Shelly Dreyer sworn in as 2024-2025 Missouri Bar president, prioritizing well-being, young lawyers, rural practice

Nicole Roberts-Hillen is editor of the Journal of The Missouri Bar.

With a legal career spanning 27 years, Dreyer aims to prioritize lawyer well-being, encourage bar involvement among new and young lawyers, and address the unique challenges faced by legal practitioners outside of major metropolitan areas.

A member of the groundbreaking all-women slate of officers, Dreyer is the first female president from Greater Missouri (not St. Louis or Kansas City). It has also been 30 years since a Missouri Bar president hailed from Joplin.

Meet Shelly

Dreyer knew from a young age she wanted to be a lawyer and help others. Her father, a union president, routinely represented employees during disputes and mediation to ensure a fair outcome, something Dreyer was instantly drawn to.

“He would take people’s problems, and he would represent them and be a voice for them to solve those problems,” she says. “I was attracted to that. It wasn’t that I wanted to be in a courtroom or anything I saw on TV. It was helping people get to a resolution and be a voice for them.”

Despite being a first-generation college student who didn’t know any lawyers at the time, Dreyer was determined to be a legal professional. After graduating from the University of Missouri School of Law, she kicked off her career by working for an insurance defense firm but soon realized she “wanted to represent individuals,” she says.

Dreyer swapped tracks and became a personal injury plaintiff’s lawyer. She was a partner at a St. Charles County firm for 10 years, as well as a part-time municipal judge for five years in Dardenne Prairie. She relocated to Joplin and was a partner for seven years at a local firm.

In February 2023, Dreyer and partner Keegan Tinney opened their Joplin practice, Dreyer & Tinney.

“I am extremely proud of Shelly for all her hard work and dedication not only to the clients we serve but to the legal profession as a whole,” Tinney says. “She is a great mentor, friend, and law partner.” 

Looking back on her 27 years of plaintiff work, Dreyer says she loves helping citizens navigate the legal system during stressful and uncertain times.

“It’s very fulfilling because when I can tell a client, ‘You don’t have to worry, I’ll take care of this,’ you can see the relief on their face,” she says. “It’s nice to be able to take that pressure off of them so all they have to do is take care of themselves, and I can take care of them and relieve some of that stress.”

Focus on well-being, networking, and rural lawyers

Dreyer's dedication to helping others extends beyond her individual clients.

Immediate Past President Megan Phillips, who has known Dreyer since law school, says she admires Dreyer’s work ethic, kindness, and sense of adventure, making her not only an exceptional lawyer for her clients but also a leader of The Missouri Bar.

“Shelly is absolutely dedicated to the bar and its mission to support lawyers and serve the public,” Phillips says. “She's also a natural leader who builds consensus through careful reflection and respect for others. The bar is in supremely capable hands this coming year.”

Nearly 10 years ago, Dreyer decided to run for The Missouri Bar Board of Governors after noticing a lack of women on the board at the time.

She also saw this as an opportunity to be a voice for the rural legal community. Having practiced in Joplin and the St. Louis area, Dreyer says she understands the concerns and challenges of lawyers in large cities often differ from those of rural lawyers.

Now stepping into the role of 2024-2025 Missouri Bar president, Dreyer wants to chat with lawyers from all over the state – large cities to rural communities.

“I want to get out there and talk to lawyers from all parts of Missouri to see what their concerns are, what their clients’ concerns are, and what The Missouri Bar can do to help lawyers in their practices” she says.

The Missouri Lawyers’ Assistance Program is one valuable service Dreyer says she will highlight, continuing the focus on lawyer well-being. MOLAP offers free, confidential counseling and crisis intervention, as well as educational programs and articles about substance use, stress, depression, and quality of life. Visit MoBar.org/MOLAP to learn more.

“A key priority of The Missouri Bar is to help lawyers even better serve their clients and communities, and in order to do so, we need to take care of ourselves,” she says. “I want the bar to continue valuing lawyer well-being and provide resources for our members and their families.”

As a small firm practitioner, she also plans to promote the bar’s practice management resources – from checklists and white papers to product and service comparison charts. Lawyers can access these materials at no cost at MoBar.org/LPM.

When talking to new and young lawyers, Dreyer wants to encourage networking opportunities like The Missouri Bar Young Lawyers' Section and Leadership Academy. Thinking back on her time as a new lawyer, Dreyer says she was so focused on learning the law and avoiding mistakes at the time that she overlooked the value of getting involved in YLS and utilizing Missouri Bar tools. Now, she hopes to guide new and young lawyers to those resources.

“Those networking opportunities would have helped me by knowing other young lawyers were going through the same thing and there is comfort and resources there,” she says. “I want to reach out to as many young lawyers as I can this year to let them know that the bar is there for them for any issue they may face.”

View photos of Dreyer’s swearing-in ceremony at Annual Meeting on The Missouri Bar’s Facebook and Instagram pages.