Shook, Hardy & Bacon

Shook, Hardy & Bacon (SHB), L.L.P. (previously Shook, Hardy, Ottman, Mitchell and Bacon) is a U.S. law firm based in Kansas City, Missouri. In 2012, The National Law Journal ranked the firm as the 87th largest in the United States.[4] The firm has offices in Los Angeles, Atlanta and Boston.[5]

Shook, Hardy & Bacon, L.L.P.
HeadquartersCrown Center
Kansas City, Missouri
No. of offices12
No. of attorneys500
No. of employees1,700
Major practice areasProduct liability, tort, business litigation, intellectual property, environmental and toxic tort, labor and employment
Key peopleMadeleine M. McDonough, Chair[1]
Revenue$353.52 M (2019) [2]
Date founded1889
FounderFrank Payne Sebree[3]
Company typeLimited liability partnership
Websitewww.shb.com
Corporate headquarters in the 2555 Grand Building (where it occupies all 24 floors)[3] in the Crown Center complex

The firm is notable for its representation of five of the six major U.S. tobacco companies, and for its involvement in hiding the health risks of tobacco.[6][7] The firm inspired the mythical firm of Smoot, Hawking in the satirical novel Thank You for Smoking.[7]

Notable clients

SHB also has represented pharmaceutical companies, including Eli Lilly and Company, Amgen, Bristol-Myers Squibb, GlaxoSmithKline, Sanofi-Aventis, Guidant and Wyeth.[3] In 2007, Shook also won a $69.5 million verdict on behalf of client Sprint Nextel, against Vonage.[8] William H. Colby, an attorney at the firm, represented Nancy Cruzan (by way of her parents) in the right-to-die case, Cruzan v. Director, Missouri Department of Health, as part of Shook's pro bono work.[9]

Tobacco companies

The firm has represented five of the six major U.S. tobacco companies: American Brands, Brown & Williamson, RJR Nabisco, Philip Morris Inc. (now Altria Group) and Loews Inc.; a 1992 New York Times article about the firm was titled "'Tobacco' Its Middle Name, Law Firm Thrives, for Now."[6]

In 1992, a federal judge all but accused the firm of orchestrating fraud on behalf of the tobacco industry and exerting attorney–client privilege to hide facts about tobacco's health hazards during the 1960s and 1970s.[6]

According to Brown & Williamson whistleblower Jeffrey Wigand, SHB coached staff at the tobacco company on language that downplayed the health risks of tobacco.[10]

In 2019, the firm launched their cannabis practice to address regulatory, employment and litigation matters.[11]

References
  1. Shook, Hardy & Bacon. "Madeleine M. McDonough". Retrieved 2017-01-30.
  2. "See where KC-area law firms land on AmLaw's revenue rankings". Retrieved 2020-09-16.
  3. Hansen, Mark (2008-10-01). "Shook Hardy Smokes 'Em". ABA Journal. Retrieved 2012-03-21.
  4. "The NLJ 350". The National Law Journal. 2012. Retrieved 2012-07-21.
  5. Ryan, Greg (2010-08-09). "Shook Hardy enters big East Coast Market". Kansas City Business Journal. Retrieved 2020-09-16.
  6. Margolick, David (1992-10-20). "'Tobacco' Its Middle Name, Law Firm Thrives, for Now". The New York Times. Retrieved 2012-07-07.
  7. "Smoking's Big Guns". Los Angeles Times. 1996-12-15. Retrieved 2021-01-05.
  8. Bloomberg News (2007-09-26). "Vonage Infringed 6 Patents of Sprint, U.S. Jury Rules". The New York Times. Retrieved 2012-07-07.
  9. Dan, Margolies (1998-08-02). "Colby to write Cruzan story". Kansas City Business Journal. Retrieved 2012-07-07.
  10. Guardino, Sara D; Daynard, Richard A (2007). "Tobacco industry lawyers as "disease vectors"". Tobacco Control. 16 (4): 224–228. doi:10.1136/tc.2006.018390. ISSN 0964-4563. PMC 2598535. PMID 17652236.
  11. Dornbrook, James (2019-05-15). "Shook Hardy launches cannabis practice". Kansas City Business Journal. Retrieved 2020-09-16.
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