Neal F Perryman

Practice Areas

Neal F. Perryman is the Chair of the Firm's Litigation Department. Neal focuses his law practice on labor and employment law, but he also regularly practices in the areas of ERISA litigation, complex commercial litigation, appellate practice, education law, and municipal law. Neal defends employers and management in personnel-related disputes before state and federal courts, arbitration panels, and administrative agencies. He regularly counsels clients on compliance with federal and state employment and labor-related issues, including union contract negotiations, and on best management and governance practices. In addition, Neal represents clients in other types of complex litigation matters. He has successfully tried cases for clients in various jurisdictions, including in "bet-the-company" -type matters. He has also successfully argued numerous appeals in various state and federal appeals courts.

After an 11-day trial in 2008, Neal, serving as lead counsel, gained one of the first jury verdicts under the then-new featherweight causation standard for Missouri Human Rights Act cases. He has successfully represented employers and ERISA plans in class actions, including a summary judgment for an employer-sponsored plan in an important cash-balance ERISA class action case, which decision was affirmed on appeal. In 2014, Neal won an appeal in a Title IX case of national significance, having represented the defendant-university as lead counsel in both district court and on appeal. In 2019, Neal won an appeal in a lawsuit against law firm Armstrong Teasdale LLP, challenging the firm’s mandatory retirement policy for partners. The case was widely reported and of national import; Neal led a team of Lewis Rice attorneys in the district court and on appeal. These are just a few examples of Neal's practice and experience.