Tad Eckenrode is the founder of the firm, and serves as the managing principal and lead trial attorney. He is a litigator with almost 30 years of experience, and has taken more than 70 complex trials to verdict, winning nearly 90% of those cases, including cases pending in the famous “judicial hellhole” of Madison County, Illinois. Many of the cases he has taken to trial have involved damage claims that exceeded $1 million. Tad’s practice focus is on the defense of medical malpractice, product liability and other tort claims, usually on behalf of defendants and/or their insurance carriers, but he has also been involved in litigation related to business and contract disputes. He has also handled numerous administrative actions on behalf of licensed professionals, including several that have gone to hearings and appeals.

Several of Mr. Eckenrode’s successful verdicts were listed as “Top Defense Verdicts” in a listing published annually in Missouri, and he ranked 4th in the state in 2010 for the number of defense verdicts obtained. Besides his trial work, Tad also has handled numerous appellate matters, including a successful defense to an attack on Missouri’s “tort reform” statute in the Klotz v. Shapiro case in 2010. He also works with clients on the drafting and negotiation of business and other contracts, and represents individuals with specific legal matters.

Mr. Eckenrode has been voted a Missouri-Kansas “SuperLawyer” for 3 years in a row, which is an honor reserved for the top 5% of attorneys in the state, as determined by a vote of other lawyers. He also has maintained an “AV” (highest) rating with Martindale-Hubbell for over 15 years. Tad has also served as a speaker at both bar and other professional seminars, has published several articles on topics related to trial practice, and is an active member of the Missouri Organization of Defense Lawyers (MODL), Defense Research Institute (DRI), Claims and Litigation Alliance (CLM), and the bar associations of Missouri, Illinois, metropolitan St. Louis (BAMSL) and the American Bar Association (ABA).

Tad began the practice of law as an assistant prosecuting attorney in Franklin County, Missouri, where he handled hundreds of bench trials, and got his early jury trial experience, taking a half-dozen criminal cases to verdict. A little more than two years later he moved on to the civil practice of law, focusing on insurance defense, medical malpractice and employment discrimination cases.

Licensure

• Missouri
• Illinois
• Eastern District of Missouri
• Western District of Missouri

Most Notable Reported Appellate Opinions

• Klotz v. Shapiro, 311 S.W. 3d 752 (Mo. Banc 2010)
• Unterreiner v. Pernikoff, 2011 IL App (5th) 11006 (Ill.App., 2011)
• Weiss v. Rojanasathit,975 SW2d 113 (Mo. 1998)
• Lunn v. Anderson,302 SW3d 380 (Mo. App., 2008)
• Downey v. Brinkman, 250 SW3d 180 (Mo. App. 2009)
• Wicklund v. Handoyo, 181 SW3d 143 (Mo.App., 2005)

Civic and Community Service Activities

Mr. Eckenrode is an active participant, along with members of his firm, in Habitat for Humanity, Adopt-a-Highway, Ronald McDonald House and other charitable endeavors, and has been a “mock trial” coach for a local high school. He also both sponsors the annual golf tournament for, and serves on the advisory board of, the OASIS Food Pantry. See the firm’s “Eckenrode-Maupin in the Community” page for more information.

Education

• Siena College (Albany, New York) – B.B.A., 1980
• Washington University (St. Louis, Missouri) – J.D., 1983