MoveMakers & NewsMakers for Feb. 28, 2023

St. Louis | Kansas City

St. Louis

The firm of Zevan Davidson Roman announces that Morgan Murphy has been made partner. 

Murphy joined the firm in 2017. She represents plaintiffs in personal injury and medical malpractice cases, including birth injury cases, throughout Missouri and Illinois. Prior to joining the firm, Morgan served as a defense attorney, and this experience has bolstered her advocacy for her clients.

Murphy serves on the board of the Women Lawyers’ Association of Greater St. Louis. She is also an active member of the Lawyers Association of St. Louis and MATA, and she is a past chair of The Missouri Bar Young Lawyers’ Section Council. 

Murphy graduated from Washington University School of Law and DePauw University.   


Armstrong Teasdale announces the addition of partner Wendi Alper-Pressman to the firm’s St. Louis office. 

Alper-Pressman is an experienced financial and real estate services partner, having served financial institutions and their customers for decades. Her practice focuses on representing both borrowers and lenders in connection with construction financing, asset-based loan facilities, and commercial real estate loans. 

Alper-Pressman has litigated dischargeability complaints, preferences, and fraudulent conveyance actions, as well as issues relating to the allowance of claims, validity of liens, and executory contracts. She is also experienced in bankruptcy filings on behalf of unsecured creditors, as well as the development and implementation of sophisticated strategies on behalf of secured creditors, equipment lessors, landlords, and official unsecured creditors’ committees, including retiree committees.

Recently, she has also represented several law firms in connection with negotiating and structuring of litigation financing transactions with nontraditional lenders and has prepared nonconsolidation opinions for special purpose entities in connection with securitized loan facilities. 

Alper-Pressman received her Juris Doctor from Washington University School of Law and her undergraduate degree from Vanderbilt University.

Kansas City

Dysart Taylor Cotter McMonigle & Brumitt PC now has a new name: Dysart Taylor McMonigle Brumitt & Wilcox PC.  

John F. Wilcox, Jr. has recently been elected as the firm's president. He joined the firm in 2000 and has been heavily involved in firm leadership since 2004, when he became a director. He led the firm as managing director from 2012 through 2014.  

“After John’s many years of unwavering dedication to his clients, the firm and the legal industry as a whole, the decision to add his name to the firm came easily,” said Michael J. Judy, managing director. “I am also thrilled to see him voted in as the firm’s president. This is a very exciting time for John and the firm, and I look forward to working alongside him in managing the firm through its next chapter.”  

Nearly 30 years into his practice, Wilcox is an experienced litigator who has tried hundreds of cases to verdict. He focuses his practice on transportation law, where he represents clients in the trucking industry, advising and defending motor carriers, drivers, manufacturers, and governmental entities in wrongful death, serious personal injury, and property damage claims. Whether a case involves transportation and logistics, products liability, or insurance defense, Wilcox brings years of experience, knowledge, and hard work to the table in representing his clients.  

Wilcox also donates his time and experience to pro bono work. In 2022 he was recognized by the Kansas City Metropolitan Bar Association as a “Pro Bono Champion” in connection with his work through the Volunteer Attorney Project of Legal Aid of Western Missouri. In addition, Wilcox is a past president of the Transportation Lawyers Association, a nonresident director for the Canadian Transport Lawyers Association, and a frequent presenter at USLAW conferences.  

“I’m so happy to have John’s leadership at this firm and have him as my successor as president,” said Patrick K. McMonigle, immediate past president. “He embodies the values of this firm. He’s an exceptional transportation lawyer and litigator, a tenacious defender of clients, and a caring friend and colleague.”

Edgar Law Firm LLC is pleased to announce that Michael R. Owens has become a partner, effective immediately. 

Owens has contributed immensely to the firm's litigation practice since joining the firm in 2019. He has delivered successful outcomes for both business and individual clients in a variety of complex commercial matters, including cases involving professional malpractice, commercial torts, shareholder rights, and contract, intellectual property, and insurance coverage disputes. Owens also contributes actively to the firm’s class action practice. 

Owens served as a law clerk to Judge Daniel D. Crabtree in the U.S. District Court, District of Kansas, before beginning his career as a lawyer in the Kansas City office of an Am Law 100 firm.

“Michael’s dedication to his clients, expertise in commercial litigation, and sophisticated approach to complex cases is a driving force behind the excellent results the firm continues to deliver for its clients,” said John M. Edgar, managing partner. “His election to partnership is a testament to his hard work and commitment to the practice. We are proud to have him as a partner at Edgar Law Firm.” 

Owens is admitted to practice law in Missouri and Kansas and in federal courts locally and across the country. 

A two-time graduate of the University of Missouri, Owens received his Juris Doctor from the University of Missouri School of Law in 2014.