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Ciara Harper

Ciara knows that strong client defense is a continual and multi-faceted process. It involves a constant intersection of listening to each client’s individual business goals, thorough research, great preparedness and deft strategy. She believes in using cost-effective technology, such as eDiscovery, to streamline legal work and keep clients working without interruption during litigation. Ciara serves large and small clients across industry sectors, providing due diligence and serving on the legal team that provides end-to-end litigation solutions including:

  • Mediation
  • Arbitration
  • Pre- and post-judgment remedies
  • Appellate work

Clients appreciate that she is able to customize innovative solutions to their local matters while being part of a large legal team with a national footprint, working with firm attorneys in specialty centers and jurisdictions across the country.

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The United States Supreme Court building

On May 16, 2024, the Supreme Court of the United States (“SCOTUS”) unanimously held that when a district court finds that when a lawsuit involves an arbitrable dispute and a party has requested a stay of the court proceeding pending arbitration, the Federal Arbitration Act (“FAA”) compels the court to issue a stay and the court does not have discretion to dismiss the action.  Smith v. Spizzirri, 601 U.S. 472 (May 16, 2024) (citing 9 U. S. C. §3). 

On August 15, 2023, the Missouri Supreme Court in State ex rel. Monsanto Co. v. Mullen, No. SC99942 (Mo. Aug. 15, 2023) (en banc), clarified competing interpretations of Mo. Rev. Stat. 508.010.5(1) (2016) with regard to the proper venue for defendant corporations sued by plaintiffs alleging first injury outside the state of Missouri. In the opinion, the Missouri Supreme Court held that venue is determined based on the location of the defendant corporation’s registered agent at the time the suit is filed, rather than the registered agent’s location on the date of a plaintiff’s first alleged injury, resolving an ambiguity contained in the statute.

On June 1, 2021, the United States Supreme Court announced it would not accept Johnson & Johnson’s petition for certiorari seeking to overturn a $2.12 billion dollar damages award rendered in Missouri to twenty-two Missouri women who alleged their ovarian cancer was caused from microscopic asbestos fibers in the company’s baby powder and other talc products.