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Overview

Clients trust Bryan to handle their most challenging business disputes.

Bryan is a seasoned litigator defending clients of all sizes nationwide and across sectors including television and newspaper, energy, healthcare, and manufacturing and trucking. He regularly represents builders, developers and other real estate stakeholders throughout every phase of project development. Bryan handles a variety of complex matters before judges and juries including:

  • Employment disputes
  • Contract and tort claims
  • Stockholder disputes
  • Franchise disputes
  • Professional negligence
  • Civil rights matters
  • Insurance claims
  • Healthcare litigation
  • Defamation

Bryan always keeps clients’ business goals top of mind as he develops litigation strategies. He excels at risk management, in part because he has the experience required to anticipate problems and forestall them as a former U.S. Army Reserve officer.

Industry

Services

Recognition

  • The Best Lawyers in America®
    • Land Use and Zoning Law, 2024 and 2025
    • Media Law, 2016-2025
    • Real Estate Law, 2025
  • Martindale-Hubbell AV Preeminent
  • The Missouri Bar, David J. Dixon Appellate Advocacy Award, 2003
  • Missouri Lawyers Weekly, two of the top 10 defendant’s verdicts in Missouri, 2010

Education

  • J.D., University of Missouri School of Law
  • B.A., Westminster College
    • Economics

Admissions

  • Missouri

Professional Memberships and Certifications

  • American Bar Association
  • American Bar Foundation
  • The Missouri Bar, Media Law Committee
  • The Missouri Bar Foundation
  • Springfield Metropolitan Bar Association
Experience
  • Won motion on behalf of international financial technology client to compel arbitration and dismiss case from federal court owing to validly executed arbitration provision.
  • Obtained a defendant’s verdict for a manufacturing client concerning a premises liability claim for negligent design of building.
  • Obtained a defendant’s verdict for a trucking company client in an employment contract dispute in which the plaintiff’s demand was $2.5 million.
  • Secured a defendant’s verdict for a manufacturing client concerning claims for trespass, nuisance and negligence in which the plaintiff’s demand was $1.8 million.
  • Obtained a plaintiff’s judgment for a car dealership for breach of contract.
  • Obtained a defendant’s verdict for a hospital client in which the plaintiff claimed race discrimination.
  • Won multiple summary judgments for a hospital client concerning the Americans with Disabilities Act, wrongful discharge, discrimination and harassment.
  • Obtained summary judgment for a television station client concerning a defamation claim.
  • Obtained defendant’s judgment for a client sued for attempting to construct an ethanol plant in Webster County, Mo.
  • Secured zoning changes and authorizations from governmental entities for the development of new commercial and residential real estate projects in the Greene, Christian, Stone and Taney Counties of Missouri.
  • Obtained judgment on behalf of a developer in Stone County, Mo., in which the court struck down the county development code requiring the Stone County Commission to establish new zoning districts and new zoning ordinances.
  • Won summary judgment for a golf-course builder that was sued over payment for sod that the client rejected for quality reasons.
  • Successfully defended international rental client in federal bench trial over commercial lease dispute. Damages were assessed at zero for our client despite myriad alleged property damage theories and requested award nearing $1 million.
  • Successfully defended CoxHealth and its President against defamation claims. Plaintiff filed suit against CoxHealth and its President after he tweeted a screenshot of plaintiff's public Facebook complaints. After a three-day jury trial, the jury unanimously returned a verdict in favor of the hospital system and its President, finding that the post was not defamatory and did not violate medical privacy.
  • Achieved victory for employer in jury trial for case regarding sexual harassment and retaliation allegations.
  • Successfully represented a university in a First Amendment case appealed to the United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit. The Supreme Court of the United States denied the plaintiff's petition for certiorari.
Case Studies
CoxHealth

CoxHealth prevailed in a defamation lawsuit brought against the hospital system and an executive.

News Releases | April 27, 2022
Husch Blackwell Prevails in Discrimination Lawsuit for CoxHealth

Husch Blackwell earned a victory in Missouri state court for CoxHealth, the Springfield-based healthcare system, in connection with race, national origin, workers’ compensation and disability discrimination claims, as well as claims of retaliation.

Media Mentions | December 01, 2020
417 Magazine: Expert Attorneys in Southwest Missouri
Outside the Office

Bryan and his wife enjoy supporting their three children in their extracurricular activities. They also like to travel together. On his own, Bryan competes in triathlons.

Community Leadership
  • Springfield Chamber of Commerce
  • United Way of the Ozarks
  • Care to Learn