Dawn Mefford-Besserman earned her undergraduate degree in Political Science from Southern Illinois University at Edwardsville in 1999, graduating summa cum laude. Dawn then attended Saint Louis University School of Law to earn her law degree and graduated cum laude in 2003. While in law school, Dawn clerked for the Honorable G. Patrick Murphy, Chief Judge of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Illinois.
Dawn concentrates her practice in personal injury litigation, including automobile negligence, medical malpractice, wrongful death, and products and premises liability cases. She enjoys lecturing at legal seminars and has authored several works on various topics in civil litigation, including tort reform, evidence, cross-examination, and trucking accident litigation. In 2008, she was named an “Up and Coming Lawyer” by Missouri Lawyers Weekly.
Dawn is licensed to practice law in both Missouri and Illinois, and she is admitted to practice before the U.S. District Courts for the Eastern District of Missouri and the Southern District of Illinois.
Dawn is a member of the Missouri and Illinois Bars, the Illinois State Bar Association, the American Association for Justice, the Lawyers Association of St. Louis, the Bar Association of Metropolitan St. Louis, the St. Louis County Bar Association, the Missouri Association of Trial Attorneys, the Illinois Trial Lawyers Association, and the Women Lawyers’ Association of Greater St. Louis. From 2006-2008, she also served on the board of a local youth recreational soccer league.
Publications:
“The Effect of Tort Reform on Medical Malpractice,” Journal of the Missouri Bar, September/October 2005.
“Objections and Rulings on Evidence,” Chapter 6, Missouri Bar Evidence Deskbook (5th Ed., 2006).
“Cross-Examination,” Journal of the Missouri Bar, January/February 2006.
“Anticipated Constitutional Challenges to Tort Reform,” Journal of the Missouri Bar, July/August 2006.
“How Federal Regulations Are Used to Build a Punitive Damages Claim in Trucking Accident Cases,” Tort Trends, Vol. 44, No. 2., December 2008.