The POWER List: James G. Onder

OnderLaw, St. Louis

Jim Onder has led some of the biggest cases in Missouri history.

He was the leading force behind several lawsuits on behalf of women who alleged their use of talcum powder caused their ovarian cancer, sometimes fatally. In 2016, he won talc verdicts in St. Louis totaling $197 million total, and a similar $110.5 million jury verdict in 2017 was the second-largest plaintiffs’ win of that year.

Though the Missouri verdicts on behalf of out-of-state plaintiffs didn’t survive on appeal due to jurisdictional rulings, Onder remains involved in ongoing litigation on similar claims in federal court in New Jersey.

He has served in lead attorney roles in several multidistrict litigation suits. In 2010, he reached a record-setting $22.5 million confidential vehicle collision settlement in St. Louis County.

Onder serves on the board of governors for the Missouri Association of Trial Attorneys and is a member of the Multi-Million Dollar Advocates Forum and the American Society for Legal Advocates.

He earned his law degree from Saint Louis University in 1988.