EDUCATION:

COLLEGE: I attended Fairfield University in Fairfield, Connecticut where I obtained my Bachelor of Arts with a Major in History and Minors in English, Political Science and Spanish in 1972.

LAW SCHOOL: I attended St. Louis University School of Law in St. Louis, Missouri and graduated in the top 20% of my class in 1975.

LEGAL EXPERIENCE:

• 1973-1975: St. Louis County Juvenile Court. Law intern and
• then the equivalent of a Chief Warrant Officer for the Court. I was certified under Rule 13 of the Supreme Court and tried non-jury matters to Commissioners and the Circuit Judge before I graduated from law school.
• 1975: Clerked for the Honorable John E. Bardgett, a Justice on the Missouri Supreme Cout.  However, the following week I was offered a job at Gray & Ritter which was one of the top trial firms in the City of St. Louis and Judge Bardgett graciously allowed me to resign and start my “trial” career.
• 1975-1985: Gray & Ritter where I started as an Associate and ultimately became a “Junior Partner”. While at Gray & Ritter I tried numerous cases for both the plaintiff and the defense and was actively involved in numerous landmark and prominent cases including, Weeks -v- Six Flags Over Mid-America which arose out the failure of a gondola to remain affixed to its cable at Six Flags. While at Gray & Ritter I began to specialize in both Products’ Liability Cases and Medical Malpractice cases.
• 1985-1995: Wuestling, James & DeVoto. I was a Senior Partner in the firm and one of its two chief trial attorneys. At the time of my departure from the firm, there were seven full time attorneys and ten support staff. When I formed the firm with Bill James and Rick Wuestling in 1985, we had only one secretary to work for the three of us. Like at Gray & Ritter, my time was divided between my complex plaintiff’s business and the trial of insurance defense matters. Often I would be assigned some of the more complex defense matters involving products’ liability, professional negligence and the like. I also became involved in SEC violations and Franchise Law.
• 1996-2002: Law Offices of Thomas C. DeVoto, P.C. My practice was limited to personal injury, workers’ compensation, commercial litigation, condemnation, NASD arbitrations, Federal Tort Claims, will contests and I continue to specialize in complex litigation including but not limited to, Products’ Liability, Medical Malpractice, Complex Commercial Litigation such as Fraud, Misrepresentation, Breach of Warranty (express, implied, fitness and etc.).
• 2003-Present: DeVoto & Benbenek, LLC. In addition to the areas of my solo practice, my new firm also practices in the area of Securities Fraud, Broker Negligence, Estate Planning, General Corporate matters, and general civil litigation.

I have been licensed to practice law in the State of Missouri for over 30 years and have tried over 100 jury trials to a conclusion. I am also licensed to practice and have handled cases in the following federal courts: Eastern District of Missouri, Western District of Missouri, District of Oklahoma, District of Kansas, Northern District of Ohio, 6th, 7th, and 8th Circuit Courts of Appeals and the United States Supreme Court.

SELECT CAREER ACCOMPLISHMENTS:

Awards and Recognition: I am an A.V. rated lawyer and a past recipient of the prestigious Lon O. Hocker Memorial Trial Lawyer Award which is presented annually to the “Outstanding Young Trial Lawyer” in the State of Missouri. There are three recipients each year. One for the St. Louis area, one for the Kansas City area and one for the remainder of the State. The St. Louis area recipient is selected by the chief judges of St. Louis County Circuit Court, the Circuit Court of the City of St. Louis, and the United States District Court of for the Eastern District of Missouri respectively.

I am listed in:

• Marquis Who’s Who in American Law
• Missouri/Kansas Super Lawyer Listings

Author: I have authored a number of chapters and supplements to chapters in the Missouri Bar’s CLE Handbooks in areas including:

• Problems of Proof
• Tort Law
• Civil Trial Practice

Guest Lecture: I have been a guest lecturer at the Saint Louis University School of Law, the Washington University School of Law, and the Washington University School of Engineering.

CLE Faculty: I have been a lecturer and a “faculty” member of numerous CLE programs presented by:

• The Missouri Bar
• The University of Missouri Columbia
• The University of Missouri Kansas City
• The Missouri Association of Trial Attorneys
• Lorman Educational Services

Trial Practice: I have tried over 100 “first chair” jury trials in numerous areas of the law including but not limited to:

• Products’ Liability
• Strict Liability
• Medical Malpractice
• Securities Fraud
• Breach of Contract
• Breach of Warranty

Appellate Practice: I have either briefed and/or argued over 25 reported cases in the Supreme Court of Missouri, the Appellate Court of the State of Missouri, Federal Courts of Appeals and the Supreme Court of the United States including constitutional issues relating to:

• The Supremacy Clause
• Right to a Jury Trial
• Right to Access to the Courts
• Denial of Due Process and/or Equal Protection
• Ordinance unconstitutional as in derogation of the common law as adopted by the Missouri Legislature

BAR AFFILIATIONS:

Licensed to practice law in the State of Missouri, the United States Supreme Court, the United States Courts of Appeal for the 6th, 7th, and 8th Circuits, and the United States District Courts for Eastern and Western Districts of Missouri, the Northern District of Ohio, Southern District of Illinois, District of Kansas, and District of Oklahoma

Member of the Missouri Bar, The Bar Association of Metropolitan St. Louis, The American Bar Association, The Association of Trial Lawyers of America, The Lawyers Association of St. Louis (member of executive committee 1981-82), and The Missouri Association of Trial Attorneys.

GENERAL INFORMATION:

I also come from a background of law. My father was an excellent and well known trial lawyer in the Metropolitan St. Louis area. At the time of his untimely death due to an automobile accident, he was the Clerk of the Federal Court for the Eastern District of Missouri and also served as the ex officio United States Magistrate.

DeVoto & Benbenek has a Martindale Hubbell listing and we are listed as one of America’s Pre-eminent Law Firms in four separate categories of specialty.

The Law Firm is the sole tenant of the building we occupy. We rehabilitated the building completely in 2006. We believe that we are as technologically advanced as any “firm” in St. Louis. We have completely computerized legal research that is provided through the building’s own network. Each office in the building can perform legal research from its computer terminal. We have access to all 50 states and the Federal Law. There are high-speed scanners, copiers, and facsimile machines in the building. In addition, the building has a separate cable pipeline that is dedicated to the Internet Service Provider and we have full capability to send and receive documents via the Internet. Personally I receive and answer at least 40 e-mails daily. I have handled commercial “litigation” for clients in England, Australia, and Ecuador. We communicate strictly by E-mail.

We have a receptionist during normal working hours (8:30 A.M. - 5:30 P.M.) and we have a rather sophisticated electronic and “voice mail” system. If someone tries to call me and I am not available to receive their call, they can leave a message with one of my assistants or be automatically forwarded to my “voice mail”. My voice mail can be accessed from both in the office and outside the office. I check my voice mail regularly and return calls as soon a possible. Any message can also be transcribed and stored on any given file’s computer data base. All files are computerized with scheduling, data, contacts, messages and etc. Unless I am in trial or out of town on business or pleasure, I will invariably return someone’s call within 24 hours. Also, if you need to speak to somebody you can always talk to my legal assistant who can handle a vast array of immediate problems. She also almost always knows how to reach me in an emergency.