Newsroom The Missouri Bar

Welcome to the practice of law, social distancing style. As precautions against COVID-19 have ramped up during the past week, nearly every aspect of daily life — including the rhythms of the legal community — have changed.

For the first time in its 76-year history, The Missouri Bar soon will have an African American lawyer as its executive director. On April 1, Mischa Buford Epps will formally join the bar as executive director. Epps will be the organization’s fifth-ever executive director and the first African American person in that role.

The third annual Mid-Missouri Festival of Faiths will focus on the connections between religion in schools.

The Missouri Bar’s Board of Governors on March 5 unanimously approved Mischa Buford Epps as the bar’s next executive director.

In his year-end report on the federal judiciary, United States Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts notes that over the years “we have come to take democracy for granted, and civic education has fallen by the wayside.”

When it comes to understanding our nation’s foundational document, Joplin High School students shine. Joplin High School is state champion in Missouri Bar’s annual Show Me the Constitution competition — again.

A group of ten students at Nixa High School know their Constitution better than almost anyone else in the state. The team of Nixa Eagles finished second in the Missouri Bar’s Show Me Constitution Competition held in Columbia.

Out of the past: Oct. 12 Saturday, October 12, 2019

Civil rights legal history will come alive at the second Dred Scott Reconciliation Conference, to be held 8:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. Saturday October 12 at the Mahler Ballroom, 4915 Washington Blvd. in St. Louis.

30 Years – 1989 ■ Farmington attorney Dennis E. McIntosh was reappointed vice-chairman of the Legal Education Committee by W.H. “Bert” Bates, president of the Missouri Bar.

Greene County Prosecutor Dan Patterson has been named the 2019 Prosecutor of the Year and one of his top assistants has also been honored for her work.

Free legal assistance is available to Missourians who need help with disaster-related issues such as home repair contracts and contractors; life, medical and property insurance claims; FEMA applications and appealing FEMA decisions.

The toll-free disaster hotline is a partnership between the Missouri Bar Association, the American Bar Association Young Lawyers Division, and FEMA.

Ray Williams, president of The Missouri Bar, urges lawyers to have a disaster plan — and know how to put it in action. “If you put it in the file cabinet and don’t actually use it, it doesn’t have much function,” he said. Williams knows from experience...

Here's a summary of resources to assist tornado and flood victims in the Jefferson City area.

Various companies and professional organizations are stepping up to offer assistance to local residents impacted by storm damage.

NEW BLOOMFIELD — For those impacted by recent storm and flooding events, the Missouri Bar is offering a free legal hotline.

The Missouri Bar has opened up a hotline to provide free legal advice, including assistance with insurance claims, reviewing repair contracts, and replacing legal documents lost in the storm. Call 800-829-4128.

The Missouri Bar is making free legal assistance available to Missouri residents impacted by severe weather and tornadoes.

JEFFERSON CITY - Resources are available across the area for those affected by tornadoes in Jefferson City and Eldon Wednesday night.

Zel Fischer, chief justice of the Missouri Supreme Court, visited Joplin on Monday to inform local lawyers and judges about changing rules or statutes within the court system, and hear feedback from lawyers about how the courts could better serve Missouri residents... Fischer and Ray Williams, president of the Missouri Bar Association, emphasized that they are welcome to reach out with any ideas. "One of the obligations that we were assigned back when the Supreme Court of Missouri formed the Missouri Bar was to enhance the administration of justice and improve the law," Williams said. "I believe that's one of the duties, and it's set out in our rule, that applies to our responsibilities to the public to help improve the lives of our fellow Missourians."