Bailey Glasser Partners Named to 2024 Lawdragon 500 Leading Civil Rights Lawyers

Bailey Glasser partners Brian A. Glasser, Sharon F. Iskra, Cary Joshi, D. Todd Mathews, Gregory Y.  Porter, and David L. Selby II were named to the 2024 Lawdragon 500 Leading Civil Rights & Plaintiff Employment Lawyers list. 

Brian A. Glasser is a founding partner of the firm and was also recognized by Lawdragon in 2024 who named him a "Top 500 Litigator in America" as well as Forbes Media naming him one of its Top 200 Lawyers in 2024. Brian is a fearless litigator who fights for his clients including hundreds of survivors of sexual abuse across the country. In the last year alone, Brian also won battles against MyPillow CEO Mike Lindell to the tune of $5 million related to an election fraud-related contest; Johnson & Johnson for trying to bury 38,000 asbestos-related cancer claims in bankruptcy court; Monsanto related to Roundup (with a settlement after four days of trial); and 3M related to claims by veterans harmed by defective military earplugs.  

Sharon F. Iskra is a partner and the team lead of our compassionate Institutional Abuse and Neglect team. A nationally recognized advocate and voice for the vulnerable, she litigates cases for children, individuals with special needs, and others who have been abused, neglected, or exploited in institutions such as group homes, rehabilitation centers, universities, hotels, foster care facilities, and other settings. 

Cary Joshi is the firm's Commercial & Environmental Litigation Practice Group Leader. She, along with Brian Glasser, fought to hold Mike Lindell accountable for false allegations of election abuse. Cary also fights to protect the rights of student-athletes across the country whose Title IX rights have been violated, including being part of teams that have won major, ground-breaking settlements at Brown University, the College of William & Mary, the University of North Carolina at Pembroke, East Carolina University, Dartmouth College, the University of St. Thomas, La Salle University, Dickinson College, Florida State University, and the University of Central Oklahoma. 

D. Todd Mathews, a partner in our St. Louis-area office, leads the teams that have been fighting for justice on behalf of hundreds of victims of sexual abuse in Maryland, Illinois, and beyond. During the past two decades, Todd Mathews has secured numerous multimillion-dollar trial verdicts and settlements on behalf of his clients, successfully representing plaintiffs nationwide across product liability, personal injury, employment, sexual abuse, class action, mass tort, and whistleblower cases.

Gregory Y. Porter is the Practice Group Leader of our nationally award-winning ERISA practice group. Greg has recovered hundreds of millions of dollars on behalf of employees who lost retirement savings in 401(k) plans and ESOPs and has fought from trial courts all the way up the the Supreme Court of the United States to protect their financial interests. In the last year he's successfully led litigation teams to fight big companies who have sought to force plaintiffs into arbitration rather than litigate in federal courts.

David L. Selby II is the firm's Mass Torts Practice Group Leader, and leads teams that fight for sexual abuse survivors and people injured by defective products like firearms. David led what the International Business Times called a “landmark legal concession” against firearm maker Taurus International Manufacturing as part of a $239 million class action settlement. In the agreement, the gun manufacturer agreed to repair or replace defective firearm parts, as well as buy back or replace nearly one million pistols.

As set forth by Lawdragon in announcing the awards:

This is our 7th edition of this guide, our collection of the lawyers you need when you’ve suffered discrimination; sexual abuse at work or school; or mistreatment by law enforcement or others in positions of trust.

We spend so much of our lives in the workplace, which has undergone tremendous change in the past decade. While some of those modernizations have been refreshing, others less so. The intersection of technology with the workplace is a perfect illustration, enabling greater efficiencies and autonomy, while extending employers’ reach beyond what was previously a physical threshold.

We all want a fair chance. These are the lawyers who’ve made that their lives’ work. So many rights we now take for granted – for minorities, women, the disabled and others – came about because of a plaintiff lawyer who decided to stand up. Similarly, one would have thought that in 2024, lawyers would not have been needed to litigate the right to be free from being killed or beaten by law enforcement. And yet, here we are. For those reasons and many more, it’s a particular point of pride to recognize those included here.

We selected these lawyers through our time-honed process combining independent journalistic research with a wealth of submissions. Our submission process is growing, and we are grateful for everyone who took the time to share their thoughts on lawyers deserving recognition here. We also vet candidates with peers and clients.

Congratulations to all the lawyers receiving this recognition. To see the full list, please visit this link.