​PROFESSIONAL LIABILITY DEFENSE

Professional liability claims have risen nationally and locally, as have been pervasive governmental regulations.  Well-established civil remedies, supplemented with new and imaginative liability and damage theories, are routinely used to attack professionals. Such cases can involve personal injury, commercial/economic loss, trade secrets, non-competes, fiduciary duty and a myriad of other scenarios involving potential liability for the licensed professional. Stakes are typically enormous—the prospect of financial and reputation ruination.  In such circumstances, counsel knowledgeable, experienced and effective in defending such claims is imperative.

Neville, Richards & Wuller, LLC has the experience, expertise and professional resources to prepare and try complex lawsuits alleging wrongdoing on the part of licensed professionals, including physicians, nurses, mid-level practitioners, accountants, architects, engineers, investment advisers, attorneys, securities dealers, insurance agents, and real estate agents.  The firm has experience litigating cases requiring a thorough grasp of complex subject matters, and has the ability to communicate those concepts simply and convincingly.

​MEDICAL MALPRACTICE DEFENSE

A large part of our practice is defending medical providers. While many our practice jurisdictions are not the most hospitable to health professionals, our attorneys have won cases in virtually every type of malpractice claim, from neonatal hypoxic ischemic encephalopathy, catastrophic stroke, medication error and alleged failure to diagnose. Our track record of success have earned us a reputation in the malpractice insurance industry as accomplished and effective medical malpractice defense advocates.

Medical malpractice is an “expert” driven area of law. Retaining expert witnesses with knowledge, credibility and credentials is imperative to a successful defense. Throughout the years, members of the firm have consulted with world-class physicians, who practice and teach at institutions such as Harvard, Stanford, Johns-Hopkins and University of Chicago. The professional relationships forged by members of our practice have enhanced our ability to retain the best experts possible. As important as excellent experts, the trial lawyer must simplify complex subject matters in a convincing way. We combines modern courtroom technology and proven trial advocacy skill to present the health professional's defense clearly and convincingly.

​PERSONAL INJURY DEFENSE

Personal injury litigation is Neville, Richards & Wuller, LLC’s wheelhouse.  In a challenging legal region, the attorneys at Neville, Richards & Wuller, LLC have successfully represented a vast array of companies, insurers and individuals sued for personal injury.  “PI” litigation takes many forms, but has common issues—liability, proximate causation, past and future medical expense, wage/economic loss, non-economic damages, pain and suffering, disability and disfigurement and loss of a “normal life.”  Liability and causation issues can involve intentional misconduct, statutory violations, negligence and strict liability, industry standards, government regulation and the need for expert testimony.

The firm primarily defends, but also represents injured individuals—from simple automobile cases to complex strict liability/negligence claims.  Representing clients on “both sides of the aisle” expands the firm’s experience and perspective. NRW practices in a region which has attracted not only claimants and attorneys from around the country, but national attention for its environment for defendants. For over thirty years, members of NRW have been part of the legal topography in this region, establishing themselves as premiere trial and appellate lawyers.

​GENERAL/AUTO INSURANCE DEFENSE

Neville, Richards & Wuller, LLC, is recognized as one of the pre-eminent defense litigation firms representing insurance companies in and around Belleville, Edwardsville, Carbondale, Effingham and Springfield, Illinois. Our clients include national and regional insurance firms and their insureds requiring aggressive, effective legal defense. We work closely with in-house insurance attorneys, claims analysts and insureds to find cost-effective solutions to resolving litigation matters in a successful manner. Representative cases are listed in the attorney profiles and as a separate category on our site.

Each case is unique, and has its own “story” and each case absolutely has its own “theme.”  It is unfortunate for a client if his trial attorney lacks the experience or competence not to recognize that theme. The Neville, Richards & Wuller, LLC niche is insurance defense.   While we have successfully handled many plaintiffs’ cases, giving us a depth of perspective, our wheelhouse is liability defense work. The firm has tried and won a voluminous amount of cases.  This track record has resulted in national recognition by independent organizations which evaluate the quality of legal service.

