In brief: May-June 2025

Vol. 81, No. 3 / May-June 2025

Complete and file your 2024-2025 MCLE hours

Missouri lawyers must complete their minimum 15 continuing legal education hours by June 30 and file their online annual reports by July 31. Three of the 15 MCLE hours must be devoted to ethics topics, with one of those hours covering diversity, inclusion, cultural competency, or elimination of bias. Remember to remove email filters on Missouri Bar communications and have an updated email address on file to avoid missing important reminders regarding MCLE compliance and requirements. To review MCLE requirements and file your hours, visit MoBar.org/MCLE. For a list of upcoming CLE opportunities, visit MoBarCLE.org.

Missouri Bar welcomes #NewMOLawyers during Spring Enrollment Ceremonies

About 50 lawyers took their oath of admission into The Missouri Bar April 25 during Spring Enrollment Ceremonies at the Supreme Court of Missouri in Jefferson City. These enrollees were part of the 86 individuals who passed the February 2025 bar examination and met all other Missouri Bar admission requirements. View the full list of #NewMOLawyers who passed the February bar exam here, and read the latest “Meet #MOLawyers” Q&A with Jordan Barry, one of the new lawyers, on the next page. View photos from the enrollment ceremony on the bar’s Facebook and Instagram pages (@MoBarNews).

MoBar memory

A group smiles during the Enrollment Ceremony luncheon Sept. 10, 1960.

Learn from professionals at the annual Bernard Edelman DWI Law & Science Seminar DWI2024

The Bernard Edelman DWI Law & Science Seminar brings together nationally recognized lawyers and speakers to help you stay at the forefront of DWI defense. Programs addressing trial techniques, toxicology, and paralegal training have something to offer your entire firm. Join MoBarCLE and the Missouri Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers July 24-25 at The Lodge of the Four Seasons in Lake Ozark. Register online at MoBarCLE.org.

Words of wellbeing: How can busy, overworked lawyers still make time to take care of themselves?

“When things become overwhelming for me, it frequently is because I have succumb to the career and social pressure to say ‘yes’ to every opportunity. Everyone’s personal battery has a different amount of juice, but one universal truth is that the juice is finite. If you say ‘yes’ to every client, every speaking invitation, every board appointment, every networking lunch, and every other demand on your time, eventually you won’t have enough left for yourself and the things that bring you joy outside of your professional life. Sometimes the best arrow in my well-being quiver is a polite ‘no.’” - Whittney Dunn, professional responsibility attorney with Barnes & Thornburg LLP in St. Louis

Tech tip

Major productivity platforms have incorporated AI into their e-discovery tools, helping lawyers even better serve their clients and communities. While it is still possible to search for specific keywords or phrases, these platforms now allow lawyers to search by concept. Lawyers can also do things like upload contract documents and then ask the platform to search for breaches of that contract.

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