Brian M. Wacker

Brian believes that the best results come when he becomes part of his client’s team. He partners with clients ranging from employers and manufacturers to trustees and fiduciaries. Throughout the entire litigation process, Brian never loses sight of his client’s goals. His objectives are the client’s objectives.

As a member of the firm’s Labor & Employment and Commercial Litigation practice groups, Brian represents clients in a variety of litigation, including commercial, employer-employee, fiduciary and trustee disputes. He works with clients at all stages of litigation through trial and appeal, including where appropriate, pre-litigation risk management to avoid costly litigation where it is in the client’s best interest.

Brian’s undergraduate degrees in journalism and strategic communication equip him with the skills to effectively advocate for his clients. His clients can always count on the effective communication and comprehensive preparation he brings to their cases.

Outside of the office, Brian currently serves as the Vice President of the Board of Directors for Cornerstone Center for Early Learning, an early childhood center serving the City’s Shaw neighborhood. He and his wife are proud residents of the St. Louis Hills neighborhood where they enjoy raising their two-year old twins.

• Recognized as a "Rising Star" by Missouri Lawyers Weekly: 2017

• Vice President, Board of Directors: Cornerstone Center for Early Learning
• Member: American Bar Association; Bar Association of Metropolitan St. Louis; Missouri Bar Association; Illinois State Bar Association
• Volunteer: Boys Hope Girls Hope 

• Obtained a complete victory after client was sued by partnership on various theories, including breach of fiduciary duty and breach of partnership agreement. The partnership initially sought damages in excess of $500,000, plus punitive damages and attorneys’ fees. Not only did the jury return a full defense verdict on the partnership’s claims, but it also returned a verdict for the client on his counterclaim for attorneys’ fees and costs in defending the action for more than three years.
• Prevailed in fiduciary litigation in St. Louis County to remove co-trustees acting in bad faith where co-trustees wrongfully demanded disbursement of trust account to themselves instead of beneficiaries. 
• Obtained damages and attorneys’ fees on behalf of minority shareholder in a closely held company where the majority shareholders shut minority shareholders out for years.
• Resolved multiple age, sex and disability discrimination cases brought against corporate clients under the MHRA, ADEA and other statutes.
• Successfully defended and resolved a case brought against a trustee in St. Clair County, Illinois seeking several millions of dollars in damages and removal from trustee position. After years of contentious litigation, Brian successfully negotiated a complex settlement agreement and resolution where his client paid $0 in damages sought.
• Following a multi-day bench trial in Central Illinois, obtained a complete judgment in favor of his client in a case brought against majority shareholders of a closely-held corporation who had shut out its minority shareholders and devalued their shares over the course of many years.
• Successfully defended multiple appeals, including an appeal by a land title company seeking to overturn a judgment in favor of Brian’s client on several commercial and real estate guarantees with millions of dollars in exposure. The client prevailed on appeal in a published opinion completely affirming the lower court’s rulings on the claims against Brian’s client.

Contributing Author, SmithAmundsen's Labor & Employment Law Update, a labor and employment advisory blog.

Contributing Author, Illinois Chamber of Commerce's Chamber Dispatch, an HR advisory blog.