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The Top Legal Minds in Missouri
“Enormously talented lawyers come from this part of the world,” says Alan Popkin of Husch Blackwell Sanders. Popkin, from Clayton, pronounces Missouri with an “ah” at the end as the words continue to roll off his tongue: “We in Missouri have a unique advantage over other firms. We breathe nice clean air, we can have a place in country and hunt and fish if we want to. We are uniquely situated to provide good legal service at a good rate.”
“Missouri is so diverse that I get a different challenge everyday,” says Columbia resident David Shorr. “I have had the chance to work on everything my peers in D.C. have and more. Lathrop & Gage gives me the amenities and credibility of a national law firm.”
“I like the people in the Midwest,” adds Craig Reaves, of Kansas City’s Reaves Law firm. Reaves is a South Dakota transplant who attended the University of Kansas and never left. Midwesterners “are friendlier,” he says. “They are good people to work with, and they are genuine people to work with.”
Paul Berens, of Bradshaw, Steele, Cochrane & Berens in Cape Girardeau, echoes Popkin’s sentiments: “The practice of law is an extension of athletics in high school and college: play hard and play fair.” Perhaps this mantra was reinforced during Berens’ time in the Air Force, but it’s a statement embodied by lawyers across Missouri.
Best Lawyers, a peer-review publication in the legal profession, ranked America’s top lawyers in various categories. Several Missouri lawyers made the cut in numerous fields; however, only five were the only Missouri lawyers in five of the fields; they are profiled below. Missouri Life also examines seven other areas of law that are particularly interesting to find our state.
Civil Rights Law
Arthur A. Benson II
Benson & Associates, Kansas City
“I just love Missouri,” Arthur Benson says, reflecting on the state’s abundant wildlife and the redbud and dogwood trees that pepper the landscape. Although Benson cites the native prairies managed by the Missouri Prairie Foundation and The Nature Conservancy among his favorite places in Missouri, he calls his hometown of Kansas City a “wonderful place; it has the amenities of a large urban area on a small scale.” Surrounded by “great neighbors and wonderful people,” Benson began practicing law in downtown Kansas City in 1969 after graduating from Williams College and earning a J.D. from Northwestern University. Approximately 65 percent of Benson’s practice deals with civil rights law, and Benson was the only lawyer in Missouri to make the Best Lawyers list in this category.
Benson focuses on individuals whose rights have been infringed upon in some way. Many of his cases involve actions against government officials; his clients include people who believe police used excessive force or imprisoned them wrongly. Benson also represents employees and consumers who’ve been discriminated against, as well as students who have been victimized by a public educational institution. “As a civil rights lawyer I suppose I am best known for having represented the class of school children in the Kansas City School Desegregation Litigation from 1979 to 2004, during which time the courts ordered the payment of about two billion dollars in improvements and salaries for the Kansas City school district,” Benson says. After years of advocating the civil rights of students from the outside, Benson was elected vice president of the Kansas City School Board in 2008. The position allows him to advocate for kids from the inside.
Elder Law
Craig C. Reaves
Reaves Law Firm, Kansas City
The legal side of growing old is as complicated as the physical side. For every grey hair, wrinkle, and pair of glasses there are special needs, estate planning, and Medicaid considerations. Certified elder law attorney Craig Reaves provides legal solutions for anyone who is older and also for people who have disabilities, regardless of age (the elderly and disabled are often similarly affected by the law).
Elder law generally involves helping folks protect their assets, qualify for public assistance benefits, or plan for long-term care. Lawyers prepare trusts and wills, hopefully in ways that avoid probate court and minimize taxes. Discrimination and abuse of the elderly and disabled are also concerns.
Reaves explains that most elder law lawyers have specialty areas; his focuses are estate planning, guardianships, and special needs trusts that allow money to be held in trusts in ways that are helpful to the recipient without disqualifying them from other benefits. Reaves serves a semi-urban area surrounded by people in smaller communities with farms and small businesses. “It’s not too big, but definitely big enough,” he says of Kansas City. “I have the luxury to limit my law practice and survive.”
Another benefit of practicing elder law in the Midwest is the lower cost of living, which results in a lower cost of care for those in need, as well as lower hourly rates for Reaves. “In other states, their clients’ money will run out much more quickly,” Reaves says about lawyers outside of Missouri.
The majority of Reaves’ clients might be senior citizens, but he makes an effort to inspire young minds as well by serving as an adjunct professor of law at both the University of Missouri-Kansas City School of Law and at his alma matter, the University of Kansas School of Law. He also stays busy as president of the National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys.
Reaves has been in practice since the early 1980s and has enjoyed leadership roles in the Brain Injury Association of Kansas and Greater Kansas City, LifeCare Planning, The Mission Project, the Arthritis Foundation – Western Missouri/Greater Kansas City Chapter, and Respite Care Services. He is currently a member of the Special Needs Alliance, the American Academy of Estate Planning Attorneys, the UBS PaineWebber Attorney Network, the Estate Planning Society of Kansas City, the Christian Legal Society, and the Society of Financial Services Professionals.
