Kennett native is designated 'Super Lawyer'

Don Downing

Kennett native, Don Downing has been named among the top five percent of lawyers in Missouri and Kansas, as a 2008 "Super Lawyer," by "Missouri and Kansas Super Lawyers" magazine.

The "Super Lawyers" listing is an annual process surveying over 17,000 attorneys from both states. The surveys identify attorneys having a high degree of professional achievement along with peer recognition. The nominees are grouped into 60 practice area to undergo further research and evaluation. The study is completed by an independent panel of attorneys to select the region's top five percent.

Downing was born in 1957 in Kennett and remained in the area until after graduation from Kennett High School in 1975. "During two summers when I was in college I returned to Kennett to run the Kennett Boys Baseball Program and managed the Kennett Out-of-town Pony League team," said Downing. Downing earned a bachelor's degree in economics from the University of Missouri-Columbia in 1979, and his law degree from the University of Missouri-Columbia School of Law in 1982, where he served on the Missouri Law Review. Downing represented the City of Kennett in a case against a foreign company that sold the city a power plant that did not work properly. As a result of the case the city received a large settlement. Former State Representative Vic Downing is the father of Don and still lives in the Kennett area. Downing has lived in St. Louis for 12 years moving to the city in 1996 after serving three years as Attorney General Jay Nixon's first Chief Deputy Attorney General.

Downing is a principal at the St. Louis law firm Gray, Ritter and Graham, P.C. From 1993 to 1995, Downing was the lead lawyer in cases involving consumer protection, antitrust, environmental, securities and many other areas of law. Appearing in front of the Supreme Court of the United States four times personally arguing one of the four cases. Downing has represented hundreds of farmers in several states and recovered millions of dollars in cases involving defective cotton seed. He has obtained a multimillion dollar settlement for a class of farmers in a federal court lawsuit against the federal government. His representation of banks and other financial institutions includes obtaining a $1.75 million settlement for a bank against its fidelity bond issuer. Downing is listed in The Best Lawyers in American and among the "Best Lawyers in St. Louis" in St. Louis Magazine. An AV Peer Review Rating was given to him from Martindale-Hubbell law directory, which is the highest rating given. The legal ability is demonstrated through the "A", which is very high to preeminent. The general ethical standards are shown using the "V" which is the rating for very high in the category.

Gray, Ritter, and Graham, P.C., located in downtown St. Louis, Mo., is a litigation firm. The primary areas of practice for the firm are catastrophic injury and death, complex commercial and consumer litigation, product liability, railroad and river worker injuries, automotive and aviation litigation, and professional negligence.