​PRODUCTS LIABILITY

Neville, Richards & Wuller, LLC are experienced trial lawyers with a record of successfully defending product manufacturers and suppliers in products liability litigation.  We have also pursued products liability cases on behalf of injured individuals, although we primarily defend.  The best and most experienced attorneys are those with the experience on both sides of the aisle.

Product liability law has its own vocabulary and set of legal principles, which must be mastered by the trial lawyer.  Whether the product is an auger, grain elevator, facial nerve stimulator or an all terrain vehicle, the firepower to understand the science, hire the appropriate experts and to effectively try the case to a jury are non-negotiable.  We have that profile and that experience. Our lawyers understand product design, materials of construction, and accident causation. We have a database of experts we can call upon to support our arguments. But more importantly, we know how to evaluate these experts and choose those best positioned by their knowledge and credibility to make a strong case for our client.

​CLASS ACTION

The firm’s backyard is Madison County—a national epicenter of class action litigation.  Class action lawsuits are fast becoming a cottage industry throughout the country, tormenting business, consuming vast private, public and judicial resources and often enriching plaintiff’s lawyers while marginally benefiting their clients. The stakes are always enormous.  Even the costs of litigating are often staggering.  Knowledge of the procedural and substantive fundamentals of class action litigation is essential, as well as familiarity with the venue.

Class action litigation has its own unique vocabulary, processes and legal culture.  Having represented clients on both sides of the class action aisle, Neville, Richards & Wuller, LLC is equipped and experienced to serve as local or lead counsel, depending upon the client’s circumstances.

​TOXIC TORT

Our firm’s neighborhood attracts toxic tort claims and plaintiff’s lawyers from all over the country.  In the last thirty years, toxic tort litigation has consumed literally billions of dollars in this region.  Specific and tedious rules have been adopted by local courts to manage the volume of suits, the massive discovery and trial dockets. For decades, Neville, Richards & Wuller, LLC, has handled toxic tort litigation.  We have actually tried toxic tort cases, unlike myriads of other firms in the system.  Our experience has equipped us with the weapons to meet the unique challenges involved—a thorough understanding of the relevant law and science, professional relationships with physicians, epidemiologists, industrial hygienists and statisticians, knowledge to efficiently investigate exposure and product data and, most importantly, the ability to actually try the case to a jury.

Throughout the years, NRW has acted as lead counsel and local counsel, depending on the circumstances.  We have worked with individual experts with world-class credentials.  We understand and are comfortable in the tedious “virtual world” created by national multi-district litigation orders, as well as local toxic tort procedural systems.

​APPEALS

Neville, Richards & Wuller, LLC has handled an enormous number of appeals in the Illinois Supreme Court, Illinois Appellate Court, U.S. Circuit Courts for the Seventh and Eighth Circuits, as well as the Missouri Appellate Courts.  From first party insurance issues to all aspects of commercial and tort litigation, the firm’s appellate experience is vast.  The firm has handled and continues to handle important issues impacting several areas of law in Illinois and Missouri.  The firm has also been retained to handle just the appeal, after the case was tried by a different firm.

NRW has no “appellate department.”  Rather, it understands that to be an effective trial advocate, a lawyer must have a thorough knowledge of the appellate world as well. The skill set is different, but complementary and, indeed, “interlocking.”  To do one well, one must do both well.  Appreciation and anticipation of appellate issues guide strategy at trial. The firm expects and demands that each of its attorneys be skilled in both trial and appellate advocacy.  NRW’s track record of success in the appellate arena reflects this attitude.

NEVILLE, RICHARDS & WULLER, LLC

PREMIER CIVIL LITIGATION DEFENSE

CENTRAL & SOUTHERN ILLINOIS, EASTERN MISSOURI