Oil & Gas Law
James C. Swearengen
Brydon, Swearengen & England, Jefferson City
Jim Swearengen lives in Columbia and commutes to Jefferson City each day. “One of the benefits and advantages in working in mid-Missouri is being able to stop for bacon sandwiches at the Deer Park store,” says the partner at Brydon, Swearengen & England. Swearengen was the only Missouri lawyer to make the Best Lawyers list in the Oil & Gas category; he has made the list every year since 1991 for his work representing electric and natural gas companies in court and before state agencies, such as the Missouri Public Service Commission. His clients include The Empire District Electric Company, Missouri Gas Energy, a division of Southern Union Company, and The Empire District Gas Company. Such companies are regulated by the state, which means many of their activities—like changing rates and certain financial undertakings or mergers—must be approved by the PSC. “I advise utility companies about this process and represent them before the PSC and in any subsequent state court appellate proceedings,” Swearengen says. He also advises clients regarding contracts and corporate or legislative matters.
Swearengen’s office is located in Missouri’s capital, which gives the Lawrence University alum direct access to all agencies of state government. “I enjoy practicing law in Jefferson City because of the collegial bar and the opportunity to enjoy a specialized practice,” he says. “Our office is within a few blocks of the PSC, the circuit court, the Missouri Supreme Court, and the Missouri legislature, making Jefferson City the best location for my work.”
Jim serves as the chair of the Administrative Law Committee of the Missouri Bar and is also a member of the Edison Electric Institute Legal Committee.
Mutual Funds Law
Dee Anne Sjögren
Thompson Coburn, St. Louis
Dee Anne Sjögren is the “best mutual funds lawyer west of the Mississippi,” according to one of her former colleagues. She is also the only mutual funds lawyer in the Midwest to make the Best Lawyers list in 2009, a statistic that keeps the St. Louis resident contently busy. “Mutual funds are a pool of assets,” explains the Thompson Coburn partner. “An individual investor pays a professional to manage a portfolio.” Mutual funds are heavily regulated, but sometimes the system goes askew. Sjögren’s job as a regulatory attorney is to offer advice and work in the best interest of shareholders. Sjögren’s clients include investment advisers, such as the Moneta Group and institutional investors like the Missouri State Employees Retirement System.
In 2008, the St. Louis Business Journal recognized Sjögren as one of its 40 Under 40 award winners for her career achievements and community involvement. Sjögren has lived in the Gateway City since 1996, working at Peper Martin before moving to Thompson Coburn. She was raised in Caruthersville in a family of lawyers and left the Bootheel to study at Vanderbilt and earn her law degree at Tulane University. Sjögren returned to the Show-Me State in 1996 after a brief stint in the nation’s capital at Kirkpatrick & Lockhart LLP. Although energized by Washington D.C.’s political vigor, the Midwest was always home to the mother of three who finds St. Louis the perfect mix of cosmopolitan and modest lifestyles. And with lower hourly rates that allow her compete with New York and California firms, Sjögren hopes to retain her title as best mutual funds lawyer west of the Mississippi for years to come.
Venture Capital Law
Robert C. Hunter
Stinson Morrison Hecker, Kansas City
Venture capital law deals with resources provided to young, high-potential companies in hopes of generating a return through eventual initial public offering or trade sale of the company. According to Best Lawyers, Rob Hunter is the Missourian who best understands such matters. Hunter represents and councils venture capital investors who aim to help businesses expand. He’s well known for his work with emerging companies and Kansas City venture capital firms.
Stinson Morrison Hecker LLP represents local, national, and international companies using more than 340 attorneys in nine offices and five states. Its clients include Fortune 500 corporations, small businesses, and individuals, as well as not-for-profits.
Hunter attended the Centurions Leadership Training Program where he learned to train new business leaders in Kansas City. He is a recipient of the Kansas City Business Journal’s Up & Comers Award. He is also listed in the 2006 and 2007 Chambers USA Guide: America’s Leading Business Lawyers under the corporate/M&A category.
Bet-the-Company Litigation
If “Bet the Company” sounds like a risky poker move, then Missouri lawyers aren’t afraid to gamble. “I just go to court,” explains Alan E. Popkin of Clayton-based Husch Blackwell Sanders. “That’s what I do, and that’s what I’ve always done.” More specifically, bet-the-company lawyers deal with corporations in trouble: Companies that are sued and in peril of losing everything, or businesses that have litigation expenses that threaten their entire way of operating. Environmental insurance litigation is also becoming more common; chemical companies are being forced to clean up decades-old plant sites even if they complied with regulations during the time of use. Bet-the-company lawyers represent the chemical companies to collect expenses so that plant sites can be cleaned up safely and thoroughly.
Bankruptcy and Creditor-Debtor Rights Law
Bankruptcy is not uncommon in today’s tough economic times, but bankruptcy lawyers can help debtors resolve—and in some cases free themselves—from debts through the division of assets among creditors. Lawyers handle some sticky situations, but in general, “practicing bankruptcy is a luxury,” says Paul Berens of Bradshaw, Steele, Cochrane & Berens in Cape Girardeau. “You don’t have t deal with 102 circuit courts, only six judges. The judges all apply the law; they’re not pro-debtor or pro-creditor.”
