Vicki creatively crafts winning strategies to resolve challenging bet-the-company litigation with extensive experience in antitrust issues, complex class action cases, and intellectual property cases.
Overview
A powerful litigator, Vicki focuses her practice on complex business litigation, leveraging her strong legal presence to protect her clients’ interests and advance key business goals. Her extensive experience in antitrust and intellectual property litigation includes cases involving damages allegations in excess of a billion dollars. Vicki's antitrust experience also includes counseling clients on antitrust compliance matters and assisting on deals and pre-merger activities as they relate to antitrust.
Vicki represents clients in numerous jurisdictions with extensive experience in federal multi-district litigation, consolidated litigation under state court procedure and nation-wide class actions. She coordinates strategy in cases with multiple defendants and plaintiffs and goes the distance to represent clients in preliminary injunction proceedings, at trial and on appeal. She has strong experience in the pharmaceutical and manufacturing industries, defending antitrust allegations and protecting IP interests across a wide range of products. Echoing the firm’s commitment to pro bono work, Vicki successfully obtained a new trial for a man whose conviction resulted from ineffective counsel and has done work on voter protection issues.
Prior to joining the firm, Vicki served as a law clerk to the Honorable D. Brook Bartlett in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Missouri.
Experience
Vicki defended a major pharmaceutical manufacturer against antitrust allegations arising from the settlement of patent litigation.
She represented a major pharmaceutical manufacturer who, along with a number of other manufacturers, was sued in federal and state courts for alleged antitrust violations in determining the price of brand name prescription drugs.
Vicki protected a major pharmaceutical manufacturer against claims of monopoly restraint of trade in the sales and marketing of a billion dollar drug.
She defended the NCAA against allegations that its bylaws limiting the use of logos on athletic apparel violated federal antitrust and state laws.
Vicki protected the manufacturer of railroad car components against claims of patent infringement, enforced design patent rights for a manufacturer of sporting goods, and defended a manufacturer of voting equipment against claims of patent infringement.
She successfully obtained, at the district court and on appeal, declaratory and injunctive relief prohibiting the state of Missouri from challenging an interstate bank merger.
Vicki defended the use of a trademark of a major non-profit organization, protected the trade dress of a pet product, and pursues claims of false advertising under the Lanham Act.
When she is not practicing law, Vicki is an avid photographer.
News & Insights
News
Publications
"ESG Collaborations Face Challenges Without Safe Harbor Guidance," Bloomberg Law, September 2023
Recognitions
Recognitions
Selected to the 2024 edition of Best Lawyers in America©
AV Preeminent by Martindale Hubbell
Missouri Law Weekly, Pro Bono Award Recipient, 2020
Professional & Civic Activities
Professional & Civic Activities
American Bar Association
Missouri Bar Association
Kansas City Metropolitan Bar Association
Ross T. Roberts Inn of Court
University of Missouri Alumni Association, Past Diversity Committee Member
ACLU of Kansas Legal Panel
Serves of the Board of the Wornall Majors House Museums
Practices & Industries
Admissions
- Missouri, 1993
- Kansas, 1994
- U.S. Supreme Court
- U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit
- U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit
- U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit
- U.S. District Court for the Western District of Missouri
- U.S. District Court for the District of Kansas
Education
University of Missouri-Columbia, J.D., cum laude, 1993
- Order of the Coif
- Missouri Law Review, Associate Managing Editor
- James S. Rollins Award for Academic Excellence
- Selected for the ABA Moot Court Team
University of Missouri-Columbia, B.A, 1983
- Phi Beta Kappa
- Honors College
Clerkships
- Honorable D. Brook Bartlett in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Missouri
