MoveMakers & NewsMakers for Feb. 12, 2020

St. Louis

St. Louis

Karen A. Baudendistel has joined the firm of Lemp & Murphy, P.C., 8045 Big Bend Boulevard, Suite 202, Webster Groves, MO 63119.

Maxwell Groswald has opened his own law office, Groswald Law, LLC. His office address is 677 North New Ballas Road, Suite 200, St. Louis, MO 63117. He is focusing on consumer bankruptcy and consumer protection law.
 

Spencer Fane LLP is pleased to announce the addition of associates Seong Hong and Candace Weatherfield to the St. Louis office in the litigation practice group.

“We are thrilled to add two litigators with substantial experience at this point in their careers,” said Amy Mistler, the firm's office managing partner in St. Louis. “Seong and Candace will provide additional resources to our litigation team as we continue to grow our office in alignment with our clients’ needs. We look forward to helping them continue to develop their practices while using their skill set to maintain our commitment to the highest level of client service.”

Hong has developed a practice focused on defending clients in civil litigation. His experience includes commercial, professional liability and personal injury litigation. Prior to law school, he graduated from Rice University with a B.S. in biochemistry and cell biology. He earned his J.D. from the Northwestern University School of Law. He is fluent in both Korean and Spanish.

Before law school, Weatherfield graduated from St. Louis University with a B.A. in philosophy. She earned her J.D. from the St. Louis University School of Law in 2017. She has substantial experience defending premises owners, manufacturers and distributors in complex mass tort, product liability and toxic exposure litigation in Missouri and Southern Illinois. She also has experience litigating commercial disputes and employee benefit claims.
 

Greensfelder, Hemker & Gale, P.C., is pleased to announce that Cassie L. Barr, Jody B. Forsee, and Heather M. Mehta have been elevated to officer, effective Feb. 1.

A member of the firm’s business services practice group, Barr counsels clients on corporate and tax law matters. In the area of corporate law, she focuses on mergers and acquisitions. Her experience includes counseling middle market companies in a broad range of industries, including health care, technology, construction, manufacturing, and distribution. In the area of tax law, she counsels clients on corporate and business tax planning. With a background as an international tax associate for a big four professional services firm, she also has experience in tax controversy matters. Barr received her J.D. from Saint Louis University School of Law. She also holds a M.B.A. and a B.S. (cum laude), both from Southern Illinois University Edwardsville.

A member of the firm’s trusts & estates practice group, Forsee focuses her practice on all aspects of estate planning and trust administration. Her work includes advanced estate planning documents used by clients for wealth management. She also addresses income, estate and gift tax issues relevant to her clients’ estate planning and probate needs. A considerable portion of her practice focuses on working with family offices that handle assets and planning for multi-generational families. In addition, she helps family-owned businesses coordinate corporate matters such as business succession planning and creating and administering business entities such as limited liability companies and partnerships. Forsee received her J.D. from the University of Missouri-Kansas City and her Bachelor of Science from Missouri Western State University.

A member of the firm’s Employee Benefits practice group, Mehta works on issues employers face when administering benefit plans. Her clients include large and small businesses, as well as tax-exempt organizations such as religiously-affiliated hospitals. She also helps employers with ERISA and Internal Revenue Code compliance and frequently assists religious employers with benefits questions. Her benefits litigation experience includes individual benefit claims and ERISA class actions. She has defended plan sponsors in lawsuits involving “church plans,” forum selection clauses, and ERISA preemption. Mehta received her J.D. (magna cum laude) from Washington University School of Law. She also holds a M.S. (with distinction) from Mercy College and a B.A. (summa cum laude) from Wake Forest University.
 

The Association of Corporate Counsel – St. Louis Chapter (ACC STL) held its 2020 Annual Meeting recognizing members for their individual contributions.

The 2020 ACC STL award recipients include:

• Member of the Year: Vikas Sunkari, Senior Attorney, Transactions, SSM Healthcare. Sunkari volunteered to lead the 2019 ACC STL Summer Diversity Internship Program, which paired six, first-year law students with host corporations in the St. Louis region. He managed the entire process that included the interview and selection process, recruited mentors to pair with the interns, and developed educational and training programs to supplement the students’ internship experience. Through participation in the program, several 2019 Summer Interns obtained employment for the summer of 2020.

• Committee of the Year: 2019 Pro-Bono Committee led by Co-Chairpersons Patricia Duft, Vice President, Legal, Medtronic; and Paula Finlay, Assistant Vice President, Senior Legal Counsel, Labor & Employment, AT&T. Under the leadership of Duft and Finlay, the committee engaged members to volunteer in a variety of projects and pro bono opportunities including: National Health Care Decisions Clinic, Veterans Wills Clinics; Partnered with Loaves & Fishes; Legal Services of Eastern Missouri Micro-Enterprise Entrepreneur Seminars and Clinics; and Backpacks for St. Louis City Schools

• William E. Jaudes Service Award: Renee Schenk, Senior Assistant General Counsel, Bayer, received the award. The William E. Jaudes Service award was named after Bill Jaudes, one of the original founders of the ACC STL. This honor, which is not awarded annually, is given to members who exemplify dedication, leadership and service. Schenk served ACC STL leadership roles including president and membership chairperson where the Chapter was recognized by the national Association of Corporate Counsel as Outstanding Chapter of the Year and achieved a milestone of surpassing 500 members for the first time in the Chapter’s history.

Brian Parsons, 2020 ACC STL President, and Senior Counsel, Macy’s Inc., said, “Each member recognized has contributed significantly to the growth of the St. Louis chapter. Their leadership and dedication have helped make the St. Louis chapter one of the strongest in the country and one that continues to evolve to serve our members.”

In 2019, ACC STL received the Gold Chapter of Distinction by the national Association of Corporate Counsel (ACC). The award recognizes the Chapter’s accomplishments in areas including programming, membership recruitment, and governance / operations. In 2018, ACC STL received the Gold Level Award, and the Innovation Award for Best Membership / Recruitment.