MoveMakers and NewsMakers for August 19, 2025

St. Louis | Kansas City | Other states

Kansas City

Littler, the world’s largest employment and labor law practice representing management, has added Daniel Johnson as a shareholder in its Kansas City office. Johnson joins the firm from Ogletree Deakins, bringing significant experience in all aspects of single plaintiff litigation, restrictive covenant issues, and traditional labor matters.

"Daniel has a well-rounded and strategic practice, and we couldn’t be happier to welcome him to the firm," said Erin Webber, Littler’s managing director and president. "His deep litigation background and practical approach to resolving complex employment issues will be of tremendous value to our clients as they navigate today’s ever-evolving workplace landscape.”

Licensed in Kansas, Missouri, and Oklahoma, Johnson represents employers on a range of workplace issues, including discrimination and harassment, retaliation, whistleblower claims, wage and hour disputes, and restrictive covenant matters such as trade secrets, non-compete, non-solicitation, confidentiality, and non-disclosure agreements.

“With over two decades of experience and a multijurisdictional practice, Daniel is well positioned to support our clients in Kansas City and nationally,” added Daniel Boatright, Littler’s Kansas City office managing shareholder. “He has a strong reputation for advocating on behalf of employers both in and out of the courtroom in high stakes matters, and our clients will greatly benefit from his counsel.”

Johnson’s litigation practice includes representing employers before the National Labor Relations Board, the Department of Labor, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, and various state-level agencies. He has experience serving as first chair in labor arbitrations, as well as handling both jury and bench trials.

“I’m thrilled to join this exceptional team and contribute to the firm’s demonstrated success in managing employment litigation as clients continue to confront a complex business environment,” said Johnson. “Littler’s global platform, deep bench of talent, and unwavering commitment to clients make it an ideal environment to grow my practice and help employers address their most pressing legal challenges.”

Johnson received his J.D., with honors, from the University of Oklahoma College of Law and his B.A. from the University of Central Oklahoma.

St. Louis

Spencer Fane LLP is pleased to welcome Yana Rusovski (Karnaukhov) to the firm’s St. Louis office as an of counsel attorney in the Real Estate practice group.

Focusing on the legal needs of clients in the real estate, finance, and government sectors, Rusovski’s practice places a particular emphasis on regulatory compliance, preventative counseling, and defending against enforcement actions. She regularly helps clients identify and manage fair housing and fair lending risks and specializes in developing carefully tailored strategies to resolve disputes in ways that safeguard business goals, reputations, and relationships.

Rusovski has experience working with large and small clients, including market rate and affordable housing providers, individual property owners, residential and senior living real estate owners, developers, nonprofits, management companies, local governments and housing authorities, appraisal management companies, industry trade groups, banks, non-bank mortgage lenders, and business lenders.
Throughout her dynamic practice, Rusovski has advised high-profile executives, led government investigations, negotiated multimillion-dollar settlements, managed cross-functional teams, and driven operational efficiency across diverse industries and particularly sensitive matters.

“Just as our core practice areas continue to build on foundational principles, the firm offers increasingly specialized services across national markets,” said Amy K. Mistler, Office Managing Partner for Spencer Fane in St. Louis. “Yana’s comprehensive public and private sector work combined with her extensive experience achieving beneficial outcomes through arbitration and mediation will be a valuable addition to our diverse client service catalog, especially within the collaborative, cross-office teams she will work closely with.”

Rusovski’s record of regulatory work includes vast experience with the Fair Housing Act, Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act, the Americans with Disabilities Act, Equal Credit Opportunity Act, and Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, among others; and frequent engagement with federal regulators, including the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, the U.S. Department of Justice, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, and the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Additionally, she is widely recognized as an industry leader in negotiating HUD conciliation agreements. Her extensive knowledge has shaped fair housing and fair lending policies.

Prior to entering private practice, Rusovski spent more than a decade working for HUD, where she led and managed investigations and compliance reviews of privately-owned multifamily housing providers, financial institutions, and hundreds of recipients of federal funding, including state governments, cities, counties, municipalities, and Public Housing Authorities. She also previously served as a Special Assistant U.S. Attorney in the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Illinois and completed a detail at the Consumer Federal Protection Bureau.

Rusovski received her Bachelor of Business Administration summa cum laude from Loyola University Chicago before earning her Juris Doctor from Northwestern University’s Pritzker School of Law. With a deep commitment to education, she currently teaches fair housing as an adjunct professor at Northwestern Pritzker Law and serves as a hearing officer for the Illinois State Board of Education.

Other states

On August 7, 2025, Assistant Attorney General Harmeet K. Dhillon swore in Jesus Osete as the Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General for the Justice Department’s Civil Rights division.