Brian W. Fields

Mr. Fields specializes in complex commercial litigation, intellectual property and products liability cases. His commercial cases include prosecution and defense of business tort claims, contract claims and warranty claims. He has successfully litigated a variety of business disputes involving intellectual property, nondisclosure agreements, distribution agreements, sales under the UCC, construction disputes, railcar leases and commercial landlord-tenant actions. Mr. Fields also has extensive experience handling products liability cases involving significant property damage, serious personal injuries and deaths. In addition to his substantial commercial and products liability experience, he has handled several bankruptcy preference and adversary actions.

Mr. Fields is part of a national trial counsel team for a leading appliance manufacturer and has represented several other manufacturers on a national, regional and local basis. He has coordinated the defense of cases nationwide and supervised those cases through pre-suit investigation, discovery, trial, mediation, arbitration, dismissal or favorable settlement. His national counsel work has given him considerable experience successfully tendering product cases to foreign manufacturers who bear responsibility. His success for his clients has been attributed to his skill in simplifying complex issues into clear, logical arguments.

Mr. Fields has represented clients in dozens of federal and state courts throughout the country with great success. He has successfully arbitrated numerous cases through arbitration forums; taken and defended hundreds of depositions; participated in month-long jury trials; first-chaired bench trials; retained and developed medical, economic, engineering and fire expert witnesses; successfully argued many dispositive motions; handled cases involving substantial electronic discovery; and prepared winning appellate briefs to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, the Missouri Supreme Court and the Illinois Court of Appeals.

Since 1996, Mr. Fields has represented numerous pro bono clients through the Volunteer Attorney Project of Kansas City. He was selected for the Bar Leadership Academy of Kansas City, an organization designed to promote interaction with prominent civic, community, business and legal leaders. Mr. Fields is active in community affairs and a committed supporter of the Children’s Center For the Visually Impaired.

Court Memberships

• Illinois
• Illinois Supreme Court
• Kansas
• Kansas Supreme Court
• Missouri
• Missouri Supreme Court
• U.S. District Court for the District of Kansas
• U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois
• U.S. District Court for the Western District of Missouri

Honors

• Managing Editor, University of Missouri-Kansas City Law Review 
• Member, Board of Editors, Law Journal Newsletters, Products Liability Law & Strategy 
• Selected for the Bar Leadership Academy of Kansas City

Professional Affiliations

• Volunteer Attorney Project of Kansas City, Active since 1996
• Member, American Bar Association, Tort Litigation Section 
• Inns of UMKC, Inn Master 2007-2008

Publications

• Author, Twombly’s Plausibility Standard in Product Liability Cases, Law Journal Newsletters, Product Liability Law & Strategy, June 2009 
• Author, Tendering Claims to Manufacturers & Suppliers, Law Journal Newsletters, Product Liability Law & Strategy, April 2007
• Author, Expert Testimony in Products Litigation, Defense Research Institute, For the Defense, 2003 
• Author, Employer Should Learn Law to Guard Trade Secrets, Kansas City Business Journal, Oct. 22-28, 1999
• Author, Attorney-Client & Work Product Privileges Waived When Witnesses Refresh Memory, 63 UMKC L. Rev. 309, 1994