Robert Adams KC > Shook, Hardy & Bacon LLP > Kansas City, United States > Lawyer Profile

Shook, Hardy & Bacon LLP Offices

Shook, Hardy & Bacon LLP
2555 GRAND BOULEVARD
KANSAS CITY, MO 64108
MISSOURI
United States
Visit website 1 816 474 6550 1 816 421 5547

Robert Adams KC

Robert Adams photo
816.474.6550 rtadams@shb.com View profile

Position

Partner and Co-Chair, General Liability Litigation Practice Group

Career

Rob is a fellow in the American College of Trial Lawyers and the International Academy of Trial Lawyers, and is listed in the Best Lawyers of America and Chambers USA: America’s Leading Lawyers for Business. The Kansas City Metropolitan Bar Association named Rob a Dean of the Trial Bar and Missouri Lawyers Weekly honored him as “Missouri Lawyer of the Year.” Rob practices in the areas of products liability, intellectual property litigation, insurance coverage litigation and commercial litigation. He has first-chaired more than 30 jury trials in several different federal and state courts. He has made numerous arguments in appellate courts throughout the country. Rob has been recognized repeatedly by Chambers USA, with one client noting Rob as an “outstanding lawyer, very responsive and successful in resolving matters for us.”

Rob has been an active member of various bar organizations over his career. By appointment from the Missouri Supreme Court, Rob acts as the chair for the Missouri Approved Instruction Committee, which drafts instructions for use in civil cases. He has also served on the Missouri Bar Board of Governors, the Missouri Organization of Defense Lawyers Board of Directors and the Board of Directors of the Kansas City Metropolitan Bar Association. Rob is also member of the Product Liability Advisory Council. He is on the firm’s Executive Committee.

Memberships

  • American College of Trial Lawyers, Jury Committee, Vice Chair
  • International Academy of Trial Lawyers, Fellow
  • American Board of Trial Advocates
  • Federation of Defense and Corporate Counsel
  • Missouri Organization of Defense Lawyers, Board of Directors
  • Missouri Approved Instruction Committee, Chair

Education

J.D., University of Missouri – Columbia School of Law, 1987
Missouri Law Review
B.A., University of Kansas, 1984

Lawyer Rankings

United States > Dispute resolution > Product liability, mass tort and class action - defense: automotive/transport

Drawing upon a ‘superior depth of knowledge’ within the auto industry, both in terms of emerging liability theories and products/emerging technologies, Shook, Hardy & Bacon LLP‘s California-centered practice is well-positioned to represent automotive companies across a wide range of product liability, class actions and consumer fraud claims. Displaying ‘a willingness to invest in client relationships’, the team has established longstanding relationships with high-profile manufacturers, including Volvo, Kia and Honda, regularly picking up work in some major national class action disputes. The team has also effectively moved with the market and has deep knowledge of the ever increasing technological advances in the sector, including as it relates to highly autonomous vehicles. Consequently it is very adept at dealing with expert witnesses and at explaining complex scientific/technological issues with clarity to juries. As part of her broad product liability expertise, Orange County-based Janet Hickson often handles work in the auto space and has achieved successes for clients in dispositive motions as well as at a final trial stage. Dividing his time between Los Angeles and San Francisco, Frank Kelly  has had considerable success over the years in the Californian courts, as well as further afield across a range of high-stakes product liability matters, including in the defense of automotive manufacturers accused of causing catastrophic injury and wrongful death. In San Francisco, Amir Nassihi  has developed deep expertise handling class action matters throughout the litigation continuum and along with Hickson and Kansas City-based trial lawyer Robert Adams , heads up the overarching automotive and machinery litigation team.

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