2020-21 Missouri Bar leaders elected

John Gunn, with the Gunn Law Firm PC in St. Louis County, today was elected the 2020-21 president of The Missouri Bar. The election took place during a virtual meeting of the state bar’s Board of Governors in advance of the 139th Annual Meeting of The Missouri Bar also held virtually this week. He succeeds Kansas City lawyer Tom Bender as president of the 30,000-member organization.

Gunn will be sworn in as president as part of the 2020 Virtual Annual Meeting Wednesday, Sept. 16. Following his oath, he will speak about the bar’s ongoing efforts during the global pandemic and unrest tied to social injustices to improve the profession, the law and the administration of justice on behalf of the public.

“COVID-19 has certainly changed the trajectory of all our lives and race relation issues in our country have reclaimed the attention they deserve. The Missouri Bar has reacted and adjusted wonderfully, in my view, with the creation of a COVID-19 Response Task Force and the convening of our Special Committee on Lawyers of Color in the Profession. These are all efforts President Bender instituted and managed mindfully which will continue for the 2020-21 bar year,” Gunn said. “We will also continue our efforts to better the lives of our members through a focus on wellness, because – just as I have learned personally - helping lawyers successfully address the unique well-being challenges they face in our profession enables them to even better serve their clients and communities.”

Gunn earned his law degree from Saint Louis University School of Law and has served on the Board of Governors since 2012. His practice focuses on estate planning, probate administration and litigation, trust administration and litigation, commercial litigation and real estate.

John Grimm, with the Limbaugh Law Firm in Cape Girardeau, will serve as president-elect. He earned his law degree from the University of Missouri-Kansas City School of Law and has served on the Board of Governors since 2010. He has an active trial practice in the areas of personal injury and wrongful death, insurance coverage and defense, business, real estate and employment litigation. Grimm is also an experienced mediator and former circuit judge.

The new vice president of The Missouri Bar is Lauren Tucker McCubbin with Polsinelli in Kansas City. She earned her law degree from Washington University School of Law and has served on the Board of Governors since 2014. Her practice is concentrated on insurance recovery counseling and litigation in connection with all types of insurance. She also represents the firm’s business, financial, and health care clients in complex commercial litigation, including class actions and multidistrict litigation.

Newly-elected representatives from the three districts of the Missouri Court of Appeals are: Julia P. Lasater of St. Louis County, Christa Moss of Springfield, and Jason Paulsmeyer of Jefferson City. They, along with the officers and the immediate past president, compose The Missouri Bar’s Executive Committee for the coming year.