Jillian R. Dent

Jillian Dent represents individuals in consumer, privacy, and products class-action litigation. As a former corporate defense attorney and judicial law clerk, she brings a well-rounded litigation acumen to her cases; clients benefit from her ability to assess cases from multiple perspectives to develop and pursue the best strategic courses of action.

Among her recent results:

• In 2024, Jillian successfully represented four siblings in a $270 million high-stakes, contested estate litigation, centered around their deceased father’s shares in a bank he founded; the case involved allegations that their father’s attorneys and fourth wife unduly influenced him in diverting his bank shares to a trust run by the attorneys, and that he lacked capacity in making the decision to disinherit his children. The litigation involved extensive e-discovery as well as medical and financial experts. Ultimately, the Stueve Siegel Hanson team achieved a resolution that returned control of the bank shares and the estate to the siblings.

• Jillian helped secure a $190 million settlement with Capital One. The case, In re: Capital One Consumer Data Security Breach Litigation (E.D. Va.), stemmed from a 2019 data breach that compromised nearly 100 million credit applicants. Jillian led discovery and successfully argued, then defended on appeal, the plaintiffs’ motion to compel the post-data breach forensic investigation report, which had been withheld on the basis of work product.

• Jillian managed Stueve Siegel Hanson’s case against T-Mobile, In re: T-Mobile Customer Data Security Breach Litigation (W.D. Mo.), stemming from a 2021 data breach. Jillian was one of the primary drafters of the 338-page consolidated complaint, and negotiated the ESI Protocol and Protective Order before the case settled. The matter resolved in a $350 million settlement.
• Jillian was the case manager and led the deposition efforts in a class-action lawsuit against Lely, Kruger et al. v. Lely North America (D. Minn.), on behalf of dairy farmers who purchased and were dissatisfied with the company’s robotic milker. Jillian led briefing efforts and took four of the five depositions of Defendant, prior to the case settling. Over 95% of the class participated in the settlement, which offered either a cash payment or a trade-in for the new robotic milker at their option. The settlement was valued at over $120 million.
• Jillian was the case manager and led the discovery and briefing efforts in a class-action lawsuit against DeLaval on behalf of dairy farmers who purchased and were dissatisfied with the company’s milking system robots, Bishop et al. v. DeLaval, Inc. (W.D. Mo.). Jillian led the charge of fact discovery, negotiating discovery disputes, taking depositions, and arguing discovery disputes to the Court. The case settled for $55 million.

Recently, Jillian has been appointed to Plaintiffs’ Steering Committees and tasked with offensive discovery in two data breach cases: In re: HCA Healthcare, Inc. Data Security Litigation, Case No. 3:23-cv-00684 (M.D. Tenn.) and In re: Snowflake, Inc. Data Security Breach Litigation, Case No. 2:24-md-03126 (D. Montana).

Prior to joining Stueve Siegel Hanson LLP, Jillian served as a judicial law clerk to Judge Duane Benton of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit – an experience which provided her with an inside look at how appellate decisions are made and what arguments prove most persuasive on appeal.

Jillian then served as a litigation associate at Sidley Austin LLP in Chicago, where she represented sophisticated clients in complex litigation, including matters involving breach of contract, business torts, breach of fiduciary duty and securities class actions. During her time at Sidley Austin, Jillian honed her skills at all stages of litigation, from dispositive motions to preparation for trial.  She is experienced in discovery, and has managed large-scale document productions, written and defended against numerous motions to compel, and handled depositions, including deposing an executive and employees at a Fortune 500 company and second-chairing the two-day deposition of a Fortune 500 CEO. She also maintained an active pro bono practice, representing two clients as part of Sidley’s Capital Litigation Project.

Before her time as an attorney, Jillian was a high-school teacher in Kansas City, Missouri with Teach for America; she taught 10th, 11th and 12th grade English, AP Literature, theatre arts, and creative and critical writing. She credits her experience in the classroom for her ability to think on her feet, to break down complex issues, and to craft persuasive and engaging arguments.

Jillian enjoys spending time with her husband, two children, and family and friends.

News

Experience

Representative Cases

In re: the Estate of Norman C. Skalicky (State of Minnesota, District Court, Fourth Judicial District): Jillian was part of the team that successfully represented four siblings in a $270 million high-stakes, contested estate litigation, centered around their deceased father’s shares in a bank he founded; the case involved allegations that their father’s attorneys and fourth wife unduly influenced him in diverting his bank shares to a trust run by the attorneys, and that he lacked capacity in making the decision to disinherit his children. The litigation involved extensive ediscovery as well as medical and financial experts. Ultimately, the Stueve Siegel Hanson team achieved a resolution that returned control of the bank shares and the estate to the siblings.

