H. Brent McKnight Renaissance Lawyer Award: Kirk G. Warner
Kirk Warner is a lead trial lawyer focusing his practice on complex product liability and commercial bet-the-company litigation. Kirk is a member of the firm’s Products and General Litigation group which includes Product Liability; Mass Tort and Catastrophic Loss; Toxic Torts, PFAS and Asbestos; and Pharmaceutical and Medical Device Litigation practice areas. He is also a senior litigator in the firm’s Commercial Litigation, Complex Contract Disputes and Construction Litigation teams. Kirk has extensive experience representing a variety of government contractors with issues involving overseas war operations and advising clients involved in government interagency and contingency operations contractor issues.
Kirk represents multiple major automotive and consumer products manufacturers throughout the United States. He also defends clients involved in catastrophic explosion and fire lawsuits and has tried cases in environmental coverage, toxic tort, contract, catastrophic loss and injury, wrongful death, commercial, construction, insurance and arson lawsuits.
At the start of Kirk’s career, he served as a member of the defense team of a national law firm for the Rely Tampon-Toxic Shock Syndrome litigation. Kirk also served as an Assistant Special Prosecutor for the State of Ohio in the investigation of the Ohio Savings & Loan crisis and the resulting prosecutions.
Kirk is a retired Army Colonel, Iraqi War Commander and Senior Army Judge Advocate who was legal counsel to three Chairmen of the Joint Chiefs of Staff at the Pentagon and major Commands. He has led major investigations and tiger teams for the Department of Defense and large corporations. He was featured on CNN’s Lou Dobb’s Tonight “Heroes” series and has published two award-winning books: Zone of Action: A JAG’s Journey Inside Operations Cobra II and Iraqi Freedom and A Hoot in Hell’s Island: The Heroic Story of World War II Dive Bomber Lt. Cmdr. Robert D. “Hoot” Gibson.