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Michelle Drake

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Michelle Drake serves as the firm’s Health Law Practice Group leader, bringing more than 25 years of experience litigating medical malpractice, employment discrimination, commercial disputes, family law, antitrust, and health care matters. Michelle focuses her practice on matters involving hospital & physician defense and long term nursing care defense.

Michelle has a full understanding of professional malpractice litigation, having represented Missouri and Illinois hospitals and physicians in medical malpractice litigation for more than 25 years, including cases involving wrongful death, birth related injuries and resuscitation, emergency medicine, neurology, general surgery, radiology, gynecology, and retained objects. She also has experience with representing clients with employment and labor related matters, including claims of discrimination, wrongful termination and other labor related cases. With this experience, Michelle is the optimal choice for successfully handling the defense of a broad range of professional liability cases.

Finally, Michelle has significant experience representing commercial clients covering a broad range of legal matters, including commercial litigation and business consultation. She has extensive experience in the areas of complex commercial litigation, franchising and distribution law, antitrust and trademark infringement and contract review and negotiation. In these areas, she has represented national oil refiners, regional food retailers and local business franchises.

Licensures and Admissions

Illinois

Missouri

Tennessee

United States District Court for the Central District of Illinois

United States District Court for the Southern District of Illinois

United States District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan

United States District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri

United States District Court for the Western District of Missouri

United States District Court for the Western District of Tennessee

United States District Court for the Eastern District of Wisconsin

United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit

Representative Experience

Professional Liability:

Defense of a Missouri surgeon in a wrongful death claim for failure to diagnose internal bleeding post-surgery

Defense of a gynecologist and his corporation in claim of a surgical error and mismanagement of endometriosis.

Defense of Illinois hospital in claim of untimely delivery of distressed baby, resulting in cerebral palsy and other brain injuries.

Defense of Illinois hospital in untimely delivery of baby in the face of placental abruption, resulting in kidney failure and transplant.

Defense of Illinois hospital in claim of early discharge of patient after receiving multiple hypotensive medications, resulting in stroke.

Defense of physician in emergency room setting involving care and treatment allegedly resulting in a urethral tear.

Defense of Illinois hospital in wrongful death claim arising out of care and treatment in the emergency room.

Defense of neonatologist for alleged failure to properly resuscitate newborn delivered at 28 weeks of gestation.

Franchise:

Successfully managed several complex commercial cases for a national oil refiner involving trademark infringement; commingling of motor fuel; termination under the Petroleum Marketing Practices Act; de-branding gasoline stations; and collection of millions of dollars in unpaid invoices, unamortized incentive funds and unamortized volume incentives from the franchisee.

Structured complex work-out agreement between national oil refiner and franchisee to avoid claims of fraud and discrimination, including successful negotiation of continuing relationship between the parties.

Member of trial team in month-long trial in California defending a major oil company from allegations of fraud and misrepresentation in its model contract used throughout the United States with ancillary cases in Missouri and Ohio.

Primary role in handling product quality claims for major oil company, including enforcing its Product Quality Assurance program with retailers and wholesalers and negotiating settlements.

Employment Discrimination:

Defense of local small businesses in employment discrimination claims and lawsuits, including handling cases based on age, sex, gender, and retaliation.

Successfully negotiated settlement in wrongful termination case based on gender discrimination and pregnancy.

Presentations

“The Use of Social Media in the Work Place,” Medical Group Management Association, Webinar Series

“Litigation: Mediation of Franchise Disputes,” led round table discussion at the International Franchise Association Legal Symposium

“Liability, Informed Consent and Risk Management (Medical liability for interventional pain physicians. Liability issues include malpractice, controlled substances, tort, consent, and defense),” American Society of Interventional Pain Physicians

“Medical Legalities (Issues that come up in litigation),” Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation Residents, Washington University