Bishop et al. v. DeLaval Inc. (Western District of Missouri): Jillian was the case manager and led the discovery and briefing efforts in a class-action lawsuit against DeLaval Inc. on behalf of dairy farmers who purchased and were dissatisfied with DeLaval’s voluntarily milking system robots. The lawsuit alleged that the robots were defective and failed to perform as represented. In January 2020, the Court denied defendants’ motions to dismiss, as well as defendants’ motion to strike class allegations. Jillian was the primary author of the opposition to the international defendants’ motion to dismiss for lack of personal jurisdiction and successfully argued plaintiffs’ opposition before the Court. See Bishop v. DeLaval Inc., No. 5:19-CV-06129-SRB, 2020 WL 4668755 (W.D. Mo. Jan. 28, 2020). Jillian led the charge of fact discovery, negotiating discovery disputes, taking depositions, and arguing discovery disputes to the Court. The case settled for $55 million and was issued final approval in July 2022.

In re: Capital One Consumer Data Security Breach Litigation (Eastern District of Virginia): Jillian was the case manager and primarily in charge of discovery efforts for the litigation stemming from the data breach Capital One announced in July 2019. She was also one of the primary drafters of SSH’s first complaint filed in July 2019, as well as the representative complaint filed in March 2020 after Norman Siegel was appointed as co-lead counsel. Jillian then led many facets of fact discovery, including briefing and arguing a number of motions to compel, negotiating custodians and search terms with both defendants, drafting and serving multiple rounds of discovery, managing a large-scale document review, and taking multiple depositions and seconding many more as part of a team that took over 40 depositions.

Of note, Jillian successfully briefed and argued plaintiffs’ motion to compel the post-data breach forensic investigation report, which had been withheld on the basis of work product. She then successfully defended the Magistrate Judge’s ruling that the report did not qualify for work product protection when the defendant objected under Rule 72. See In re Capital One Consumer Data Sec. Breach Litig., No. 1:19MD2915 (AJT/JFA), 2020 WL 2731238, at *7 (E.D. Va. May 26, 2020), aff'd, No. 1:19MD2915 (AJT/JFA), 2020 WL 3470261 (E.D. Va. June 25, 2020). The case was settled for $190 million and issued final approval in September 2022.

Kruger et al. v. Lely North America et al. (District of Minnesota): Jillian was the case manager and led discovery and briefing efforts in a class-action lawsuit against Lely North America. Inc. on behalf of dairy farmers who purchased and were dissatisfied with Lely’s Astronaut A4 robotic milker, which Plaintiff has alleged was defective. Jillian successfully briefed and argued against the international defendants’ motion to dismiss for lack of personal jurisdiction, which was denied in December 2020. Jillian negotiated document discovery and took four of the five depositions that occurred prior to settlement. A settlement that involves a cash fund of $49.75 million, with the option for farmers to receive cash or to trade in their A4 robot for a new A5 robot. Given the class participation of over 95%, the settlement was valued at over $120 million and received final approval in September 2023.

Lundy et al. v. Meta Platforms, Inc. (Northern District of California): Jillian was the case manager, one of the primary authors of complaints and briefing, and led fact discovery efforts on behalf of consumers who alleged that Facebook had tracked their location despite the users turning their Location Services setting as to the Facebook application off. After the Plaintiffs prevailed over Meta’s motion to dismiss in September 2021, Jillian led the negotiation of written discovery and was preparing with the team to take depositions before the parties engaged in mediation and agreed to a settlement. The $37.5 million settlement was issued final approval in March 2024.

In re T-Mobile Customer Data Security Breach Litig. (Western District of Missouri): After Norman Siegel was appointed as one of the three co-lead interim class counsel, Jillian managed the case on behalf of SSH and was one of the primary drafters of the 338-page consolidated complaint. She also negotiated the Protective Order and ESI Protocol, including arguing related issues to the Court. After the parties agreed to a settlement, Jillian was one of the drafters for the preliminary approval motion, final approval motion, and various attendant briefing, as well as assisting in overseeing the claims process. The $350 million settlement received final approval in June 2023.  

Publications

Missouri and the Charter School Puzzle: A Story with an Uncertain Ending, 79 MO. L. REV. 733

Results

Honors & Recognitions

The Best Lawyers in America: Ones to Watch: 2023 to present 

Missouri/Kansas Super Lawyers "Rising Stars": 2023 to present

Missouri Lawyers Weekly 2021 Up and Coming Lawyer

CALI Awards of Excellence for the Top Grade in Civil Procedure I & II, Torts, Criminal Law, Advocacy & Research, Contracts II, Constitutional Law, Complex Litigation, Jurisprudence, Estates & Trusts, and Criminal Procedure

John D. Lawson Prize for Best Work in Contracts

Judge Shepard Barclay Prize for third year student who has attained the highest standing in scholarship and moral leadership

MU Law School Foundation Prize for student with highest scholastic achievement during third year

Sidney Faber Award for Best Work in Criminal Law

William F. Fratcher Prize for Best Work in Estates and Trusts

Community & Professional

CLE Co-Chair (Western District of Missouri) for KCMBA’s Federal Court Advocates Section, 2023

Served on the 2023 District of Kansas Panel to Select a Magistrate Judge

Kansas City Metropolitan Bar Association, Bar Leadership Academy 2019