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Don Downing is a former Missouri Chief Deputy Attorney
General and managing partner of the St. Louis office of one of the region's largest
law firms. He joined Gray, Ritter & Graham as a principal in 2004.
As Chief Deputy Attorney General - Missouri's top appointed
legal officer - from 1993 to 1995, Mr. Downing was the lead lawyer in cases
involving consumer protection, antitrust, environmental, securities and many
other areas of law. He appeared before the Supreme Court of the United States
four times, including one case he personally argued. He also argued cases on
behalf of the state six times before the Missouri Supreme Court, and tried
substantial cases in federal and state court. Mr. Downing was responsible for
hiring, training and supervising more than 170 assistant attorneys general.
His private practice has focused on complex commercial and
class action litigation. He has represented large and small businesses in complex commercial disputes, including class actions, banks in insurance
coverage litigation and other commercial disputes, Big Four accounting firms in
securities and malpractice litigation, and cities, school districts and other
public entities in actions against providers of products and services. Mr.
Downing has also represented farmers in numerous cases. He has represented
hundreds of farmers in several states and recovered millions of dollars in cases
involving defective cotton seed and crop damage caused by herbicide drift. He
has obtained a multimillion dollar settlement for a class of farmers in a
federal court lawsuit against the federal government. He also has represented
farmers in several states in antitrust claims against seed and technology
providers. Additionally, Mr. Downing has represented thousands of consumers in class action litigation against cellular telephone service providers, drug
companies, hospitals, and other entities that engaged in deceptive and unfair
trade practices.
A native of Kennett, Missouri, Mr. Downing earned a
bachelor's degree in economics from the University of Missouri-Columbia in 1979,
and his law degree from the University of Missouri-Columbia School of Law in
1982, where he served as an editor on the Missouri Law Review. After graduation
from law school, Mr. Downing served as law clerk for the Honorable Edward L. Filippine, District Judge for the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District
of Missouri.
Mr. Downing has served on the University of
Missouri-Columbia Law School Foundation Board of Trustees and the Law Library
Campaign Committee. He is also an active member of the University of Missouri
Jefferson Club, serving as the chairman of its annual St. Louis regional dinner.
Mr. Downing also serves on the national Board of Directors and is Chair of the
Legal Committee for Disciples Benevolent Services, f/k/a National Benevolent
Associates. DBS provides social and health services to meet the physical,
emotional, mental, and spiritual needs of the individuals it serves, which
include children, families, and persons with developmental disabilities.
He is licensed to practice in Missouri and Illinois, as well
as before the Supreme Court of the United States, the Eighth Circuit of the U.S.
Court of Appeals, the U.S. District Court for the Eastern and Western Districts
of Missouri, and the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Illinois.
Mr. Downing is listed in The Best Lawyers in America® in the categories of Commercial Litigation and Antitrust Law, and among the "Best Lawyers in St. Louis" in St. Louis Magazine. He has an AV Peer Review Rating from Martindale-Hubbell law directory,
which is the highest given. Mr. Downing has been named a "Super Lawyer" [among
the top 5 percent of lawyers in Missouri and Kansas] by Missouri & Kansas Super Lawyers Magazine in the area of Complex Business
Litigation.
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