MoveMakers and NewsMakers for October 15, 2024

St. Louis | Kansas City | Other States

St. Louis

Carmody MacDonald P.C. is pleased to announce that Dennis Donahue III, a seasoned intellectual property attorney, has joined the firm’s corporate/transactional practice group as a partner. A former aerospace engineer and leader of a large Midwest-based law firm, he will expand Carmody MacDonald’s existing intellectual property, patent and trademark legal services to clients, particularly those in technology-related fields.

Donahue comes to Carmody MacDonald from CreatiVenture Law, LLC, an intellectual property practice he started in 2009 to work with entrepreneurs and technology-focused businesses ranging from small inventors to large manufacturing and retail companies. His experience extends across the technology spectrum, including the mechanical, electromechanical, biomechanical, computer hardware, and software fields.

“Dennis comes with significant intellectual property experience that will take our current IP practice to a new level,” said Brian Behrens, a Carmody MacDonald managing partner. “He will play a strategic role as we continue building our in-house IP services and provide more of this type of work to more clients. We will also continue to outsource certain types of IP work as needed.”

Carmody MacDonald has also added Jack J. Gilkey and T. Clayton Hamby as new associates in the firm’s litigation practice area.

Jack Gilkey previously practiced with law firms outside St. Louis and holds a Juris Doctor (J.D.) and a degree in Chemical Engineering, both from University of Missouri – Columbia.

Clayton Hamby previously interned with Carmody MacDonald and the St. Louis County Circuit Court. He earned his Juris Doctor (J.D.) from University of Missouri – Columbia, and a degree in Civil Engineering from University of Dayton.

“We are excited to welcome these talented new associates to our firm,” Behrens added. “They will strengthen and expand our existing capabilities to provide exceptional service to our clients.”

Kansas City

Elizabeth Murray joined Polsinelli as Counsel in the Health Care Professional Liability practice group. Elizabeth represents clients in state and federal courts in Missouri and Kansas. Polsinelli's Kansas City office is located at 900 W. 48th Place, Suite 900 Kansas City, MO 64112.
 

Spencer Fane LLP is pleased to announce the continued expansion of its national insurance litigation practice with Tyler J. Scott joining the firm in Kansas City, Missouri. 

“We have been excited to join forces with this team not only because of what it means for our capabilities geographically but also because the combination will foster exponential growth in the services we can provide to our clients in the insurance industry,” said Linda J. Knight, who leads the firm’s Insurance Litigation Market Team. “As one team, we are all the more confident in our ability to deliver exceptional counsel and support to insurance companies on multiple fronts, ranging from navigating high-exposure extracontractual insurance claims to defeating class certifications to devising optimal strategies to help clients evaluate risk and proactively avoid disputes.” 

Recently recognized as a 2024 Law360 Regional Powerhouse in Colorado, the Spencer Fane Insurance Litigation team has grown to include attorneys who have been recognized as national leaders from jurisdictions across the nation.  Scott has been singled out by Benchmark Litigation, both of which serve as authoritative guides for identifying top talent in the industry. 

Furthermore, Chambers recently highlighted the “decades of experience” Scott and other recently hired out-of-state attorneys possess in navigating “the thorniest business disputes,” including a broad array of complex cases such as insurance coverage and bad faith claims, environmental disputes, financial disputes, business litigation (including partnership disputes, breach of fiduciary duty claims, securities fraud, trade secrets, and D&O defense), and personal injury litigation. 

Recognized as leaders in their field, the out-of-state attorneys and Scott join an equally experienced Spencer Fane team of more than 30 attorneys who are dedicated to providing value to clients with a commitment to collaboration, maintaining a mindset focused on excellence and operating in service to clients, colleagues, and community. 

“We look forward to the opportunity our team has to leverage the firm’s broader platform of services for the benefit of our clients,” Scott said. “We have been encouraged not only by the ways in which our practices complement each other but also by the tremendous similarities that exist across the team, whether in regard to our approach to serving clients, our shared commitment to collaboration, or the advocacy we bring to the insurance industry.”