Attorneys
Thomas E. Rice
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Tom Rice is an experienced trial attorney and negotiator who creates successful dispute resolutions with innovative, outside of the box thinking. His civil litigation practice emphasizes product liability, pharmaceuticals, employment litigation and insurance issues. He also advises clients on newly developing cyber-liability issues.
Tom has tried cases in numerous states for various Fortune 500 companies, and coordinates national, regional and industry-wide litigation. Tom has been recognized in The Best Lawyers in America® for Defendants in Product Liability Litigation, Insurance Litigation, and Mass Tort Litigation/Class Actions in the Kansas City Metropolitan area. Tom also has been selected for inclusion in Super Lawyers® every year since its inception in 2005.
When not in the office, Tom can usually be found on the water. Formerly a PADI certified rescue diver, he now spends his down time above the water piloting his classic Air Nautique wake boat.
Industries
- Automotive
- Construction
- Food & Beverage
- Banking
- Healthcare
- Hospitality & Leisure
- Insurance
- Pharmaceutical & Medical Device
- Retail
- Trucking
- Recreational Transportation
Practices
Admissions
- Missouri
- Kansas
- Iowa
- Illinois
- U.S. Court of Appeals, Sixth Circuit
- U.S. Court of Appeals, Eighth Circuit
- U.S. Court of Appeals, Tenth Circuit
Education
- Vanderbilt University Law School, J.D.
- Vanderbilt University, B.A. (Phi Beta Kappa, magna cum laude)
Memberships & Activities
- ALFA International
- Co-Chair of the 2016 EPLI Program
- Steering Committee Member, Insurance Practice Group
- Steering Committee Member, Product Liability & Complex Torts Practice Group
- Steering Committee Member, Labor & Employment Practice Group
- Steering Committee Member, Professional Liability Practice Group
- American Bar Association
- Litigation Section (Product Liability, Insurance Coverage, Environmental Law and Corporate Counsel Committees)
- Natural Resources, Energy and Environmental Law Section
- American Counsel Association
- ASTM
- Committee D10 on Packaging
- Committee E50 on Environmental Assessment
- Claims and Litigation Management Alliance
- Member
- Coalition of Food Industry Counsel
- Defense Research Institute
- Cybersecurity and Data Privacy
- Drug and Medical Device
- Trial Tactics and Techniques Committee
- Industry-wide Litigation Committee (Legislative Affairs Liaison)
- Toxic Torts and Environmental Law Committee
- Economics and Management of Law Practice Committee
- Children’s Products SLG (Liaison with the Juvenile Products Manufacturer’s Association)
- Federation of Defense and Corporate Counsel
- Toxic Tort and Environmental Section
- Technology Law Section
- Economics of Trial Practice & Technology in Business Practice
- Section (Vice Chair 2000-2001)
- Fellows of the American Bar Association, Sustaining Life Fellow
- Kansas Association of Defense Counsel
- Kansas City Metropolitan Bar Association
- Missouri Organization of Defense Lawyers
- Mortgage Bankers Association
- Product Liability Advisory Council
- Cyber-Liability: IOT and AI Products Action Group
- State Bar of Kansas
- State Bar of Missouri
- The Network of Trial Law Firms, Chair, (1998-1999)
Publications
- Contributing editor: "Missouri Civil Procedure Form Book."
- Author: Federation of Defense and Corporate Counsel Guide - A Guide to Helpful Technology and Intellectual Property Websites (2000 – 2002).
- Author: Federation of Defense and Corporate Article - Proposed Federal Rules of Civil Procedure Amendments Concerning Electronic Discovery: Will They Be Enough? (2005).
- Regional editor: ALFA Labor & Employment Compendium – Recent Significant Federal Employment-Related Case Law (2008).
- Contributing author: ALFA Labor & Employment Compendium - Recent Significant Federal Employment-Related Case Law, Eighth Circuit section (2008).
- Contributing author: ALFA Labor & Employment Compendium - Recent Significant Employment-Related Case Law and Statutes, Kansas and Missouri sections (2008).
- Contributing author: ALFA Insurance Compendium – Life, Accident and Health Law, Kansas and Missouri sections (2008).
- Contributing author: ALFA Insurance Compendium – Property & Casualty Law, Kansas and Missouri sections (2008).
- Contributing author: Product Liability Advisory Council Handbook - Product Liability Jury Instructions (2010).
- Contributing author: DRI Insurance Compendium - Bad Faith Law, Missouri, Illinois and Kansas sections (2010).
- Contributing author: DRI Insurance Compendium - Bad Faith Law, Kansas and Illinois sections (2015).
- Contributing author: ALFA Insurance Compendium - Property & Casualty Law, Kansas and Missouri sections (2015).
- Contributing author: ALFA Insurance Compendium - Life & Health Law, Kansas and Missouri sections (2015).