Practicing bankruptcy law in Missouri might differ from practicing in other states because of the high number of home-owned banks. Small-town banks with only five to 20 branches typically formulate good credit decisions and rarely make bad loans. Bankruptcy lawyers, in turn, don’t have to deal with problems that larger city banks have; instead they deal with people who know their loans and their customers rather than bankers who are controlled by a headquarters on the East Coast.
Maritime Law
Missouri might be landlocked, but seven Show-Me State lawyers made the Best Lawyers list in the maritime law category. Not surprisingly, they are all based in St. Louis, as their clients tend to be commercial maritime companies involved with the Mississippi, Missouri, Ohio, and Illinois rivers. Such companies operate barges and towboats that carry grain (usually wheat, corn, or soy beans), agricultural chemicals (fertilizers), coal, and finished manufactured products (steel coils). Some barges also carry liquids, such as straight crude oil, refined gasoline, and chemicals.
Maritime lawyers handle litigation for companies, for example a collision with property damage or a crew member suing an employer for negligence. Whether a boat is seaworthy is also a consideration; if a vessel is unfit for its intended purpose, there can be legal consequences.
John Halpern, of Goldstein and Price, has practiced maritime law since 1980. “St. Louis a nice city,” he says, and not just for him professionally. “There are a great many amenities: restaurants, art museums, three major sports franchises, a nice symphony orchestra.”
International Trade & Finance Law
International trade and finance law is a fast-growing area that examines trade, contracts, and investments between countries or between companies in different countries. “This category is broadly defined as providing knowledge and skills to clients involved in the manufacturing and international trading of goods and services and investing across borders,” explains Tom Bottini, of St. Louis-based Armstrong Teasdale. A recent example of Bottini’s work includes representing a Canadian company that established operations in Missouri to trade on goods from Canada and the United States being sold to purchasers in Ukraine and China through the Kansas City Commodities Exchange.
International trade and finance lawyers also structure, negotiate, and document companies that seek to extend their operations abroad. Likewise, they sometimes assist American leasing companies that work with a high debt to equity ratio to expand into foreign countries, where the law might limit investors to a lower debt to equity ratio.
Missouri, and particularly river cities such as St. Louis, have rich trading histories—even internationally. “Family companies have grown into or been acquired by national and international companies,” relates Bottini. “Recall McDonnell Douglas to Boeing, Ralston Purina to Nestle, A.G. Edwards to Wells Fargo, Monsanto Chemical to Monsanto. The state is a development center in which small enterprises can grow. In today's world small companies have the opportunity to grow globally earlier in their life cycle. It is especially exciting to be a part of this process by providing specialized services to these companies as they grow and mature, services which previously were available primarily in money-center cities.”
Immigration Law
Immigration law is federal and is applied the same way in all states; such law determines who can enter America and how long people can stay here. Immigration law decides whether people are aliens, and what their rights and duties are as such, including how to establish U.S. residency or citizenship. Immigration lawyers focus on representing employers who hire foreign workers who live and work in the United States. Firms often provide services in a variety of languages. Larry Carp, of Carp and Sexauer, for example, speaks French; he’s been on the Best Lawyers Immigration Law list for more than ten years.
Many lawyers, such as Thompson Coburn’s Linda Shapiro, are often members of the American Immigration Lawyers Association. Shapiro, who graduated from the Washington University School of Law in 1983, spoke at the 2008 Conference on Immigration, which was held in St. Louis.
Entertainment Law
Entertainment law, often called media law, relates to legal services in the entertainment industry. Employment, labor, bankruptcy, security, agency, intellectual property, and contracts are among the areas that fall under the umbrella of this category. Each of these areas may be further divided into types of activities: design, film, multimedia, music, publishing, radio, television, theater, and visual arts.
Environmental Law
“When you first say you do ‘environmental law’ everyone has visions of Erin Brockovich,” says David Shorr of Lathrop & Gage. “She is a lot prettier than I am, and she is a plaintiffs’ lawyer. I mostly do defense work.” Shorr, like many lawyers in the environmental law category, makes sense of complex local, state, and federal laws to help clients who are in trouble with the government or their neighbors. Clients may include local governments, manufacturers, agribusiness, petroleum marketers, or other people who handle or create goods and waste products. “My clients range from one-man shops to international chemical manufacturers,” Shorr says. “I am more of a counselor at law than anything else.”
The Missouri River is a starting point for much of our state’s environmental law; navigation, dredging, endangered animals, rail transfer facilities, wastewater treatments, and chemical producers are all common issues that arise.
Joseph G. Nassif, of Husch Blackwell Sanders, began his career in environmental law in 1974 after joining Monsanto Company. In 1986, he was involved in the longest civil jury trial in U.S. history, which involved a chemical tankcar derailment and cleanup.
