Business & Commercial Disputes

Of Counsel - Litigation and Investigations

Douglas Winter’s practice includes appellate and trial litigation, investigations, information governance, and entertainment law. His litigation practice concentrates on complex cases, with a particular emphasis on information technology, aviation, products liability, and class and mass actions. He served as lead counsel in the many cases arising from the second largest air disaster in the continental United States, and participated in the longest jury trial on aviation issues in American history, prevailing on behalf of his client. Other significant litigation includes cases establishing the government contractor defense and the state secrets defense; cases interpreting the Class Action Fairness Act, the Death on the High Seas Act, and the Montreal Convention; and multidistrict proceedings and other actions with thousands of parties.

Mr. Winter also has recognized experience in information governance and electronic discovery. He is Head of Bryan Cave’s Electronic Discovery Unit.  He served as Deputy Chair of Judge William H. Webster’s independent investigation of the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s handling of counterterrorism intelligence before and after the November 2009 shootings at Fort Hood, Texas, and as Editor-in-Chief of the Webster Commission’s Final Report.

Mr. Winter’s entertainment practice includes the drafting and negotiation of contracts involving writers, publishers, television producers, and film makers as well as litigation resolving disputes about contracts and intellectual property rights. He is the author or editor of 13 published books (including the authorized biography/critique Stephen King: The Art of Darkness); the anthologies Prime Evil and Revelations; and the novel Run. He has written for such major newspapers as the Washington Post, Philadelphia Inquirer, and Atlanta Journal-Constitution; magazines as diverse as Harper’s Bazaar, Saturday Review, and Gallery; and books published on six continents. He regularly teaches writing to lawyers as well as non-lawyers.

CLERKSHIPS

Clerkship, Honorable William H. Webster, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit, 1975-1977