MoveMakers & NewsMakers March 28, 2019

Mar. 28, 2019 - See who is making news and moving where in the weekly Missouri Bar update "MoveMakers & NewsMakers."

Kansas City Area

Business immigration lawyer Mira Mdivani will serve as honorary chair of Kansas City's largest fundraising breakfast, the April 11 Light of Hope. The event, which is expected to draw nearly 1,200 to the Sheraton Crown Center, is a benefit for Jackson County CASA (Court Appointed Special Advocates).

Mdivani, of the Mdivani Corporate Immigration Law Firm, is a member of the board of directors for Jackson County CASA and its executive committee. In addition to the agency's six staff attorneys who serve as guardians ad litem for children under court protection, Jackson County CASA volunteers are expected to advocate for 1,265 abused/neglected children as they navigate the court system this year. Through contact with the child, family members, and other interested parties, a CASA volunteer provides critical information to the judge or commissioner as they determine where the child should live and what medical, educational, and therapeutic services they need. The nonprofit's goal is to help every child find a safe, permanent home as quickly as possible.

In addition to her service to Jackson County CASA and the Harriman-Jewell Series Board of Advisors, Mdivani is an active member of both the Missouri and Kansas legal associations. Mdivani is president-elect of the Kansas Bar Association and a member of The Missouri Bar Board of Governors as well as the UMKC School of Law Board of Trustees. She has served as president of the Earl O'Connor Inn of Court, the Kansas Women Attorneys Association, and the Association for Women Lawyers of Greater Kansas City.

Mdivani has received The Missouri Bar President's Award, the UMKC Law Foundation Pro Bono Award, the Kansas Bar Association Outstanding Achievement Award, the Kansas Bar Association Outstanding Pro Bono Award, and the Johnson County Bar Civility Award. She was named Business Practitioner of the Year by Missouri Lawyers Media.

Jackson County CASA is one of the largest CASA agencies in the country. With 22 programs in Missouri, Jackson County CASA serves one-third of all the children served in the state. For the past seven years, 95 percent of children with a CASA volunteer have not re-entered the Jackson County Court. Every dollar spent on CASA yields $23 in savings in the foster care and family court systems. The Light of Hope breakfast will be held from 7:30-8:30 a.m. April 11 at the Sheraton Crown Center with coffee and registration beginning at 7 a.m. There is no cost to attend the benefit for Jackson County CASA but donations are welcomed. To reserve a space, email skincheloe@jacksoncountycasa-mo.org or call 816-984-8207.

Kansas City lawyer Mark D. Molner is proud to announce the opening of Molner Law Group, LLC in the PlexPod Westport Commons.

Molner brings a decade of legal experience and business consulting to the new firm, continuing to devote his career to aiding individuals and small businesses who have experienced difficulty with obtaining credit, mortgage workouts, debt settlements and small business planning. His experience includes over three hundred loan workouts, and he served as litigation coordinator for over six hundred insurance claims in the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy.

Molner is active in both the legal and charitable communities, having recently stepped down as chair of the board of commissioners for the Land Bank of Kansas City, Missouri. He now sits on the board of commissioners for the Planned Industrial Expansion Authority of Kansas City, Missouri. He is active in the Kansas City Metropolitan Bar Association (KCMBA), the Kansas City Metropolitan Bar Foundation (KCMBF), and The Missouri Bar.

A graduate of Creighton University Law School and Creighton University Heider College of Business, Molner is licensed to practice law in state and federal courts in Kansas and Missouri.

St. Louis Area

Sandra (Sandy) J. Tatoian, an experienced lawyer in creditors' rights and civil litigation, has joined the commercial practice group at Goldenberg Heller & Antognoli, PC, a business and commercial litigation firm in the St. Louis-Southern Illinois region.

"We're pleased to welcome Sandy to our firm where her experience in civil litigation, real estate law and commercial litigation enhances our growing commercial litigation group," said Mark Goldenberg, founder and managing partner of the firm.

Tatoian's background includes providing legal counsel on foreclosures, mechanic's liens, adult guardianship, real estate law, creditors' rights, civil litigation, probate litigation, and more.

Tatoian earned her J.D. in 2002 from Southern Illinois University, Carbondale, Illinois, and her B.A. in Justice Systems in 1998 from Truman State University, Kirksville, Missouri. She is a member of the Madison County Bar Association, Illinois State Bar Association, The Missouri Bar, and the Illinois Creditors Bar Association. She is licensed to practice in the U.S. District Court for Southern and Central Districts of Illinois.

Her professional experience includes having served as an arbitrator for the Madison County Mandatory Arbitration Center and as a lecturer for a variety of professional organizations including National Business Institute, Women's Philanthropy & Leadership Workshop and Southern Illinois University Edwardsville – School of Dental Medicine.

As a community volunteer, Tatoian has served as secretary of the Edwardsville Art Center since 2017 and as a member of the board of directors since 2015. She previously served as secretary and as a member of Edwardsville Business and Professional Women.

Armstrong Teasdale proudly announces the addition of associate Trevor T. LaBarge, who joins the firm's corporate services practice group in St. Louis. LaBarge focuses his practice on general business, mergers and acquisitions, securities and transactional law. He represents public and private companies, small businesses, investment banks and private equity firms with respect to mergers, acquisitions and divestitures; equity and debt securities offerings; joint ventures; and private equity investments.

In the area of mergers and acquisitions, LaBarge manages the due diligence process and negotiates and drafts critical documents including asset purchase agreements, stock purchase agreements and all ancillary financing and closing documents. He also performs due diligence on both the buy and sell sides of transactions, including drafting diligence memorandums on a wide range of deal sizes. He performs pre-closing preparation and post-closing activities; prepares detailed legal analysis and due diligence in connection with the evaluation of potential strategic opportunities; and develops and executes negotiation and deal strategies.

LaBarge also assists with Securities and Exchange Commission reporting and disclosure, and advises public companies with respect to their securities filings, including reviewing and drafting filings for publicly traded companies, comparative analysis on mergers and acquisitions, and drafting amendments to lease agreements. Further, he counsels clients on entity formation and related governance matters.Prior to joining Armstrong Teasdale, LaBarge was with another St. Louis area law firm.

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