Former senator exits Bryan Cave after his testimony helped widow win $77M judgment from firm client
A former U.S. senator and state attorney general has exited Bryan Cave—after a career there that dated back to the early 1960s—following friction over his court testimony for a friend’s widow that helped her win a $77 million verdict against Wells Fargo.
The $77 million judgment won by Barbara Morriss last month, with the help of attorney John Danforth’s testimony, is believed to be the largest ever awarded in St. Louis County, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports. At issue was the bank’s oversight of a family trust that Morriss alleges was mishandled by her son.
Wells Fargo was represented by a different law firm in the Morriss case but is a major client of Bryan Cave, Danforth told the newspaper.
Danforth is now working for Dowd Bennett in suburban St. Louis. Dowd Bennett represented Morriss in the Wells Fargo litigation, an earlier St. Louis Post-Dispatch article notes.
“The trigger for this was the Morriss trial,” Danforth said of his exit to Dowd Bennett. He told the newspaper he had been asked by Bryan Cave to leave the 1,000-attorney international firm after the Wells Fargo verdict. Although formerly listed as a retired partner there, he still maintained an office at Bryan Cave until recently.
Morriss’ late husband “was one of my very closest friends, and we were in each others’ weddings,” Danforth said. “I helped find legal representation for them, and I testified at the trial. The way I saw it, Barbara Morriss didn’t have any protection, therefore that’s what I had to do.”
In a written statement provided to the Post-Dispatch, Bryan Cave said Danforth retired last year.
“During his remarkable professional career, he served as Missouri attorney general, a three-term United States senator, and U.S. ambassador to the United Nations,” wrote Bryan Cave. “His decades of service to the country are greatly appreciated. We wish him well at his new law firm.”
Related coverage:
Associated Press: “Jury awards woman $77M in case against Wells Fargo”
