ST. LOUIS — A judge has unsealed a lawsuit against prominent local attorney Jerry Schlichter and his firm that had been closed since shortly after it was filed in October.
ºüÀêÊÓƵ Circuit Court Judge Jason Sengheiser said Schlichter and his attorney, former ºüÀêÊÓƵ Circuit Court Judge Jack Garvey, had not shown a “compelling justification†to overcome the court’s presumption that case files are open to the public.
The lawsuit filed by former Schlichter law partner Roger Denton is a dispute over fee-sharing agreements at the firm, which has a national reputation for high-profile litigation against major employer retirement plans. Schlichter has won cases at the U.S. Supreme Court and is credited with reforming the retirement fund industry and saving retirees millions in unnecessary and hidden fees. He also is a prominent local philanthropist and civic booster, founding groups such as Arch Grants and leading efforts to attract more immigrants to ºüÀêÊÓƵ.
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In his ruling, Sengheiser explained that the case was sealed Oct. 14 following a late-afternoon phone call where “the court’s clerk represented she had a frantic attorney with an emergency motion to seal the case.â€
Jerry Schlichter, left, and former law partner Roger Denton.
“Upon receiving this phone call while at a meeting out of town, the court decided to grant the motion to be on the safe side and to sort the matter out the following week,†Sengheiser wrote.
Garvey argued at a court hearing last week that allowing the case to be open would hurt Schlichter’s clients and give the country’s largest defense firms an opening to delay cases threatening major employers and the powerful asset management industry. Garvey has also argued Denton filed the case despite an arbitration clause in his partnership agreement and asked the court to delay opening the case until ruling on a motion to send the case to arbitration.
Denton’s lawyer, Traci Pupillo, argued the fee-sharing agreements filed in the case thus far were not confidential and the litigation and settlements the lawsuit references are public records. Sengheiser agreed, writing the parties could ask to seal particular filings as the case progresses if there are concerns about confidential information.
In an emailed statement, Garvey said Denton’s attorneys have agreed to meet with Schlichter to determine which documents must be protected to “avoid harming pending clients’ cases and still adhere to the concerns the Court made known in its ruling.â€
“We are happy the court in its decision saw the damage to the firm’s clients resulting from the revelation of confidential information in this case and the court is open to protecting these strategies and legal theories going forward,†Garvey said. “The lawyers in the firm, including Mr. Denton, have a duty not to reveal confidential information, especially information that opposing lawyers can use to gain an advantage in pending cases of the firm.â€
Denton, in a statement, said that while he’s pleased with the ruling unsealing the case, “as a founding member of Schlichter, Bogard & Denton, my preference would have been to resolve this dispute without legal action. I tried for 10 months, but they were unwilling to discuss resolution.â€
