Debbie S. Champion
Debbie Champion
St. Louis, MO 63102
St. Louis
Missouri (MO)
Civil Litigation Defense
Personal Injury Defense: General
Business Litigation
Profile
Debbie Champion is a founding partner in the firm of Rynearson Suess Schnurbusch and Champion. Ms. Champion is actively practices in Missouri and Southern Illinois, in the United States District Court for the Eastern and Western Districts of Missouri, the United States District Court for the Southern District of illinois and the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit. She has tried cases in eastern and southeastern Missouri and in southern Illinois. She has argued before the Missouri Supreme Court and the Eastern, Western and Southern District Courts of Appeals.
Ms. Champion won the Lawyer’s Lawyer Award at the 2008 Women’s Justice Awards. She is a recipient of an Outstanding Volunteer Award from Legal Services of Eastern Missouri and the Missouri Pro Bono Publico Award from the Missouri Bar Association. She was recently honored by the Women’s Law Caucus of Washington University for her commitment to the advancement of women in the law.
She has been selected as one of Ten Outstanding Young St. Louisans by the St. Louis Junior Chamber of Commerce. She is currently on the school board for Lift for Life Academy, the first Charter school in the City of St Louis. Ms. Champion founded and serves as President of Tools 4 Schools, a not for profit company which supports teachers in outfitting their classrooms when the school budget cannot do so. She has served on the Board of Directors and the Advisory Board of the Junior Chamber of Commerce, the Board of Directors of Shelter the Children. She was a founding member of Join Hands, ESL, a charitable organization for underprivileged children of East St. Louis, Illinois.
Ms. Champion co-authored the Missouri Practice Worker’s Compensation Subrogation Chapter. She often presents educational seminars to clients and to the legal community on topic a variety of topics, most recently including voir dire, depositions, dealing with the difficult client, premises liability, workers’ compensation subrogation, uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage, and Missouri and federal liens.
Ms. Champion is a Fellow and charter member of the Litigation Counsel of America and she is a member of the Council for Ethical Billing/Council for Litigation Management. Currently, Ms. Champion served on the 21st Judicial Circuit Judicial Commission as part of Missouri’s non partisan court plan.
Ms. Champion was chosen to serve as a member of the Supreme Court of Missouri Ad Hoc Committee to Study Expert Discovery.
Selected To
Missouri & Kansas Super Lawyers 2011
Missouri & Kansas Super Lawyers 2010
Missouri & Kansas Super Lawyers 2005
About Debbie Champion
Admitted: 1988, Missouri
Professional Webpage: www.rssclaw.com/attorneys/debbie_champion.html
Honors and Awards:
- Theodore McMillian American Inn of Court (St. Louis University), Master
- Rated 10 (Superb) on Avvo.com
- Debbie has been rated AV under the Martindale Hubbell rating system which is the highest rating available and which signified that a lawyer's peers rank him or her at the highest level of professional excellence, AV rating, Martindale-Hubbell
- Debbie was selected as a fellow of the Litigation Counsel of America, a trial lawyer honorary society established to reflect the new face of the American bar. Its purpose is to recognize deserving, experienced, and highly qualified lawyers, to provide an additional outlet for scholarly authorship of legal articles on trial and litigation practice, to provide additional sources for professional development, to promote superior advocacy and ethical standards in the practice of law, and to assist in community involvement by its membership, Fellow, Litigation Counsel of America
- Debbie Champion was awarded the Pro Bono Publico Award from the Missouri Bar for her service to disadvantaged and indigent people in the Metropolitan St Louis Community , Pro Bono Publico Award, Missouri Bar
- Debbie Champion was honored with the Award of one of 10 Outstanding Young St Louisans from the St. Louis Jaycees. The award is given to 10 Outstanding Members of the St. Louis Community who are under the age of 40, 10 Outstanding Young St Louisan, Junior Chamber of Commerce St Louis
