MoveMakers & NewsMakers for Jan. 29, 2020

St. Louis | Kansas City 

St. Louis Area

The Association of Corporate Counsel – St. Louis Chapter (ACC STL) elected its 2020 officers and board of directors.

The 2020 ACC STL officers include:

• President: Brian Parsons, Senior Counsel, Macy’s Inc.
• Vice President / President-Elect: Sven Fickeler, Senior Corporate Counsel, Bunzl Distribution USA, LLC
• Secretary: Jennifer Herner, Associate General Counsel, MiTek
• Treasurer: Kate Krebel, Corporate Counsel, DRS Technologies, Inc.
• Immediate Past President: Chrissy Teske, Senior Attorney, Commerce Bancshares, Inc.

At-Large Directors: Geoffrey Grammer, Assistant Corporate Counsel, Ameren; and Erika Schenk, General Counsel & Vice President of Compliance, World Wide Technology.

ACC STL 2020 president, Brian Parsons, shared that the priorities for the Chapter this year are to strengthen member retention and engagement, utilize social media platforms to improve communications, and expand networking opportunities that are specific to members’ practice areas.

“This year is exciting for the ACC STL chapter. Last year, the chapter was selected as one of the best chapters in the country at our national meeting. Previous boards have laid a strong foundation, and the board is looking forward to making contributions to better serve our membership,” said Parsons.

The board of directors include:

• Advocacy: Jennifer Feldhaus, Vice President, Associate General Counsel, Maritz
• Corporate Counsel Institute (CCI): Ty Ulmer, Chief Counsel, The Boeing Company
• Communications: Danielle Langeneckert, Director, Contract Design, The Resource Group
• Diversity: Tamee Reese, Assistant Vice President, Senior Legal Counsel, AT&T Mobility & Entertainment
• General Counsel Forum: Kate Molamphy, General Counsel, ICL Americas; and Erika Schenk
• Annual Golf / Spa Event: Jay Repaso, Manager, Legal Services, Mastercard
• Law School Relations: Paula Finlay, Assistant Vice President, Senior Legal Counsel – Labor & Employment, AT&T
• Membership: Beverly Garner, Associate General Counsel, Bunge North America
• Practice Area Networking (PAN) – Labor & Employment: Toni Douaihy, Vice President, Assistant General Counsel, Macy’s Inc.
• Past President Council Chair: Chrissy Teske
• Pro Bono: Patricia Duft, Vice President, Legal, Medtronics
• Professional Development: Geoffrey Grammer
• Programs: John Farmer, Vice President, Litigation, Charter Communications
• Social: Margy Weisman, Assistant General Counsel, ESCO Technologies
• Sponsorship: Denise Whitener, Managing Counsel, Wells Fargo Law Department

In 2019, the 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.
 

Kansas City Area

Boyd Kenter Thomas & Parrish LLC is pleased to announce the promotion of Jason Iezzi and Raymond Salva, Jr. from associate to partner with the firm. They join existing partners, John B. Boyd, J.R. Boyd, Jerry Kenter, Brianne Thomas, Mark Parrish and Josh Sanders.

Iezzi clerked for the firm while in law school and became an associate in 2013. His practice areas include workers’ compensation, personal injury and labor law.

Salva, Jr. received his J.D. from the University of Missouri - Kansas City School of Law and focuses on civil litigation, consumer protection and labor law cases.

“We are excited to have Jason and Ray become an integral part of our leadership team,” said Brianne Thomas, managing partner of Boyd Kenter Thomas & Parrish. “We are fortunate to have such high-caliber talent to grow the firm from within.”

In five years, Boyd Kenter Thomas & Parrish has grown to 13 lawyers in three offices including Independence, Sedalia, and Olathe, Kansas.
 

At its 2020 Annual Meeting, McDowell Rice Smith & Buchanan, PC, announced the re-election of Kristie Remster Orme as president, and the re-election of R. Pete Smith as chairman of the board of directors. Also re-elected to the board of directors were Thomas R. Buchanan and Greg T. Spies, and Susan Saper Galamba was newly elected to serve on the board of directors.

It was also announced at the firm’s annual meeting that Thomas R. Buchanan will continue to serve as the firm’s general counsel in 2020 with Kristie Remster Orme continuing to serve as associate general counsel. Charles W. Smiley will continue to serve as the firm’s secretary, and Ronald S. Bronstein will continue to serve as the firm’s treasurer and assistant secretary.

Additionally, McDowell Rice is pleased to announce that Ania Wlodek Moncrief was elected as a shareholder.
 

Wallace Saunders elected the following partners from its Overland Park office: Katie O’Shea, Kelvin Fisher, Tad Kardis, and Leo Logan, and elected Robyn Butler as an equity shareholder. These partners cover a wide array of practice areas, further strengthening the Wallace Saunders team of skilled lawyers.

O’Shea graduated from the University of Missouri at Kansas City School of Law. She has handled cases ranging from auto negligence actions to employment disputes and from consumer fraud claims to bad faith litigation. O'Shea brings with her a solid reputation as a dependable and trustworthy lawyer dedicated to her clients' best interests.

Fisher—who joined the firm in 2016—has deep experience litigating and trying lawsuits. His clients range from individuals to Fortune 500 companies and from banks and credit unions to global insurers. Fisher has tried numerous cases to verdict in both jury trials and bench trials.

Kardis earned his law degree at the University of Missouri - Columbia School of Law and graduated in 1995. He has handled high risk, high stakes personal injury and property damage cases for nearly 20 years. His practice emphasizes general tort litigation, propane defense, professional liability, construction litigation, insurance bad faith, telecommunications, and complex class action litigation.

Logan brings over 40 years of experience in civil litigation to the practice. He has represented numerous insurers and their policyholders, but also represents victims of personal, commercial and professional negligence. He regularly shares his legal knowledge at professional seminars and is often asked by other lawyers to provide expert opinion evidence in insurance related matters. Logan has been with Wallace Saunders since 2016.

Butler attended law school at the University of Kansas. She has had a distinguished career grounded on her scrupulous attention to detail on behalf of each of her clients. She focuses her practice on civil tort litigation, specializing in personal injury defense.