Meet Our Attorneys

Ron essentially limits his practice to helping injured workers with workers compensation cases. He is an experienced trial lawyer and has successfully tried numerous cases on behalf of injured workers and settled hundreds more. His ability, knowledge and experience allow him to provide quality representation for people with work injuries.  

Ron grew up in Southeast Missouri and he enjoys representing injured workers including factory workers, truck drivers, UPS and Fed-Ex drivers, construction workers, retail workers, police officers, nurses and other healthcare workers.

He can help injured workers get the workers compensation benefits they are entitled to. That includes medical treatment (and mileage or travel expense), weekly temporary disability benefits and a settlement for permanent disability. For those unable to return to work, that could mean workers’ compensation benefits of several hundred dollars per week for life.

Ron knows that a carelessly concluded workers compensation claim may cause the unnecessary loss of Social Security Disability, Medicare, Medicaid, or SSI benefits. He will help you avoid the unnecessary loss of one or more of those benefits.

You should also know, that if some of your medical bills were paid by health insurance or you received short term or long-term disability benefits under a disability policy, your health insurance company and/or your disability insurance company may be entitled to be repaid after you have settled your workers’ compensation case. Ron can help you avoid that problem and help you insist that the settlement with the workers’ compensation insurance company protect you from those risks.

• Workers’ Compensation

• Fisk-Rombauer High School
• Southeast Missouri State College (now University)
• University of Missouri (pre-law)
• University of Missouri School of Law, Columbia, Missouri

Matthew Richardson is a 1975 graduate of the United States Military Academy at West Point. After completing 5 years as an officer in the U.S. Army, he graduated from George Washington University Law School in 1983, with honors. Matt began his legal career as a law clerk for U.S. District Judge H. Kenneth Wangelin. He practiced for several years in St. Louis in the area of commercial litigation, before moving his practice to Poplar Bluff in 1989.

Matt is a seasoned trial attorney and a graduate of the National Institute for Trial Advocacy, with numerous successful jury and non-jury trials during his 40-year practice. Personal injury litigation, including auto injury, premises liability and medical negligence, is his primary area of concentration. He is a member of the Missouri Association of Trial Attorneys and the American Association for Justice, and served as Municipal Judge for Poplar Bluff, Missouri from 1991 through 2002.

Personal Injury

• Auto injuries
• Premises liability
• Medical Negligence
• Product liability
• Wrongful death

• Missouri, 1983
• Illinois, 1984
• U.S. District Court, 1983

• George Washington University National Law Center,
• Washington, DC, 1983 J.D. (With Honors)
• United States Military Academy, West Point, New York, 1975 B.S.
• Boston University, Boston, MA, USA, 1980 MBA

• Missouri Association of Trial Attorneys
• Bar Ass’n of Metropolitan St. Louis 
• American Association for Justice 

• U.S. Army, Officer
• Hon. H. Kenneth Wangelin U.S. District Judge, Law Clerk (1983-1984)
• Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner (St. Louis), (1984-1989)
• Richardson Law Firm Poplar Bluff, Missouri (1989-2022)  
• Municipal Judge, City of Poplar Bluff 1991-2002

Nick has represented Workers’ Compensation Employees since 2013, and he practices out of the Cape Girardeau and Farmington locations. There is nothing more important to Nick than doing a good job for his clients.  

Nick was born and raised in Northeast Arkansas. His upbringing was spent around farmers, construction workers, truckers, and factory workers. He is the son of a “radio man” and a Special Education teacher.  

Nick will tell you that the most important part of his job is securing good medical treatment for his clients. He will not recommend you resolve your case until you are fully satisfied that you are at “maximum medical improvement.” He understands that we only get one body, and his clients typically only get one case.  

Nick knows that a carelessly concluded workers’ compensation claim may cause the unnecessary loss of Social Security Disability, Medicare, Medicaid, or SSI benefits. He will help you avoid the unnecessary loss of one or more of those benefits.

You should also know that if some of your medical bills were paid by health insurance or you received short term or long-term disability benefits under a disability policy, your health insurance company and/or your disability insurance company may be entitled to be repaid after you have settled your workers’ compensation case. Nick can help you avoid that problem and help you insist that the settlement with the workers’ compensation insurance company protect you from those risks. 

Nick lives in Missouri with the love of his life, and many animals. He enjoys getting outside and playing sports, but nothing more than spending time with his family.

• Workers’ Compensation, Missouri & Illinois

• Missouri 2013
• Illinois 2014

• Pocahontas High School, Pocahontas, Arkansas 
• University of Southern Illinois School of Law, 2013 Juris Doctor
• Arkansas State University, 2009 B.S.
• Honors: Cum Laude

Brittany Woodruff is a lifelong resident of southeast Missouri. She grew up in Essex, MO and moved to Poplar Bluff as a teenager. She completed her high school academics at Richland R-1 High School and is a proud Richland Rebel. Brittany graduated from Southern Illinois University School of Law in 2020. 

Prior to going to law school Brittany worked as an assistant in the Workers Compensation Department at Little, Schellhammer, Richardson, & Knowlan Law Offices for ten years, and continued to intern there throughout law school. While still a relatively new attorney, Brittany has sixteen years of experience helping injured workers. Her knowledge of workers compensation combined with her experience and compassion ensures her clients are getting the zealous representation they deserve. Brittany is a member of the Missouri Bar Association, the Butler County Bar Association, and the American Bar Association. 

• Workers’ Compensation

• The Missouri Bar

• Southern Illinois University School of Law, 2020 Juris Doctor
• Hannibal-LaGrange University, 2016 Bachelor of Science

• Butler County Bar Association – Member
• American Bar Association - Member