Drew Kemp
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Drew Kemp works collaboratively with clients to sustain a versatile, winning litigation strategy.
Drew defends manufacturers, premises owners, and product maintenance and service companies in some of the most difficult venues in the country. He regularly defends elevator, escalator, crane, and lift manufacturers as a key part of national and local defense counsel teams in personal injury and mass tort litigation.
Whatever the claim, Drew’s litigation philosophy is centered around communication, proactiveness, and deliberate decision making. Drew ensures that clients thoroughly understand every aspect of their case and partners with them to achieve their short- and long-term strategic goals. From pre-suit investigation through trial or dispute resolution, he relies on creativity and attention to detail to help clients understand the best possible outcome and how to achieve it.
Drew grew up working on a family farm in rural Missouri. Nowadays, when he is not in a courtroom or at his desk, he spends time outdoors in St. Louis with his wife and their two young children.
- Education
- University of Missouri-Columbia School of Law (J.D., 2013); Missouri Law Review
- University of Missouri-Columbia (B.S. in Business Administration with emphasis in Economics, 2010)
- State Admissions
- Missouri, 2013
- Illinois, 2014
- Federal Admissions
- United States Court of Appeals, Eleventh Circuit
- United States District Court, Central District of Illinois
- United States District Court, Southern District of Illinois
- United States District Court, Eastern District of Missouri
- United States District Court, Western District of Missouri
- Service Areas
- Mass Tort & Product Liability
- Won summary judgment on behalf of a defendant in an asbestos matter in Illinois
- Won summary judgment on behalf of an elevator service company and manufacturer in Florida and Alabama
- Obtained numerous dismissals in premises liability actions for petroleum refining clients by utilizing statutory defenses (2015-2019)
- Obtained numerous dismissals for an elevator service company and manufacturer client in Missouri
- Obtained dismissal for a railroad client based on the federal Locomotive Boiler Inspection Act and Safety Appliance Act
- Served as appointed pro bono counsel for an indigent prisoner in a civil rights medical malpractice case in Illinois federal court
- Advised premises defendants on the use of state labor and workers’ compensation laws resulting in numerous favorable resolutions of large claims by former employees
Publications
- “Is Missouri a ‘Lawsuit Inferno’? Update on Current Tort Reform Legislation and Need for Additional Measures,” Association of Corporate Counsel St. Louis (October 2024)
- “When Workers’ Comp Covers a Contractor’s Injury Claims,” Law360 (February 2019)
- “Beyond HIPAA: Solving the Puzzle of Properly Acquiring Mental Health Records in Litigation,” IDC Quarterly, Vol. 26, No. 1 (February 2016)
- “When Past Exposure Evidence Is Allowed in Asbestos Defense,” Law360 (September 2015)
- “A Happy New Year for the Plaintiff’s Bar as Rushed Amendments to the Code of Civil Procedure Become Law,” IDC Quarterly, Vol. 25, No. 1 (March 2015)
- “The Bright Side of Ferro v. Folta: Using Conflicts Law to Bar Civil Actions Arising from Injuries Subject to Another State Workers’ Compensation Statute,” IDC Tort Law Newsletter (November 2014)
- “‘Exclusively’ Confusing: Who Has Jurisdiction to Determine Jurisdiction under the Missouri Workers’ Compensation Law?“, Missouri Law Review, Vol. 78, Issue 3 (Summer 2013)
- Folta v. Ferro Engineering, amicus curiae brief of Illinois Association of Defense Trial Counsel in support of Petitioners, 2015 IL 118070, 43 N.E. 3d 108 (2015) (Illinois Supreme Court ultimately held in favor of Petitioners)
- The Best Lawyers in America® (2026)
- Best Lawyers: Ones to Watch® in America (2022–2025)
- Missouri and Kansas Super Lawyers Rising Stars® (2021–2025)
- The Missouri Bar
- Illinois State Bar Association
- The Bar Association of Metropolitan St. Louis
- Defense Research Institute
- Missouri High School Mock Trial Competition, volunteer judge