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John Cooney, Peter Van Zandt Accepted Into ABOTA

Edwardsville, Ill./San Francisco, Calif. (January 26, 2021) - Lewis Brisbois is pleased to announce that Madison County Partner John F. Cooney and San Francisco Partner Peter J. Van Zandt were recently accepted as new members of the Missouri/Southern Illinois and San Francisco Chapters of the American Board of Trial Advocates (ABOTA), respectively, during the organization’s National Board Meeting on January 23, 2021.

Mr. Cooney is a member of Lewis Brisbois’ General Liability Practice and concentrates his practice on the defense and trial of civil damage lawsuits. Over the last 35 years, he has tried more than 100 jury trials to verdict and personally handled more than 30 appeals in state and federal courts. He is a skilled negotiator who is particularly adept at Alternative Dispute Resolution, both as a participant and as a neutral. Mr. Cooney’s broad experience includes handling matters for trucking companies, airlines, rental car companies, as well as retail and hospitality sectors. In addition, he handles professional liability defense for legal and medical practitioners, and also manages coverage and bad faith issues for several carriers.

“I am honored to be admitted to the Missouri/Southern Illinois Chapter of ABOTA. I look forward to working with my fellow members to further the organization’s important goals in Missouri, Illinois, and across the country,” Mr. Cooney said.

Mr. Van Zandt is a member of Lewis Brisbois’ Products Liability, General Liability, and Consumer Financial Services Practices. A trial lawyer, he has practiced solely in the field of courtroom litigation for his nearly 30-year career and has tried more than 60 civil cases. Leading insurance companies and corporations call upon him to defend commercial business disputes, catastrophic personal injury and death cases, earth subsidence, and complex adjoining property owner disputes. He also has a depth of experience defending consumer warranty, products liability, aviation, trucking, RV, bus, and automobile litigation. In addition, Mr. Van Zandt has defended the financial services industry against consumer class and individual actions involving claims arising under federal and state laws.

“I would like to express my gratitude to the San Francisco Chapter and the National ABOTA for my election to this extraordinary group of trial lawyers and judges with whom I share an unwavering commitment to justice, cordiality and preservation of the civil jury system,” said Mr. Van Zandt.

ABOTA is a national association of experienced trial lawyers and judges who are dedicated to preserving the civil jury trial and educating and training trial lawyers. Lewis Brisbois has over 50 trial attorneys across its nationwide network who have been inducted into the association. View the full list of the firm's ABOTA members on our National Trial Practice page.

Please join us in congratulating Messrs. Cooney and Van Zandt on this achievement. You can learn more about ABOTA's Missouri/Southern Illinois Chapter here and the San Francisco chapter here.

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