfully litigated catastrophic injury cases involving pharmaceuticals, industrial furnaces, chemical exposures, tractor-trailer/automobile collisions and pharmacy prescriptions. Mike has also handled complex business class actions as lead or co-lead counsel in cases dealing with anti-trust, breach of contract, corporate fraud and securities. He has had four cases recognized by Missouri Lawyers’ Weekly as Top Ten Verdicts or Settlements. He is past co-chair of the Missouri Bar Committee on Torts and past assistant editor of the Missouri Bar’s Courts and CLE Bulletin. He has been a contributing editor and speaker since 2005 for the Missouri Bar’s Annual Update of the Law. In September of 2000, Mike’s courtroom skill was recognized with the Missouri Bar’s Lon O. Hocker Award for trial excellence and he has frequently been asked to teach trial practice methods and techniques to other lawyers at seminars and trial colleges. He has litigated cases in Arizona, Arkansas, Florida, Illinois, Minnesota, Maryland, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania and Texas. ——————————————————————————————————————————– |
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Kathleen A. Wolz Admitted to Missouri Bar: 1986 Education: Courts: |
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Kathy joined the firm in 1998 and has been a partner since 1999. She serves as our research and litigation support attorney. In that role she participates in all of our major trials and handles the majority of our motion practice, writ and appellate work. She has extensive experience in the Missouri Court of Appeals and in the United States Court of Appeals for the 8th Circuit. Kathy has been instrumental in protecting some of our largest verdicts against reversals by appellate courts and in obtaining relief for our clients when the law has been improperly applied at the trial court level. ——————————————————————————————————————————– |
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Mallory C. Gibson Admitted to Missouri Bar: 2011 Education: Southeast Missouri State University, B.S. 2008 Mississippi College School of Law, J.D. 2011 Courts: State Courts of Missouri
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| Mallory attended Southeast Missouri State University, where she earned her Bachelor of Science Degree in Political Science with a minor in Psychology in 2008. She then attended Mississippi College School of Law, from which she received her Juris Doctorate in 2011.
During law school, Mallory was a member of the Moot Court Team where she competed in several trial and appellate competitions. Additionally, she gained valuable experience her third year when she was an extern for the Hinds County Youth Court, where she was admitted for limited practice as a prosecutor and guardian ad litem. Mallory joined the firm in August, 2011. A native of Cape Girardeau, Mallory is thrilled to return to her hometown to practice. In her role as an associate, she engages in litigation support and pre-trial litigation. |
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