Metro-east law firm used ‘fraud playbook’ to get asbestos settlements, suit claims
A federal lawsuit is accusing Alton-based law firm Simmons Hanly Conroy of filing sham asbestos claims in handpicked jurisdictions such as Madison County to profit from large settlements.
J-M Manufacturing Company alleges the “fraudulent scheme” was carried out for years by the firm and several of its attorneys and staff, including senior partner Perry Browder, who is also president-elect of the Illinois State Bar Association.
In November, J-MM added new allegations to its complaint against another law firm with ties to Alton, Sokolove Law. J-MM also indicated in a motion that it would like to accuse the Gori Law Firm in Edwardsville of conspiring with them.
“J-MM will continue to hold those who perpetrate fraud against it accountable,” Ashwin Ram, the company’s lead attorney, said in a statement to the BND.
Simmons Hanly has denied fraud allegations in response to the lawsuit, arguing the company’s complaint is meritless and retaliatory.
The firm represented plaintiffs who sued J-MM in a total of 430 cases, alleging their illnesses were caused by a cement pipe the company sold in the 1980s that contained asbestos. Asbestos can cause serious diseases, often decades after exposure.
J-MM paid settlements in more than 75 of those cases.
“This lawsuit is retribution for defendants daring to represent injured and deceased victims of J-MM’s products and an inappropriate attempt to restrict defendants from obtaining justice in the future for vulnerable individuals J-MM has harmed,” Simmons Hanly stated in court records in response to the lawsuit.
“... J-MM is no victim here; it made a conscious decision to sell asbestos-cement pipe well into the late 1980s despite the well-known dangers of asbestos.”
The company said multiple Simmons Hanly clients alleged they were exposed to asbestos by cutting into the pipes with power tools, which product labels warned against and workplace regulations from the Occupational Safety and Health Administration prohibited.
‘Scheme’ to obtain settlement money alleged
J-MM’s complaint describes a “Simmons Hanly Fraud Playbook.”
The playbook includes the following pattern, according to the lawsuit:
- Scripted product identification testimony, exposure story and denials about warning labels
- Vague and deceptive testimony and discovery responses to avoid discovery that might frustrate the “story”
- Suppression of evidence to asbestos-containing products of bankrupt companies
- Over-naming and filing baseless claims in plaintiff-friendly jurisdictions to extract settlements
- Actions to silence people and activity that might expose the scheme
The complaint includes examples from specific asbestos lawsuits, including one Simmons Hanly initially filed in Madison County in 2019 before moving the case to Vermont.
In that case, Dennis Perkins sued J-MM and more than 20 other defendants, alleging his wife died of mesothelioma as a result of secondary exposure to asbestos that Perkins carried home from his various jobs, according to a summary from J-MM’s complaint.
J-MM is now accusing Simmons Hanly of coaching witnesses like Perkins based on similarities in their testimonies about their exposure to asbestos and descriptions of the company’s pipes.
Specifically in Perkins’ case, J-MM also alleges that Simmons Hanly concealed a separate claim it filed in a bankruptcy court against another asbestos pipe maker. J-MM says information about that company’s shared responsibility for Perkins’ wife’s exposure could have affected the settlement it paid to Perkins.
J-MM alleges the “scheme” violates federal law prohibiting organized crime: the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act, better known as the RICO Act.
Simmons Hanly dismissed the actions J-MM described as ordinary parts of lawyers’ jobs.
“In its complaint, J-MM takes the position that routine litigation activities — such as seeking to secure ‘the most compensation possible for clients,’ filing cases in ‘jurisdictions known to be favorable to asbestos plaintiffs,’ and preparing their clients for depositions — constitute evidence of a racketeering enterprise,” the law firm stated in a court filing.
Simmons Hanly has also asserted that a lawyer “cannot be sued for the consequences of his or her litigation-related activities or statements.” The judge in the case has not yet ruled on its immunity defense.
Illinois State Bar Association leadership declined to comment on the allegations against Simmons Hanly or Browder, the group’s president-elect.
