Brian M. Wacker

Brian’s favorite clients are those who consider him part of their team. He partners with clients ranging from trustees and fiduciaries to manufacturers and contractors. He doesn’t lose sight of his clients’ goals, even when they are in the midst of complex litigation. His objectives are the client’s objectives.

As a member of the firm’s Commercial Litigation Practice Group, Brian handles a variety of litigation matters, including fiduciary, commercial and employment. He works with clients at all stages of litigation, including counseling on pre-litigation risk management to avoid costly litigation if it is in the client’s best interest.

Brian’s undergraduate degrees in journalism and strategic communication serve him well as an attorney, as his clients can count on his effective communication and the level of research and preparation he brings to their cases.

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

• 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 defense verdict for former managing partner after alleged mismanagement over a period of more than ten years. The former partnership alleged breach of fiduciary duty and breach of partnership agreement. After a three day trial the jury found in the former managing partner’s favor on each claim and awarded him more than $132,000 to reimburse him for the fees and expenses incurred defending the action.
• 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
• 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 statues

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.