Langdon & Emison is pleased to announce that Partner Brett Emison has begun his presidency of the Missouri Association of Trial Attorneys (MATA) . MATA is the Missouri’s only association dedicated to protecting the 7th Amendment constitutional right to a trial by jury. Brett has been an active member of MATA over the past two decades, and has served in a number of leadership roles. Currently he serves as the editor-in-chief of its flagship publication, The Missouri Trial Attorney.
MATA, for more than 65 years, has been fighting powerful corporate interests and powerful lobbying groups to protect 7th Amendment constitutional rights and opposing tort reform legislation including forced arbitration, caps on damages, immunities for wrongdoers, and other measures that would limit access to courts by Missouri families. Headquartered in Jefferson City, Missouri, MATA sponsors numerous educational programs for its members, provides charitable and pro bono services through Missouri Trial Lawyers Care (Mo-TLC), and advocates in the state capital on behalf of Missourians.
As Brett begins his term, Langdon & Emison now has four MATA presidents with the firm. Bob Langdon, Kent Emison, and Mike Manners have all presided over the organization. All four are also members of the American Board of Trial Advocates (ABOTA), a nonprofit organization open only to the top rank of trial lawyers nationwide. Brett has also served as a member of several committees at the American Association for Justice, including AAJ’s Board of Governors, National Finance Committee, and the AAJ PAC Board of Trustees. Brett is a recipient of AAJ’s Pro Bono Award, Distinguished Service Award, and the prestigious Wiedemann & Wysocki Award.
Brett regularly presents at legal seminars, law schools, and other educational events teaching other attorneys the strategies learned in dozens of trials. He is regularly published in national publications on product liability, catastrophic injury litigation, and other legal topics.
Brett has been honored by the Best Lawyers in America, Super Lawyers, Missouri Lawyers Weekly’s Up and Coming Lawyers, and others. For his successful representations of people injured in train accidents, Brett was selected the “Lawyer of the Year” for the Kansas City metro area this year for the 2019 edition of Best Lawyers in America, in the category of railroad law for plaintiffs.
As a partner at Langdon & Emison, Brett and his colleagues have tried cases against some of the largest corporations in the world, including all major auto manufacturers, railroad companies and trucking companies, as well as major pharmaceutical and medical device companies. Brett is dedicated to this area of the law because he is well aware that his clients’ lives have been destroyed and turned upside down because of someone else’s actions. Congratulations to Brett, and best of luck during his year as president of this honored group of attorneys!
