Meet #MOLawyers: Jim Layton
Vol. 81, No. 1 / January-February 2025
Jim Layton is a lawyer at Tueth Keeney Cooper Mohan & Jackstadt P.C. in St. Louis, practicing in complex legal questions, Missouri school funding and other education statutes, discrimination laws, and the state’s tax laws. He previously served more than 22 years in the Missouri Attorney General’s Office, nearly all of those as solicitor general. He has argued more than 90 times before the Supreme Court of Missouri and four times before the U.S. Supreme Court. Layton is a long-time member of The Missouri Bar’s Administrative Law Committee and Civil Practice and Procedure Committee and chaired the bar’s Appellate Practice Committee. He was chair of the American Bar Association’s Council of Appellate Lawyers, a founder of the Association of the Bar of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 8th Circuit, and a founder and first president of the Elwood Thomas American Inn of Court.
Why did you specialize in appellate and constitutional law?
“Even before law school, I had an interest in constitutions, statutes, and how government works ... Representing federal agencies and officials as an assistant U.S. attorney in Washington D.C. whetted that appetite and gave me the connection and the interest that led me to Missouri to charge of civil appellate work for the state. I quickly dove into not just the language and application but the history of the Missouri constitution, not just handling constitutional cases — especially appeals — for the state, but also teaching state constitutional law at the University of Missouri School of Law.”
What was one of your biggest takeaways from your time as solicitor general?
“It is different representing an institutional client than representing an individual one; you have to approach each case knowing that your positions and the courts’ rulings will affect other parts of government and future decisions.”
Is there an underrated skill that helped you during the many cases you argued?
“Two come to mind: The ability to break down statutory and constitutional language to ascertain meaning. The ability to develop and articulate hypotheticals that demonstrate the future results of competing legal rules.”
Do you have a “useless” talent?
“Untangling things — my wife’s necklaces, yarn and string, Christmas lights.”
Answers have been edited for clarity and brevity. Know a lawyer who you think should be featured in “Meet #MOLawyers”? Email Assistant Editor Genna Tlustos at gtlustos@mobar.org.