Joseph Blanton

Joseph C. Blanton, Jr. gives clients facing difficult situations unparalleled representation. He specializes in Federal Court litigation, commercial litigation, medical malpractice and products defense, probate and trust litigation, transactions, and estate planning. Blanton is a graduate of the University of Virginia, the University of Texas School of Law, and the University of Edinburgh (Master of Science in History). He has a CORe Certificate (Economics, Accounting, and Data Analytics) and certificates in Finance, Alternative Investments, Valuation, and Data Science from Harvard Business School Online, and in Value Investing from Columbia Business School. From 1985-87, he clerked for U. S. District Judge Stephen N. Limbaugh in St. Louis. Blanton is a fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers, the International Academy of Trial Lawyers, and Litigation Counsel of America. He is rated AV Preeminent by Martindale-Hubbell and Superb by AVVO.com. He is listed in the Best Lawyers in America for commercial litigation, medical malpractice defense, product liability defense, and probate and trust litigation. He was named the Product Liability Lawyer of the Year for 2019 and 2024 and the Medical Malpractice Defense Lawyer of the Year for 2021 in the St. Louis market by Best Lawyers. He has been named a Missouri Super Lawyer every year since 2008. In 2023, he received the Rick Gass Trial Presentation Award from Litigation Counsel of America. In 2026, he was named a Legal Icon by Missouri Lawyers Weekly. Blanton is a former member of the Board of Governors of the Missouri Bar, the Missouri Supreme Court Civil Rules Committee, and the Appellate Judicial Performance Evaluation Committee. He serves as a trustee of the Missouri Supreme Court Historical Society and as the senior outside Director of Montgomery Bank, a $1.3 billion community bank. Blanton has received the Purcell Professionalism Award, the President's Award, and the Award of Merit from The Missouri Bar. He has received the Distinguished Service Award, the Armbruster Key Man Award, and the Community Service Award from the Sikeston Jaycees. He was named one of Ten Outstanding Young Missourians by the Missouri Jaycees and Citizen of the Year by the Sikeston Chamber of Commerce. He has received the Boy Scouts' Silver Beaver Award.