MoveMakers & NewsMakers February 15, 2018

Feb. 15, 2018 - See who is making news and moving wherein the weekly Missouri Bar update "MoveMakers & NewsMakers."

St. Louis Area

Ron Wiesenthal and St. Louis Mediation Center, LLC has expanded its alternate dispute resolution service to include arbitration in addition to mediation and the firm’s name has changed to St. Louis Mediation & Arbitration Center. Wiesenthal has been engaged in fulltime alternate dispute resolution in St. Louis since 2004. He is a member of the National Academy of Distinguished Neutrals; the Association of Attorney-Mediators; and the American Arbitration Association panel of mediators.

Marie Pudlowski, former assistant prosecuting attorney in Jefferson County, has joined the Zolman Law Firm in St. Louis County. She brings with her considerable experience in criminal law and is pleased to join a firm that will allow her to branch out into all aspects of family law.

Armstrong Teasdale proudly announces the addition of financial and real estate services associate Neal Griffin. Griffin counsels clients on all aspects of real estate development, including financing, design, acquisition, construction and leasing. If a dispute arises, he seeks practical and timely resolutions for his clients and litigates on their behalf in state and federal courts.

For construction projects, Griffin represents owners, contractors, subcontractors and design professionals in preparing and negotiating contracts and in resolving contract, mechanic’s liens, payment and performance issues. 

Prior to joining the firm, Griffin served as assistant general counsel for an area economic development agency and as a commercial litigator in private practice. He uses his past experience to provide effective representation for his clients from concept to closeout and from the negotiating table to the courtroom.

Griffin earned his J.D., cum laude, from the University of Missouri School of Law and B.A. in philosophy from Washington University in St. Louis. He is admitted to practice law in Missouri and Illinois and before the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri and the U.S. Court of Appeals in the Eighth Circuit.

Armstrong Teasdale proudly announces that the firm has been recognized with an Inclusiveness @ Work award. The award, presented by the Center for Legal Inclusiveness (CLI), recognizes one law firm each year. Inclusiveness @ Work honors firms that are leveraging the different strengths and talents within their organization; incorporating management practices to allow equal access to opportunities; creating an inclusive environment; and collaborating with partners outside the firm to make the community more inclusive.

“Driving a culture of inclusion is more than policy statements and written goals, and we really take that to heart,” said John Beulick, managing partner at Armstrong Teasdale. “We consistently work to emphasize inclusion as part of our culture and one of our core values, and will continue to support ongoing initiatives to recruit, support and retain diverse attorneys and staff.”

Armstrong Teasdale’s Inclusion Committee, which collaborates with the firm’s Women’s Inclusion Network, is designed to promote diverse lawyers and staff within the legal profession and provide an inclusive work environment for all. The firm’s Inclusion Committee, vice-chaired by Meshach Rhoades in Denver, measures its success by benchmarking demographics against other firms nationwide and within communities where Armstrong Teasdale has offices. For three consecutive years, the firm received the highest possible score on the Human Rights Campaign’s Corporate Equality Index (CEI). The CEI is a national survey reporting on corporate policies and practices related to LGBTQ workplace equality.

In addition, the firm has initiated several internal programs that help diverse lawyers build their practices and raise their profiles. The firm participates in over 10 separate efforts aimed at attracting diverse talent. One of those is the 1L Leadership Council on Legal Diversity Scholars program, which is designed to strengthen the legal pipeline by expanding opportunities for diverse, first-year law students.

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