Cort VanOstran

As both a private attorney and a public servant, Cort VanOstran has worked to give a voice to those who might not otherwise have one.

For seven years, Cort practiced with another highly-regarded St. Louis law firm, litigating complex commercial matters and class action cases.  In one major case, Cort worked with a team of lawyers to represent a nationwide class of corn farmers alleging negligence and economic injury by the agribusiness giant Syngenta.  A federal jury returned a verdict for $217.7 million for the farmers.  In other matters, including pro bono matters, Cort has successfully represented consumers, organizations, and individuals seeking justice.  He has significant experience with discovery, depositions, and dispositive motion practice.

In 2023, Cort joined the Department of Justice.  As a federal prosecutor in the Eastern District of Missouri, Cort investigated and prosecuted white-collar crime, including embezzlement, identity theft, and wire fraud.  Among other accomplishments, he obtained a guilty verdict as trial counsel in a multi-count Hobbs Act case in May 2024, and he argued twice on behalf of the United States in the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals.

Cort is an active and engaged member of the St. Louis community.  He has served on the boards of the Contemporary Art Museum St. Louis and Prison Performing Arts, an arts and rehabilitation non-profit.  He is former chairman of the Young Lawyers Section Council of the Missouri Bar and has taught at Washington University School of Law since 2016, most recently teaching appellate advocacy as an adjunct professor.

In 2018, Cort ran for United States Congress in Missouri’s Second Congressional District.  He was endorsed by many leaders and advocacy groups, as well as by the St. Louis Post-Dispatch and the St. Louis American.  He lost to a multi-term incumbent by four percentage points.

Cort grew up in Joplin, Missouri, before earning his bachelor’s degree from Harvard and his law degree from Washington University in St. Louis, where he served as president of the Student Bar Association.  After law school, Cort served as law clerk to U.S. District Judge Audrey Fleissig and U.S. District Judge John Ross in the Eastern District of Missouri.

Cort lives in Richmond Heights with his husband.  He attends The Gathering United Methodist Church.