Zachary J. Parker

ZAC PARKER represents and advises clients in all stages of litigation, including pre-litigation risk assessment and mitigation, dispositive motion practice, written discovery, depositions of fact and expert witnesses, trials, and appeals. Zac’s practice focuses primarily on product liability, mass torts, toxic torts, and general commercial litigation

Zac protects businesses in litigation before state and federal courts in individual and collective actions with respect to a broad away of product liability and contract matters, including allegations of design defects, negligence, breach of contract, violations of consumer protection statutes, and conduct underlying claims for piercing the corporate veil and/or punitive damages. In addition, Zac counsels manufacturers and others within a product’s supply chain on potential liability and best practices for its minimization. He has represented clients across a variety of industries, including consumer products, healthcare, insurance, food, drugs, and medical devices.

Zac prioritizes furthering each client’s goals through innovative strategies and zealous advocacy. He has defended clients in multiple state court jury trials that were taken to verdict. Some of these were part of ongoing litigation and others were the first verdicts in a particular litigation. In addition, he has readied many cases for trial that settled on the courthouse steps, in part, due to the diligent trial workup. With this unique perspective on high-stakes civil litigation, including jury trials, Zac understands the lifecycle of litigation and leverages this insight to counsel against taking actions in one litigation that may have negative impacts on parallel or future litigation

Prior to joining Sidley, Zac practiced in another Chambers-ranked product liability firm. Zac graduated summa cum laude from the University of Missouri – Kansas City School of Law, where he was selected to be an article and symposia editor for the UMKC Law Review and a member of UMKC’s National Moot Court team. He also served as an intern for Sean O’Brien, regional habeas counsel for the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit; the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Missouri; and the Honorable Stephen R. Bough, U.S. District Court for the Western District of Missouri.

• Representing a contract sterilizer of medical devices in ongoing toxic tort litigation in the Circuit Court of Cook County as well as in Georgia. Plaintiffs claim that exposure to a chemical used by the sterilizer led them to develop cancer and other injuries.
• Representing a company in ongoing $165 million insurance coverage litigation.
• Represented a manufacturer in product liability litigation in state court in connection with a manufacturing related recall.
• Represented a medical device manufacturer facing product liability claims in multidistrict litigation and in standalone cases after the MDL closed. Zac’s duties included responding to complaints in various federal and state forums, handling written discovery practice in those forums, deposing party opponents, and drafting dispositive motions under various state standards.
• Represented a tobacco company in products liability actions. Zac’s duties included deposing claimants and other fact witnesses; drafting discovery, pretrial, and dispositive motions; arguing at hearings; formulating cross-examination for opposing parties and experts; and serving as a key trial team member for multiple trials in Florida state court. He also assisted with various appeals.
• Counseled clients regarding compliance and litigation risks for various products, including privacy issues related to a retailer’s phone-based application with a child-friendly game and disclosure requirements for sampling irradiated foods.

*Some of the above matters were handled prior to joining Sidley.

• National LGBTQ+ Bar Association
• LAGBAC
• KC LEGAL
• UMKC Law Diverse Alumni Committee, Former Vice Chair
• Stephen C. Metzler Mentorship Program – 2020 Class: Protégé

Zac maintains an active pro bono practice. He represented the Topeka Independent Living Resource Center and Disability Rights Center of Kansas, acting on behalf of their constituents with mental illness, in negotiations with Kansas agencies. This resulted in an agreement to provide supports and services that would allow people with mental health disability to avoid institutionalization and live in community-based, integrated settings.

As part of the Missouri Coalition for the Right to Counsel, Zac acted as a special public defender while representing an indigent defendant accused of attempted robbery.

At the court’s request, Zac assisted counsel representing a student with disabilities in the appeal of a decision from a due process hearing for alleged violations of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act.

*The above matters were handled prior to joining Sidley.