“The Illinois State Bar Association has no knowledge of the facts or circumstances concerning the private civil litigation filed against the Simmons Hanly Conroy firm,” Second Vice President Sarah Toney said in a statement. “Accordingly, we have no comment on it.”
Additional law firms accused of conspiring
J-MM amended its complaint Nov. 11 in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois after initial claims were dismissed by Judge Robert Gettleman for failing to provide enough evidence of a crime “enterprise” or conspiracy.
The amended complaint adds a second law firm Simmons Hanly is alleged to have conspired with to find potential asbestos plaintiffs.
J-MM accuses Sokolove Law of being intertwined with Simmons Hanly and run by a common leader. The complaint alleges the two firms share profits from asbestos settlements.
A lawyer for Sokolove Law is not yet listed in federal court records. The law firm did not immediately respond to the BND’s request for comment.
In a statement through its legal team, Simmons Hanly said it plans to file a motion to dismiss the amended complaint.
“J-M Manufacturing is once again targeting the asbestos law firms that held it accountable, seeking to shift blame rather than take responsibility for its dangerous actions and products,” Simmons Hanly stated. “J-MM’s amended complaint is a recycled version of claims the court already rejected. This latest filing is a repeat attempt to undermine those law firms who enforce accountability, and it does not reflect the conduct of our firm or the litigation process.
“These allegations mischaracterize both Simmons Hanly Conroy’s work and the way asbestos litigation is conducted. The cases J-MM references proceeded under judicial oversight, and the courts had every opportunity to evaluate the evidence and arguments presented.”
Ram, J-MM’s attorney, said in a statement that the company intends to file another lawsuit accusing the Gori Law Firm in Edwardsville of involvement in the alleged scheme. Citing unnamed “insider whistleblowers,” J-MM alleged in a motion that the Gori Law Firm coordinated with Simmons Hanly to file fraudulent asbestos claims.
“J-MM continues to investigate and shine a light on plaintiff’s law firms and others committing fraud and misconduct in connection with sham asbestos claims,” Ram stated. “As part of this effort, J-MM anticipates preparing a stand-alone complaint against the Gori Law Firm.”
In response to BND questions, Sara Salger, managing partner of the Gori Law Firm, called the allegations unfounded.
Salger replaced Randy Gori, the wealthy co-founder of the law firm who was murdered in his home near Edwardsville in 2020 and robbed of more than $4,000 and a Rolls-Royce. Gori made millions on asbestos litigation and was known for donating large amounts of money to charity. He was survived by his wife, Beth, and their two children.
Madison County a hot spot for asbestos claims
For 16 of the past 23 years, Madison County Circuit Court has been featured in the American Tort Reform Association’s annual report ranking the top “judicial hellholes” in the country.
Madison County was chosen because of the flood of asbestos claims filed there. The association alleged some of those claims were unsubstantiated but judges were unfair to business defendants and juries often ruled in favor of plaintiffs who said asbestos made them sick, attracting even more litigation.
Groups like the Illinois Trial Lawyers Association have pushed back on the report’s depiction of Madison County over the years and dismissed the American Tort Reform Association as a biased, pro-business group funded by wealthy corporations.
Madison County has moved off the list in the past few years, appearing only in “dishonorable mentions” in 2022 and again in 2024.
A new list is expected to be published in early December, according to the American Tort Reform Association.
A spokesperson for the association could not immediately be reached for comment about the reasons Madison County is no longer considered a top “judicial hellhole.”
But the Illinois Trial Lawyers Association said in a statement that the number of asbestos claims filed in Madison County has fallen 42% in about a decade, citing numbers from the Madison County Circuit Clerk’s office.
Those claims dropped from 1,678 in 2013 to 965 in 2024.
The American Tort Reform Association said in its most recent report that Madison County remains the top jurisdiction for asbestos claims nationwide. It cited data compiled by a corporate consulting company called KCIC.
This story was originally published November 20, 2025 at 5:30 AM.
