MoveMakers & NewsMakers for Feb. 27, 2020

St. Louis | Kansas City 

St. Louis

Governor Parson announces the appointment of Robert P. Ballsrud to the Missouri Higher Education Loan Authority.

Ballsrud retired in 2014 after 33 years as a partner at Gilmore Bell, a large public finance firm in St. Louis. Before joining the firm, he was a law clerk for Judge Henry A. Politz, U.S. Court of Appeals, Fifth Circuit. He also served with the U.S. Army Military Police from 1972-1974.

Ballsrud is a volunteer with the Gateway Chapter of the National Multiple Sclerosis Society as well as the Delta Gamma Center for Children with Visual Impairments and the Kirkwood School District.

Ballsrud holds a B.S. in accounting from Eastern Illinois University in Charleston, Illinois, and a J.D. from the University of Missouri-Columbia.

Armstrong Teasdale announces the addition of Andrew B. Whitehead as partner, and Nicholas A. Cammarata as an associate in the firm’s St. Louis office. 

Whitehead is a seasoned attorney in the firm’s intellectual property practice group with over a decade of experience focusing on intellectual property (IP), information technology and data privacy matters. As a result of his experience working in-house as both an attorney and chief privacy officer for world famous consumer packaged goods and financial technology companies, he brings an unparalleled depth of knowledge in the areas of IP portfolio management, brand protection and data privacy. Whitehead has vast experience resolving a wide range of matters in numerous technical disciplines and across all areas of IP with an emphasis on patent and trademark clearance, prosecution and enforcement. He also has experience resolving advertising challenges before national review boards and holds a Certified Information Privacy Professional/Europe (CIPP/E) credential from the International Association of Privacy Professionals.

Cammarata is a trial attorney with nearly a decade of experience, both in private practice and in-house, specific to the insurance industry. As in-house counsel for a national, private mutual insurance company, he first and second-chaired a number of jury trials and appeals in state and federal court. Cammarata has significant experience handling complex claims, particularly bad faith and vexatious refusal matters, and represents clients in developing strategy, conducting discovery, preparing witnesses and taking depositions, attending hearings and arguing motions. He also has experience training clients and their employees on compliance and regulatory matters facing the insurance industry.

Kansas City

McDowell Rice Smith & Buchanan announces the recent addition of Colby L. Rieke, shareholder, to its family law and divorce group. He is an experienced domestic relations attorney focusing on family law and divorce with more than 15 years of extensive experience in both Kansas and Missouri. Rieke has successfully represented hundreds of clients in divorce, paternity, child custody, child support, and maintenance (alimony) cases, for both mother and father. He is committed to advocacy with compassion, and with the intent to develop long-term relationships with his clients. His thorough, diligent and analytical approach is met with tempered sensitivity to the benefit of each client. Rieke is also experienced in the areas of estate planning and probate. This experience provides great value when analyzing complex property divisions, business valuations, and the preservation of marital and non-marital assets.

Rieke received his J.D. from the University of Missouri – Kansas City School of Law, and earned his B.A. in business administration with emphasis in finance from the University of Kansas School of Business. He is licensed to practice in both Missouri and Kansas.