MoveMakers & NewsMakers for June 3, 2025

St. Louis

Armstrong Teasdale has elected two Missouri lawyers to its Executive Committee and one member to its Compensation Committee, effective June 1, 2025.

Elected to the Executive Committee, which functions as the firm’s governing board, is Partner Joseph F. Hipskind, Jr. He was elected to a three-year term. In addition, Partner Bruce D. LeMoine was elected to the Compensation Committee for a three-year term. The Compensation Committee is responsible for the allocation of compensation to firm equity partners.

“We’re grateful to each of these attorneys for devoting time and energy to the responsibilities of these important committees,” said Managing Partner Richard W. Engel. “The functions of these committees are critical to the firm’s success and the success of our clients.”

Mann has been a business trial lawyer in Chicago for almost 30 years. He represents clients in high-stakes business disputes concerning contracts, corporate governance, fraud and other business torts, with a particular emphasis on the financial services, commercial real estate, insurance and manufacturing industries. He also defends clients in legal malpractice lawsuits.

Matthews is a trusted legal and business advisor to private equity groups, high-net-worth owner-operators, and corporate boards, providing strategic counsel on acquisitions, dispositions, governance, risk management, and litigation. As outside counsel to numerous businesses, he works closely with CEOs, boards of directors, and senior executives to structure and negotiate complex deals, mitigate risk, and ensure regulatory compliance.

Hipskind has particular experience advising entrepreneurs, private equity firms and family offices in connection with their investments in portfolio companies. He assists companies in all stages of growth, providing counsel on a wide range of corporate and franchise matters and real estate transactions, including mergers and acquisitions, divestitures, commercial and residential development, leasing and commercial finance.

LeMoine concentrates his practice on representing secured lenders and special servicers in the areas of creditors’ rights, loan workouts, business reorganizations, receiverships, foreclosures, replevin actions and real estate transactions. He is skilled at protecting the interests of both creditors and debtors in all types of commercial transactions and litigation to maximize recoveries, minimize or avoid losses and protect collateral.

JAMS, the largest private provider of alternative dispute resolution (ADR) services worldwide, is pleased to announce Hon. Nancy Watkins McLaughlin (Ret.) has joined its panel. Judge McLaughlin joins JAMS following 11 years of distinguished service with the St. Louis County Circuit Court and 30 years in private practice.

While on the bench, Judge McLaughlin presided over more than 100 civil and criminal trials in business and commercial, employment, family law and personal injury matters, among others. Before joining the court in 2014, she maintained her private practice in St. Louis from 1992 to 1998 and again from 2002 to 2014. Prior to engaging in private practice, Judge McLaughlin served as a law clerk to the Hon. David J. Dixon at the Missouri Court of Appeals.

Based in the St. Louis Resolution Center, Judge McLaughlin will serve as an arbitrator, mediator and court-appointed neutral (special master/referee), handling appellate, business and commercial, education, employment, family law, insurance and personal injury matters. She is available to conduct sessions in person, as well as virtually, for clients across the country and internationally.

“We are thrilled to have Judge McLaughlin join us in St. Louis. Throughout her career, she has advanced the field of ADR and has helped parties see mediation as a vehicle for resolving challenging disputes. Her thoughtful approach, combined with deep experience across a broad range of practice areas, makes her a valuable addition to our panel,” said Kimberly Taylor, JAMS CEO and president

Beyond her career, Judge McLaughlin also served as commissioner of the Missouri Public Defender Commission from 2009 to 2014 and the Missouri Sentencing Advisory Commission from 2010 to 2014. She also actively engages in several groups throughout the legal community, serving as a member of the Missouri Bar Association, Women Lawyers’ Association of Greater St. Louis, Trial Judges Section of American Bar Association, Bar Association of Metropolitan St. Louis and St. Louis County Bar Association. She is a member of the board of trustees of the University of Missouri-Columbia Law School Foundation.

“I championed ADR on the bench and remain committed to the belief that candid dialogue between parties is critical to resolving disputes effectively. At JAMS, I will leverage my attention to detail, professionalism and tenacity to help parties find resolution,” said Judge McLaughlin.

Judge McLaughlin earned her B.A. from Washington University and her J.D. from the University of Missouri School of Law.