John Gunn, Hon. Nicole S. Zellweger recognized with 2024 President’s Awards
John R. Gunn and Hon. Nicole S. Zellweger have been named as recipients of the 2024 President’s Awards from 2023-2024 Missouri Bar President Megan E. Phillips. The recognition celebrates their contributions and dedication to the bar and legal community.
Gunn and Zellweger will accept their awards in St. Louis during the Annual Meeting of The Missouri Bar and Judicial Conference, Sept. 18-20.
Gunn
During his tenure as 2020-2021 Missouri Bar president, Gunn spearheaded the establishment of the precursor to the bar’s Standing Committee on Well-Being in the Profession, which helps Missouri lawyers be well in all aspects of their personal and professional lives.
Gunn also helped bring attention to and improve the bar’s Missouri Lawyers’ Assistance Program, a free, confidential service to help lawyers overcome burnout, substance use, depression, stress, and more. MOLAP experienced behind-the-scenes changes during the 2023-2024 bar year to help improve support of Missouri Bar members experiencing substance use and mental health challenges.
“Past President John Gunn provided tremendous leadership and selfless service toward this important endeavor,” Phillips said. “I couldn’t have navigated the waters without his expertise and generosity.”
Click here or call 1-800-688-7859 to learn more about MOLAP services.
Helping lawyers to “a calmer existence” drives Gunn’s passion for wellness.
“The nature of our profession's susceptibility to anxiety, depression, and substance use is malleable,” he said. “Small interruptions to an established habit or way of thinking can help an individual in distress. There are innumerable things (big and small) all of us can do to disrupt unhealthy habits of our colleagues and to help ourselves live a little easier.”
A lawyer at The Gunn Law Firm P.C. in St. Louis County, Gunn is a delegate to the American Bar Association House of Delegates and a member of the Board of Directors for The Bar Plan Mutual Insurance Company, ABA Nominating Committee, ABA Executive Committee of the Conference of State Delegates, and the Commission on Lawyer Assistance Programs. He previously served on the Board of Governors for the Bar Association of Metropolitan St. Louis, ABA Advisory Commission to the Standing Committee on Public Education, and the ABA Commission on IOLTA.
Gunn encouraged lawyers to “embrace your identity as a uniquely special individual.”
“It is in our nature to try to fit what our environment tells us is how things are or are supposed to be,” he said. “Sacrificing bits of your individuality to fit dictated ideas of how to look or act is a beaten path to mental health struggles. Be you, even if you need to put on different mindsets. Your core should not change and sacrifices should only be made when necessary.”
Zellweger
Zellweger is a circuit judge for the 21st Judicial Circuit Court in St. Louis County. Prior to that, she was an associate circuit judge and partner at Stinson LLP. A graduate of the Washington University School of Law, Zellweger served on The Missouri Bar Special Committee on Lawyers of Color in the Profession and is currently a board member for the Mound City Bar Foundation.
Zellweger helped design and launch The Missouri Bar’s Diversity Judicial Internship Program last year. This included organizing the program for the eastern side of the state by recruiting volunteer judges to host interns, creating orientation programs for participants, establishing activities for interns, and gathering feedback regarding the program.
As well as overseeing the program for the eastern side, she hosted three interns herself this past summer through the judicial internship program. Since becoming a judge in 2018, Zellweger has hosted more than 15 interns.
“The early success of the Diversity Judicial Internship Program was particularly meaningful to me personally, and Judge Zellweger was truly instrumental to its launch and development,” Phillips said. “Expanding opportunities for students from underrepresented backgrounds helps us build a profession that reflects the citizens we serve, which is essential to public confidence. Judge Zellweger is a force for good.”
Zellweger said she was surprised and honored to receive the 2024 President’s Award. Having profound relationships with her mentors over the years, Zellweger said she has “always recognized the need for providing opportunities for diverse law students and lawyers.”
“I believe strongly that those in the legal profession can have a real impact on the community,” she said. “Lawyers have a responsibility to improve our community, and, specifically, the legal community, whenever possible.”
Click here to learn more about annual awards presented by The Missouri Bar, The Missouri Bar Foundation, and other entities. Read about other 2024 award winners here.