Ted L. Perryman

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Leaders in Law endorses Ted Perryman as our exclusively recommended Toxic Torts expert in Missouri, USA. If you wish to get in touch with Ted’s please use the contact information provided above.

Ted Perryman is widely regarded as one of Missouri’s preeminent trial lawyers. He has been named one of Missouri’s Best Lawyers and is recognized by his peers as a Super Lawyer. For over 35 years the mainstay of his practice is the trial of trucking, personal injury, and insurance cases.  In 2017 and 2020 he was named “Lawyer of the Year” in St. Louis for personal injury defense, mass torts and class actions by Best Lawyers.  He is listed in Martindale Hubbell as AV Preeminent by lawyers and judges.

Ted is perhaps best known for his role as a leading advocate and defense attorney for the trucking industry. Not only does he represent trucking companies and their drivers, he is a driver himself. He actively holds a Class A license to operate tractor-trailers in the State of Missouri (CDL). Ted has served as a member of the Board of Directors for the Missouri Trucking Association and is active in various committees of the American Trucking Association and the Illinois Trucking Association. Presently, he serves on the Safety, Insurance Task Force, Communications & Image Policy, Small Carrier, and Independent Contractor Policy Committees of the ATA.  In 2014 he was awarded the G. Findley Reed Award by the Missouri Trucking Association for his service to the trucking industry.

He is a frequent speaker for the Illinois Trucking Association, Missouri Trucking Association, TCA, ATA Litigation Forum, Machinery Haulers Association, and National Tank Truck Carriers.

Through Ted’s role in the Missouri and Illinois Trucking Associations he has been on several trips with fellow members making calls on Congress to advocate on behalf of truckers. As a trial lawyer on behalf of motor carriers, he has taken over 120 personal injury cases to verdict, many of which involved serious trucking accidents.

Ted represents both trucking companies and their insurance carriers.  He counsels his insurance clients regarding the avoidance of extra-contractual liability (bad faith) which is prevalent in the “judicial hellholes” in which he regularly practices.

Ted made his mark in Missouri as a trial lawyer in the area of toxic tort litigation. He successfully defended Northeastern Pharmaceutical Company that resulted in a defense verdict after a six-month trial where several claimants alleged numerous health problems due to dioxin exposure at Times Beach, MO.

Ted is a member of many prestigious trial organizations such as the Council on Litigation Management, Federation of Defense and Corporate Counsel, International Association of Defense Counsel, and the Trucking Industry Defense Association. He currently serves as the Committee Chair for the Transportation Committee of Primerus, a society of the world’s finest independent boutique law firms.

Practice Areas

Education

  • Indiana University, A.B. 1974 (with honors in Sociology)
  • Louis University, J.D. 1977

Bar Admissions

  • Missouri, 1977
  • Illinois, 1978
  • S. Supreme Court
  • S. Court of Appeals 7th, 8th and 11th
  • S. District Court
    • Eastern and Western Districts of Missouri
    • Northern, Central and Southern Districts of Illinois

Memberships

  • Mediator, affiliated with USA&M
  • Federation of Defense and Corporate Counsel (FDCC)
  • Missouri Organization of Defense Lawyers
  • Trucking Industry Defense Association
  • Counsel on Litigation Management
  • Defense Research Institute
  • Missouri Trucking Association
  • Board Member Missouri Trucking Association
  • Illinois Trucking Association
  • American Trucking Association
  • International Association of Defense Counsel (IADC)
  • Transportation Lawyers’ Association
  • Clair County Bar Association
  • East St. Louis Bar Association
  • Illinois Bar Association
  • Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals Bar Association
  • Southern Illinois Federal Bar Association
  • Bar Association of Metropolitan St. Louis
  • Lawyer’s Association of St. Louis
  • Missouri Bar
  • Missouri Bar Transportation Committee
  • Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance (CVSA)
  • National Industrial Transportation League
  • MCAA

Publications

  • Missouri Reference Guide for Trucking Claims
  • Illinois Reference Guide for Trucking Claims
  • Cargo Claims under the Carmack Amendment

Awards and Recognitions

  • Best Lawyers 2010 – Present
  • Super Lawyers 2008 – Present

Events and Speaking Engagements

  • Trucking Leadership Symposium
  • Missouri Trucking Spring Safety Conference
  • Annual Safety Seminar, Missouri Trucking Association
  • ATA Management and Exhibition

Firm Description:

Roberts Perryman is an “AV” rated law firm that has been recognized as one of the leaders in providing experienced legal services. At Roberts Perryman we do not try to be everything to every client. Our focus is limited to five areas:

Our clients are trucking companies, employers and insurance companies. We have devoted the last 50 years to serving their needs.

Industry Expertise

The attorneys at Roberts Perryman are recognized as leading advocates for the industries we represent. Both industry and legal forums frequently invite our attorneys to speak and contribute to educational seminars and events. This is the result our commitment to such organizations as the Missouri and Illinois Trucking Associations, American Trucking Associations, and Council on Litigation Management.

An example of our firm’s commitment to the industries we serve is that all attorneys who handle trucking litigation are licensed to operate commercial motor vehicles. We are members of various committees and boards serving the insurance as well as the trucking industry.

Our Approach

We understand that effective, quality and cost-efficient legal representation are important to our clients. We take a hands-on approach to resolving claims before they reach litigation. We will make sure your cases are settled, mediated or tried as soon as practical. We are advocates of alternative dispute resolution and routinely mediate well over 100 claims each year. We handle your case as if it was our own…because it is.