Brendan A. Smith - Alton, IL

Attorney Brendan A. Smith is a partner at Simmons Hanly Conroy in the Complex Litigation Department. He dedicates his practice to representing people who have been harmed through no fault of their own, focusing primarily on pharmaceutical, medical device and sexual abuse litigation.

Brendan has represented more than a thousand injured clients in federal and state mass tort proceedings and helped secure hundreds of millions of dollars in restitution in the areas of sexual abuse, Elmiron, testosterone replacement therapy (TRT), Essure, Zofran, Xarelto, and others.

"Many of our clients have suffered severe injuries as a result of unsafe products manufactured by national and multi-national corporations," Brendan said. "These companies focus on generating a profit and fail to give the attention necessary to ensure their products are safe for consumers. Their business is lucrative, but it chronically values profits over consumer safety - and these companies must be held accountable for those practices."

A Team Player

Since joining the firm in 2012, Brendan has litigated and overseen all aspects of his clients' cases, making him a go-to person for other partners and attorneys within the firm. He has experience taking and defending depositions and has authored hundreds of motions and briefs, including those involving constitutionality, federal preemption, expert witnesses, discovery, and dispositive motions. Brendan has conducted and managed mass tort and complex litigation document review and created multiple continuing legal education (CLE) presentations, serving as a central point of information for attorneys involved in similar litigations.

Clients are Brendan's main priority, and particularly in his area of complex litigation, there are many different team members working on his clients' cases. Multiple attorneys, paralegals, and staff members work collaboratively to ensure clients receive the best representation possible, and clients can expect the best person possible will respond to those needs.

"Clients should have confidence there is an entire team working diligently on their case," he said. "We will always pick up the phone or email when questions arise. I want clients to know they are a critical piece of the equation."

A Confidential Liaison

In addition to his client-facing responsibilities, Brendan works diligently behind the scenes, working on key settlements that have long-lasting effects for his clients. For the past six years, he served as the administrative point person for the attorneys and court-appointed Settlement Master in the Testosterone Replacement Therapy litigation, which involved more than 8,000 federal and state cases, 200 plaintiffs' firms and more than 20 pharmaceutical companies. Brendan served as a liaison to help execute the complex terms of Master Settlement Agreements with the four major defendants in the case.

In the area of sexual abuse litigation, Brendan works tirelessly with victims to help secure the justice they deserve and is engaged in protracted sexual abuse litigation against Catholic dioceses and parishes across the country, including those in New York and California. He is currently tasked with supporting all incoming clients involved in sexual abuse litigation.

"Our clients have suffered devastating injuries," Brendan said. "They deserve a voice and they deserve justice. I am very proud of the work that we do to help them achieve that result."

Background and Experience

Before joining the firm, Brendan worked as a law clerk for several judges, including Judge Robert Dowd, Missouri Court of Appeals, Eastern District; Judge Thomas Mummert, III, Eastern District of Missouri; and Judge G. Patrick Murphy, Southern District of Illinois.

A St. Louis native, Brendan developed a deep respect for the law at an early age through his parents who are both attorneys. Brendan earned his J.D. from the Saint Louis University School of Law with a concentration in civil litigation. During law school, Brendan interned in the university's legal clinic, where he argued before the Missouri Court of Appeals for unemployment appeal cases.

He has a B.A. in English writing from DePauw University, where he played football and baseball and was on the Dean's List.