- Contributing author: ALFA Labor and Employment Compendium - Labor and Employment Law in 50 States, Kansas and Missouri sections (2015).
- Contributing author: DRI-JPMA Summary - Child Product Liability Law for the United States and Canada (2015).
- Regional editor: DRI Insurance Compendium - The Law of Life Insurance Claims: Key Issues in Each State (2016).
- Contributing author: DRI Insurance Compendium - The Law of Life Insurance Claims: Key Issues in Each State, Missouri section (2016).
- Contributing author: ALFA Professional Liability Compendium - Statutes of Limitations for Accountants by State, Missouri and Kansas sections (2016).
- Contributing author: ALFA Professional Liability Compendium - Statutes of Limitations for Legal Malpractice by State, Missouri and Kansas, sections (2016).
- Editor: ALFA Insurance Program Materials - Joint EPL/PL Program (2016).
- Contributing author: DRI Insurance Compendium – The Law of Life Insurance: Key Issues in Each State, Missouri section (2017).
- Contributing author: DRI Insurance Policy Rescission Compendium, Kansas chapter (2017).
- Contributing author: ALFA Product Liability & Complex Torts Compendium, Kansas chapter (2017).
- Contributing author: ALFA Insurance Compendium, Missouri and Kansas chapters (2017).
- Contributing author: ALFA Employment & Labor Compendium, Missouri and Kansas chapters (2017).
- Contributing author: ALFA International Advantage - Dollars, Cents, and Bitcoin: Identify and Calculating Damages for Insurers Facing a Cyber Event (2017).
- Contributing author: ALFA Insurance Compendium, Missouri and Kansas chapters (2019).
- Contributing author: ALFA Employment & Labor Compendium, Missouri and Kansas chapters (2019).
- Contributing author: DRI Insurance Policy Rescission Compendium, Kansas chapter (2018).
Presentations
- International Presentations:
- Litigation Trends in the United States - (Risk Management Counsel of Canada) Toronto, Canada.
- National Presentations:
- Ethical Challenges for In-House Counsel - (ACCA) Stamford, CA.
- Investigation of Technology and Intellectual Property Issues through the Internet - (Federation of Insurance and Corporate Counsel) Silverado, CA.
- Emerging Trends in Product Liability - (ACCA) Cleveland, OH.
- Testimony Regarding Proposed Revisions to F.R.C.P. Rule 26 and Rule 34 on Behalf of Defense Research Institute Industry-wide Litigation Committee - (Judicial Advisory Committee Hearing on Proposed Revisions to Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, U.S. Judicial Conference) Chicago, IL.
- Litigation Risk Analysis: Decision Tree Analysis and Monte Carlo Simulation - (The Network of Trial Law Firms) Kiawah Island, SC.
- Proposed Amendments to Discovery Rules of the FRCP: Moving Toward a More "Civil" Practice - (The Network of Trial Law Firms) Palm Beach, FL.
- Litigation Strategies for the Dangerous Case - (Coalition of Food Industry Counsel) Tucson, AZ.
- The Emergence of Extranets for Litigation Management - (American Bar Association, Litigation Section, Corporate Counsel Committee) St. Petersburg, FL.
- The Coming Collision: The Restatement (Third) of Torts and Proposed Revisions for UCC Article 2 - (The Network of Trial Law Firms) Palm Springs, CA.
- Insurance Coverage Issues for Y2K Litigation - (The Network of Trial Law Firms) Palm Beach, FL.
- Emerging Evidence Issues in Intellectual Property Litigation - (Federation of Insurance and Corporate Counsel) San Antonio, TX.
- Emerging Issues of E-Discovery - (Federation of Defense & Corporate Counsel) Milwaukee, WI.
- Multiple Carrier Coordination and Allocation - (ALFA International) New York, NY.
- The Future of EPLI Claims Settlement - (ALFA International) New York, NY.
- Medicare as Secondary Payer: Surviving the Reimbursement Revolution Since the MMSEE - (Product Liability Advisory Council), San Antonio, TX.
- The A, B, C's of Medicare Recovery (ALFA International) Tele-seminar.
- Staying Ahead Of The Game: How Employers Can Cope With Changing Laws And Increased Regulatory Scrutiny - (ALFA International) Dana Point, CA.
- Cyber Liability and Data Breaches in the Workforce – (ALFA International) New York, NY.
- Dollars, Cents, and Bitcoin: Identify and Calculating Damages for Insurers Facing a Cyber Event – (ALFA International) New York, NY.
Awards & Recognition
- AV® Preeminent Peer Review Rated by Martindale-Hubbell.
- Selected for inclusion in Missouri & Kansas Super Lawyers®, 2005-present
- Selected for inclusion in Best Lawyers® in America, Kansas City Metropolitan Area
- Mass Tort Litigation/Class Actions - Defendants (2018-present)
- Insurance Litigation (2019-present)
- Product Liability Litigation - Defendants (2019-present)
- Fellow of the American Bar Association
