The POWER List: Joseph C. Orlet

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Husch Blackwell, St. Louis

Joe Orlet’s practice covers toxic tort and mass tort cases for industries ranging from chemicals to consumer products. It’s reflected in his membership in industry groups such as the American Seed Trade Association, the National Association of Manufacturers and the Society of Chemical Manufacturers & Affiliates.

Orlet belongs to bar associations in Missouri, Illinois and Iowa. He was president of the East Saint Louis (Illinois) Bar Association from 2015 to 2016.

In 1998, Orlet won one of the largest defense verdicts of the year, as tracked by Missouri Lawyers Media, when a Cole County jury sided with a ladder manufacturer in a wrongful death case brought on behalf of a roofer who was impaled through the eye when his ladder slid out from under him. The jury didn’t find the ladder to be defective.

He’s served for decades as lead trial lawyer for Emerson. Recent victories include an 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruling in 2019 that reversed certification of a nationwide class under state consumer protection laws.

Orlet earned his law degree from Saint Louis University in 1987.