Jack A.
Downing

Meet St. Louis Attorney,
Jack Downing

Jack Downing’s primary areas of practice are commercial litigation, class action litigation, mass torts, and wrongful death and catastrophic injury.

He was extensively involved with the dicamba crop damage multidistrict litigation that resulted in a $400 million settlement in 2020 for both soybean growers and non-soybean growers.

He had a substantial role in negotiating claims for a number of economically harmed non-soybean growers. His efforts resulted in millions of dollars in settlement proceeds for his clients.

In 2021, Mr. Downing was named to the Missouri & Kansas Super Lawyers list as a “Rising Star” in the area of Class Actions and Mass Torts. Only 5 percent of lawyers in Missouri and Kansas received such listing.

He is a 2019 recipient of an “Up and Coming” award from Missouri Lawyers Weekly. “Up & Coming” recipients are attorneys under the age of 40, or who have less than 10 years of experience, recognized for their professional skill and community service.

He is a 2017 graduate of University of Missouri School of Law, where he served as Note and Comment Editor for Missouri Law Review. He earned his bachelor’s degree in Economics at the University of Missouri.

Mr. Downing is a member of the board of directors of Good Hope Educational Initiative, an organization whose mission is to improve educational opportunities and learning environments for students in South Africa while providing students in Missouri and elsewhere a better understanding of the struggles many children in South Africa face. Since 2006 he has volunteered with Room at the Inn, a St. Louis non-profit organization that provides temporary shelter and life-skills mentoring services to homeless women and children in the area.

Prior to joining Gray, Ritter & Graham as an associate attorney, Mr. Downing was a law clerk for the firm. He also was a judicial intern for the Hon. E. Richard Webber of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri.

Bar Admissions

• Missouri, 2017
• U.S. District Court, Eastern District of Missouri, 2017

Education

• University of Missouri School of Law, Columbia, Missouri
  • J.D., 2017
• University of Missouri, Columbia, Missouri
  • B.A., 2014
  • Major: Economics

Honors and Awards

• Rising Star, Missouri & Kansas Super Lawyers, 2021
• “Up & Coming Lawyer,” Missouri Lawyers Weekly, 2019

Published Works

• “A Blatant Inequity: Contributions to the Common Benefit Fund in Multidistrict Litigation,” Missouri Law Review (Summer 2016).
• “An Important Time for the Future of Class Action Waivers and the Power Struggle Between Businesses and Consumers,” Missouri Law Review (Fall 2016)

Professional Associations and Memberships

• The Missouri Bar Association
• Missouri Association of Trial Attorneys
• Bar Association of Metropolitan St. Louis
• Lawyers Association of St. Louis
• American Association for Justice

Past Employment Positions

• Law Clerk, Gray Ritter Graham
• Judicial Intern, Honorable E. Richard Webber, U.S. District Judge, Eastern District of Missouri,

Pro Bono Activities

• Volunteer, Room at the Inn