- Debbie Champion received an Award from Legal Services of Eastern Missouri for her work with the Volunteer Lawyer's Program providing legal services to those in need, Volunteer Lawyer's Award, Legal Services of Eastern Missouri, 1996
- Washington University School of Law Women's Law Caucus bestowed this honor on Debbie Champion to acknowledge contribution to women in the law in honor of International Women's Day, Outstanding Women's Lawyer, Women's Law Caucus, 2008
- Debbie Champion was awarded the Lawyer's Lawyer Award. This award was given at the Women Lawyer's Awards, Sponsored by the Lawyer's Weekly, Lawyer's Lawyer Award, Missouri Lawyer's Weekly, 2008
- Missouri Lawyer's Weekly, Top 10 Defense Verdicts, 2011
- Debbie was selected to receive the Distinguished Young Alumni Award for 2012 for the Washington University School of Law in St. Louis, Missouri, Distinguished Young Alumni School of Law, Washington University, 2012
Special Licenses/Certifications:
- Licensed by Missouri Bar, 1988
- Licensed by Illinois Bar, 1989
Bar/Professional Activity:
- Volunteer Lawyer's Program
- National Associan of Professional Women
- Theodore McMillian American Inn of Court
- Your House Counsel
- Women's Lawyers Association
- Missouri Organization of Defense Attorneys
- Bar Association of Metropolitan St. Louis
- Litigation Counsel of America
- Counsel for Litigation Management
- Commercial Law League of America
- Defense Research Institute
- Missouri Bar Association
- American Bar Associateion, Tort & Insuranc Practice Section
- American Bar Association, Trial Practice Committee
- American Bar Association
- Ms. Champion served as a legal representative on the 21st Judicial Circuit Judicial Commission under the Missouri non Partisan Court Plan, 2005
- Ms. Champion served as Chairman of the Alumni Executive Committee for the School of Law at Washington University, 2006
- Ms. Champion was chosen to serve on the Missouri Supreme Court Ad Hoc Committee to Study Expert Committee, 2010
Pro bono/Community Service:
- Women's Professional Organization
- Board Member Lift for Life Academy
- Volunter Lawyers Program
- President and Founder Tools 4 Schools, 2008
- Board Member, Seeds of Blessing, 2011
Scholarly Lectures and Writings:
- Discovering Discovery, Mini Law School, Bar Association of Metropolitan St Louis, St. Louis University, April 2010
- Reservations of Rights, Training of Adjusters, Gallagher Bassett Services, Inc., Maryland Heights, MO, 2010
- Litigation 102, Presentation for Adjuster Training, Swiss Re, Council for Litigation Management, 2010
- Shakespearian Suggestions regarding the Attorney/Adjuster Obligations on Matters of Coverage. Council for Litigation Management, Annual Conference, Ponte Vedra, Florida, May, 2010
- Negotiation 101, Missouri PRIMA Quarterly Meeting, Columbia, Missouri, November 2010
- Voir Dire, Simon Law Firm Seminar to benefit Legal Services of Eastern Missouri, Missouri Athletic Club, June 2010
- Negotiation 101, Missouri PRIMA Quarterly Meeting, Columbia, Missouri, November 2010
- Missouri First Party and Third Party Bad Faith Claims, Claims Representative Training, Sentry Insurance Company, Davenport, Iowa, January 2011
- Presented at ANPAC annual attorney conference, Bad Faith: From levy failure to missing medical records, Ligation Conference, American National Property & Casualty Insurance Company, 2007
- Presentation for Continuing Legal Education, How to Try a Premises Liability Case, Missouri Bar, 2008
- Presentation to Missouri PRIMA, Lake of the Ozarks, Why do these attorneys take up all my time, Missouri Public Risk Association, 2008
- Speaker at Prima Annual Conference, Anaheim, CA, Why do these Attorneys take up all my time, PRIMA, PRIMA, 2008
- see resume attached for full list of presentations, 2011
- Annual Conference, New Orleans, Considering Legal Process Outsourcing as Part of Wider Legal Cost Management: Limitations vs. Benefits, Council for Litigation Management, 2011
- Annual Conference, New Orleans, Louisiana, Vampires, Voodoo & Verdicts; Frightening Issues in Insurance Defense, Council for Litigation Management, 2011
Educational Background:
- B.S. Murray State University Psychology, B.S. Murray State University Criminal Justice, 1983
- Murray State University Psychology Masters Only Coursework Completed, 1985
- J. D. Washington University, 1988
Debbie S. Champion:
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