MoveMakers & NewsMakers for November 7, 2023

St. Louis | Kansas City 

St. Louis

The national law firm of Quarles & Brady LLP announced today that it is opening a St. Louis office. The new office, the firm’s 13th, will be led by Travis Kearbey, a leading national employment law attorney and trusted business advisor who joined Quarles in July.

“Given its economic diversity, size and parallels to other key markets for us, St. Louis makes perfect sense as we continue to grow our platform,” said Mike Aldana, firm managing partner and chair of Quarles’ executive committee. “It’s an extraordinary opportunity to establish a foothold in a new market with highly regarded leaders like Travis and Sarah and a talented group of attorneys and business professionals with deep roots in the community. We are excited about our future in St. Louis.”

In addition to Kearbey and Sise, other members of the St. Louis team include partners Robert Browning, Camille Roe (who will be working remote from Kansas City), Lauren Schuster, Beth Silker and Jason Stavely, and associates Colleen Essid and Michelle Lewis.

Quarles of counsel and senior strategic advisor Cornell Boggs, who spent more than a decade as in-house counsel in St. Louis, also will be part of the St. Louis team. He also will remain part of the firm’s Indianapolis office.

About the Attorneys

Travis Kearbey provides clients with experienced labor and employment guidance, particularly in the areas of litigation, business transactions, employment law counseling and labor law.

Sarah Sise helps clients navigate the challenging regulatory environment associated with employee benefits and executive compensation.

Robert Browning develops and implements creative and practical solutions to complex tax problems for individual and corporate clients of all sizes on federal, state, local and international tax matters, including regularly representing them before the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), state taxing authorities and in U.S. Tax Court.

Camille Roe focuses her practice on employment litigation, including defending against discrimination, harassment and retaliatory discharge claims brought in state and federal courts and in arbitration.

Lauren Schuster advises clients on matters involving employee benefits, executive and equity compensation, employee stock ownership plans, and compliance with Section 409A of the Internal Revenue Code.

Beth Silker represents clients in an array of employment-related and commercial disputes, including those involving discrimination, harassment, retaliation and wrongful termination.

Jason Stavely counsels employers on a wide range of labor, employment and human resource matters, including wage-and-hour class actions, California Private Attorney General Act (PAGA) matters and workplace disputes involving harassment, discrimination and retaliation, and restrictive covenant disputes in federal and state courts.

Colleen Essid advises clients on a variety of labor and employment issues, including employee benefits and tax matters.

Michelle Lewis counsels clients on employment law compliance, policy development, diversity initiatives, affirmative action, and higher-education law, including Title IX compliance.

St. Louis-based law firm Lewis Rice has welcomed four new associates to its St. Louis office. Olivia Dixon and Hilli Henning are former Lewis Rice summer associates. Kolten Ellis and Meagan Nydegger served as law clerks prior to joining the firm.

Olivia Dixon is practicing in the Corporate Department. She earned her J.D. from St. Louis University School of Law. She spent both summers with Lewis Rice as a summer associate.

Hilary (“Hilli”) Henning is practicing in the Corporate Department. She earned her J.D. from Washington University School of Law. She spent both summers with Lewis Rice as a summer associate.

Kolten Ellis is practicing in the Litigation Department. He earned his J.D. from Washington University School of Law in May 2021. After graduating, he served as a law clerk to the Honorable Allen C. Winsor on the Northern District of Florida and to the Honorable Robert J. Luck on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit.

Meagan Nydegger is practicing in the Litigation Department, primarily with the Intellectual Property practice group. She earned her J.D. from Saint Louis University School of Law. She spent her summers as a summer associate at Morgan Lewis in Washington, D.C., and completed an externship with Emerson during law school.

Lewis Rice has also announced new leaders for nine of its practice groups. Practice Group Leaders at Lewis Rice implement practice management and development plans that support the firm’s key commitment to deliver the highest quality legal services.

The new practice group leaders include:

Aaron L. Pawlitz leading Corporate Strategies

Billee Elliott McAuliffe leading Cybersecurity & Data Privacy

Sarah E. Mullen and Brad A. Wachler leading Education & Sports Advisory & Consulting

Lindsay S. C. Brinton and Meghan S. Largent leading Federal Takings & Rails to Trails

Michael P. Davidson and H. Jill McFarland leading Health Care

Kathleen Markowski Petrillo and Michael J. Hickey leading Intellectual Property

Alfred J. Ludwig and Andrea M. Patton leading Mergers & Acquisitions

Marisa L. Byram and Apollo Carey leading Real Estate

Robert J. Will leading Trust & Estate Litigation

Baker Sterchi Cowden & Rice is pleased to announce the addition of five new associate attorneys, all recently admitted to the Missouri Bar.

Garrett Hurst will mainly focus on the defense of personal injury, premises liability and product liability matters. He obtained his law degree from Saint Louis University School of Law and completed his undergraduate studies at Saint Louis University. He previously interned at the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri, and also served as a law clerk at Baker Sterchi.

Ruthie Vaughn will primarily concentrate on personal injury, medical malpractice and business litigation defense. She earned her law degree from Saint Louis University School of Law. Vaughn previously served as a law clerk at Baker Sterchi, and before that, she held various roles at a multinational healthcare company that included responsibilities related to regulatory compliance, policy alignment, business process documentation, compliance standards and enhancing patient satisfaction.

Kansas City, Missouri

Baker Sterchi Cowden & Rice cont.

Jack Nielsen will primarily focus on personal injury, trucking, construction, business tort claims and product liability defense. He obtained his law degree from the University of Kansas School of Law and holds an undergraduate degree from William Jewell College. He previously interned at the U. S. District Court for the Western District of Missouri for the Honorable Stephen Bough, Brian Fenimore and Lajuana Counts Nielsen, and also served as a law clerk at the firm.

Sara Rakowiecki will mainly focus on the defense of personal injury, premises liability and product liability cases. She earned her law degree from the Saint Louis University School of Law and holds an undergraduate degree from the University of Kansas. Prior to joining Baker Sterchi, she spent two years as a law clerk with a plaintiff’s firm in St. Louis.

Kyler Womack will primarily concentrate on defending product liability, premises liability and personal injury matters. He received his law degree from the University of Kansas School of Law and holds an undergraduate degree from the University of Kansas. Before joining the firm, he interned at the Kansas Court of Appeals in Topeka.