Congratulating Judge Prebil and Judge Cohen on Their Retirement!

Congratulations to Thomas Prebil and Robert Cohen on their retirement from the bench
in St. Louis County! Judge Cohen had served for 42 years as a Judge – first being elected to the position before the Missouri
Court Plan was passed. Judge Prebil tried cases as a defense lawyer, as a plaintiff’s lawyer and then took the
bench for many years as well.

Both are shining examples of what lawyers and judges should be: compassion for the citizens,
companies, and other entities that come before them, hard work ethic and drive to mete out fair justice. Both worked
from law school to retirement without missing a beat.

Gary Burger had the good fortune of having Judge Prebil as a mentor in his first years of practice. He
taught Gary how to zealously litigate and be a gentleman while doing so. Judge Prebil second chaired Gary in his first
jury trial and major verdict. Together, they obtained a strong compensatory and punitive damage verdict and kept it on
appeal (including to the Missouri Supreme Court). The insurance company denied the claim in bad faith, and they
collected over $1 Million on a $500,000 policy for our client Evelyn Goodlow. As serious as the practice of law can be,
Tom always found the right time to chuckle.

Gary Burger was lucky to try two cases before Judge Cohen in his last six months. Judge Cohen is
working and trying cases to the very last day he is on the bench – no shirking. In his last trial in front of him four
weeks ago, we were the only jury trial going that week in the St. Louis County courthouse.

Gary Burger’s second favorite part about being in front of Judge Cohen is that he argues both sides of any issue. If you
argue a matter before him, he will set forth the legal rational on both sides of the argument. Mr. Burger you would say
this, this, and this in support of your argument and I suppose the defense would say this, this, and that, and then your
response would be this. Is there anything to add? And then both lawyers would sit there and say “uh no you basically
said it better than we would have”, and then he rules.

It becomes obvious he has done this before. But, it is never condescending to you or dismissive in any way. He
synthesizes your case better than you can – Gary Burger asked Judge Cohen to close for him the last trial (but so did
opposing counsel).

Gary Burger

Founder | Injury Attorney
Gary Burger has dedicated his career to standing up against bullies. The founder and principal attorney of Burger Law | St. Louis Personal Injury Lawyer has helped hundreds of Missouri and Illinois individuals and families recover th …
Years of experience: 30 years
Location: St. Louis, MO

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