Finley Dorough Gibbs

Hello;

I am in my 60's, happily married for over 37 years, with two adult children. I have been practicing law in Columbia and all across the State of Missouri for over 30 years. I had a real life and career before entering the practice of law. My prior work experiences included acting as a Sales Representative and Territory Manager, short run Trucking, welding, security for a bar and many other excellent opportunities to learn about life. 

My law practice included cases in front of Juries and Judges, administrative hearing panels, mediations, Municipal Court, State Court, Federal Court, the Missouri Courts of Appeal, and the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals. I have handled simple traffic matters, complex divorces, Medical Malpractice claims, professional licensing issues for clients, Pharmaceutical products liability, auto crashes, motorcycle crashes, wrongful death cases.  I have handled nearly every type of State level case possible. Those experiences and my life experience help me to work with my clients, to assist them in complex situations, to negotiate firmly and fairly with the other side. My litigation experience lets the other side know I will go to trial if they will not be fair. 

I spent 6.5 years working for Shelter Insurance Companies, first as a Litigation Counsel, then a Managing Litigation Counsel where I spent most of my time hiring Litigation Counsel and managing a variably sized team of lawyers. I helped with some policy drafting and managed an average of 300 files at a time - from minimal risk files to maximum risk. I participated in many mediations, mostly successful. I have a management level understanding of claims Litigation.  I also was the Litigaiton Counsel for our SIU unit, which battled fraudulent claims. I thoroughly enjoyed that and in general, got excellent results. I resigned from Shelter in order to go into semi-retirement in September, 2025. 

 I have done well in cases involving fraud committed against State and Federal Governments. I have had success in several such cases, and in 2012, I resolved a high level False Claims Act case, assisting the Federal Government against Citi, with recovery of over $153,000, for a case involving Mortgage Fraud. I also represented a whistleblower in a medical fraud case where I recovered @$1,500,, for the Federal Government and the state of Missouri. I am in the process of closing another case where the whistleblower I represented recovered @$4,000, for the Federal Government. 

At this point, while I am retired, I am commencing my practice as a Mediator Neutral. My life experiences and courtroom experiences will be of great assistance to both sides of civil mediations. I have also completed significant training at the University of Missouri for mediators. I have participated in many mediations. 

My experiences help me every day identify with clients, all the way from business owners to the regular folks who need some help. My firm has always been dedicated to helping people whenever possible. 

Thanks,

Finley D. Gibbs