ALTON, Ill. – Simmons Hanly Conroy, one of the nation’s largest mass torts firms and a national leader in the legal representation of mesothelioma patients and their families, is pleased to announce that University of Missouri (Mizzou) alumna and Shareholder Sarah Burns is the recipient of a Column Award from MU’s College of Agriculture, Food & Natural Resources (CAFNR).
“We congratulate Sarah on her many achievements that have earned her distinction as an alumna of the University of Missouri’s College of Agriculture, Food & Natural Resources,” said Larry Nassif, Managing Shareholder of Simmons Hanly Conroy.
“I am honored to have received the Column Award and am truly grateful for everything I learned while at Mizzou, but especially all that I learned from each of my professors within CAFNR,” Burns said.
The only award specifically for alumni presented by Mizzou’s CAFNR, the Column Award recognizes CAFNR alumni who have made significant professional contributions and whose accomplishments, affiliations, and careers have honored the legacy of excellence in the CAFNR.
Each year, the awardee class includes one graduate from each of CAFNR’s six divisions, reflecting the six, historic, Ionic-style columns at the University of Missouri that originally supported Mizzou’s first campus building (Academic Hall) and serve as a testament to the school’s history. This year, Burns was the honoree for the CAFNR’s Biochemistry Division.
A member of Simmons Hanly Conroy’s Complex Litigation Department, Burns has substantial legal experience handling prescription opioid litigation, consumer safety cases, mass tort multidistrict litigations, and other complex business torts. She is a member of the firm’s Opioid Litigation Team, which is dedicated to helping counties and municipal governments enforce their legal rights against pharmaceutical companies responsible for the opioid crisis.
Over the past 14 years with the firm, Burns has secured billions of dollars in settlements on her clients’ behalf.
Burns received her Bachelor of Science in biochemistry from Mizzou and her J.D. (with honors) from the University of Tulsa College of Law.
