MoveMakers and NewsMakers for Oct. 13, 2026

St. Louis

St. Louis-based law firm Lewis Rice is pleased to announce eight new associates: Carrie Bennett, Emma Bruntrager, Matthew Hemmersmeier, Phoebe Leach, Darrwin Perkins II, Alexi-Julia Smith, Lawson Tyrone and M. Thomas Yang.

“We’re excited to welcome this very talented group of attorneys to join Lewis Rice,” said Chairman Richard B. Walsh Jr. “They strengthen our client advocacy and bring valuable experience from the courts, government and private practice. Their skills and dedication will serve our clients well and support our firm for years to come.”

Carrie M. Bennett shapes her attentive, client-focused approach in Lewis Rice’s Litigation Department by bringing 18 years of experience as a teacher, counselor and literacy specialist. She spent both law school summers at Lewis Rice and graduated cum laude from Saint Louis University School of Law, where she completed a judicial internship at the Missouri Court of Appeals.

Emma C. Bruntrager served in several roles at the Missouri Court of Appeals, Eastern District, including senior law clerk to Judge Renee D. Hardin-Tammons and term law clerk to Judge Christian M. Stevens prior to joining Lewis Rice’s Litigation Department. At Saint Louis University School of Law, she held a faculty fellowship and completed a judicial externship with Judge James M. Dowd.

Matthew R. Hemmersmeier joins Lewis Rice’s Corporate Department after spending two summers with the firm as a summer associate. At Washington University School of Law, he completed the dual J.D. and LL.M. in Taxation program and served as executive notes editor of the Washington University Journal of Law & Policy, which published his article on the Corporate Transparency Act.

Phoebe D. Leach advises clients on estate and gift tax matters in the firm’s Estate Planning Department. Before joining Lewis Rice, she clerked for Judge Mark V. Holmes of the U.S. Tax Court. At Georgetown University Law Center, she served as chief executive editor of the Georgetown Journal of Law & Public Policy and externed for U.S. Sen. Eric Schmitt.

Darrwin E. Perkins II joins the firm’s Corporate Department after spending both law school summers at Lewis Rice. At Saint Louis University School of Law, he earned a concentration in health law and served as editor-in-chief of the Saint Louis University Journal of Health Law & Policy. He also completed a legal externship with BJC HealthCare.
Alexi-Julia Smith represents buyers and sellers in mergers and acquisitions and other strategic and private equity transactions in the firm’s Corporate Department. She earned her law degree from Howard University School of Law and practiced in the Washington, D.C., office of Goodwin Procter LLP, advising private equity sponsors and portfolio companies on domestic and cross-border deals before returning to her hometown of St. Louis.

Lawson C. Tyrone focuses on construction law in the Corporate Department. Before law school, he worked in project management for JE Dunn Construction in Austin, Texas, including on Apple Inc.’s corporate campus. At the University of Arkansas School of Law, he served as articles editor of the Journal of Food Law & Policy and spent both summers at Lewis Rice.

M. Thomas Yang joins the Litigation Department after spending his law school summers at Lewis Rice. At the University of Missouri School of Law, he received the Guy A. Thompson Award for Best Student Note in 2025 while serving as senior note and comment editor for the Missouri Law Review. He also served as a student advocate in the Mizzou Law Veterans Clinic, helping draft briefs supporting veterans’ disability appeals before the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs.