Daily Record (St. Louis, MO/St. Louis Countian) articles from February 2007

Daily Record (St. Louis, MO/St. Louis Countian) archives from February 2007

St. Louis to host Supreme visits this month.
February 1, 2007... Byline: Will Connaghan U.S. Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts and former Justice Sandra Day O'Connor will be paying visits to St. Louis over the next two weeks. Roberts is slated to serve on the panel of judges for the annual Wiley...

Franklin County Circuit Court: Paper fights gag order in Devlin case.
February 1, 2007... Byline: Allison Retka Media attorneys have stepped in to respond to a gag order against the New York Post and other media in the Michael Devlin case. A Tuesday filing in Franklin County Circuit Court asked Associate Circuit Judge David...

Study finds fewer blacks attending Missouri's law schools.
February 2, 2007... Byline: Donna Walter Most Missouri law schools have admitted fewer African-American law students in recent years and need to do more to recruit and retain them, the Mound City Bar Association concluded in a new diversity study. "Our theme...

Missouri laws do not hold Super Bowl party hosts liable for drunken guests.
February 2, 2007... Byline: Will Connaghan Super Bowl weekend is upon us and with that comes the invitations to a wide variety of Super Bowl parties. Many lawyers and law firms enjoy a good time, and this weekend will be no exception. A recent survey says it...

Missourians in the news: DeVoto & Benbenek moves to new offices.
February 3, 2007... Byline: Staff Report The law firm of DeVoto & Benbenek has moved to new offices. The new offices are on Watson Road in Shrewsbury, where the firm will be the sole tenant in a specially-designed building. Thomas C. DeVoto is the firm's...

Law firm of Gallop, Johnson & Neuman elects new partners.
February 3, 2007... Byline: St. Louis Daily Record Staff The law firm of Gallop, Johnson & Neuman announced that attorneys Jennifer R. Byrne, Angela N. Loehr and Francis X. "Butch" Miller have been elected partners of the firm. Jennifer R. Byrne, who earned a...

Missourians in the news: HOK announces new hires.
February 3, 2007... Byline: St. Louis Daily Record Staff Quinton Richardson has joined the St. Louis office of HOK (Hellmuth, Obata + Kassabaum) Inc. as a senior architectural technician. He will be responsible for technical development, modification and...

Missourians in the news: New name for Polsinelli Shalton Welte Suelthaus.
February 3, 2007... Byline: Staff Report The law firm of Polsinelli Shalton Welte Suelthaus PC announced that its new name is Polsinelli Shalton Flanigan Suelthaus PC. The new name reflects the addition of Daniel J. Flanigan to the firm's marquee. David A....

Missouri Army National Guard promotes Becky Brietzke.
February 3, 2007... Byline: St. Louis Daily Record Staff Becky Brietzke, 19, of Columbia, was recently promoted to the rank of private (E-2) in the Missouri Army National Guard. The promotion ceremony took place at the Columbia Missouri National Guard Armory...

Missourians in the news: Becky Brietzke.
February 3, 2007... Byline: Staff Report Becky Brietzke, 19, of Columbia, was recently promoted from to the rank of private (E-2) in the Missouri Army National Guard. The promotion ceremony took place at the Columbia Missouri National Guard Armory during a...

Jeffrey H. Kass elected to serve on St. Louis Economic Council board.
February 3, 2007... Byline: St. Louis Daily Record Staff Jeffrey H. Kass, partner at the law firm of Armstrong Teasdale LLP, has been elected to serve on the Board of Directors of the St. Louis Economic Council's St. Louis Enterprise Centers. The St. Louis...

Mark Counts joins RubinBrown.
February 3, 2007... Byline: Staff Report Mark Counts has joined RubinBrown, an accounting and consulting firm, as director of internal technology. Counts brings to RubinBrown more than 12 years of experience in accounting and technology. In his new position,...

Correction.(Correction notice)
February 3, 2007... Byline: Staff Report In the Feb. 2 story, Report finds fewer blacks attending Missouri's law schools, the location of the Thomas M. Cooley Law School at Oakland University was misreported. It is in Rochester, Mich. In addition, the correct...

Associates try their hands at prosecuting drug cases.
February 5, 2007... Byline: Allison Retka Attorney Laura McLaughlin was driving with St. Louis police late one night when the officers pulled over two men they suspected of drug possession. Sure enough, the men threw down a bag of drugs as the police...

Correction.(Correction notice)
February 5, 2007... Byline: Staff Report In the Feb. 2 story, Report finds fewer blacks attending Missouri's law schools, the location of the Thomas M. Cooley Law School at Oakland University was misreported. It is in Rochester, Mich. In addition, the correct...

Baumruk asks St. Charles Circuit Court for death sentence.
February 6, 2007... Byline: Kathleen T. Brady After 15 years of legal maneuvers designed to keep him off death row, Kenneth Baumruk leaned over to his defense counsel Monday morning and said he wanted to die. Baumruk told his attorney that life in prison was...

St. Charles Circuit Court says Baumruk should die.
February 7, 2007... Byline: Kathleen T. Brady Kenneth Baumruk has received what he wanted, a recommendation from the jury for the death penalty. The recommendation was announced Tuesday afternoon in St. Charles Circuit Court. Judge Lucy D. Rauch will take...

Franklin County judge denies gag order on Devlin's interviews.
February 7, 2007... Byline: Allison Retka In a tense preliminary hearing Tuesday morning in Union, a Franklin County judge refused to issue a gag order on the New York Post reporter who interviewed suspected kidnapper Michael Devlin last month at Franklin...

O'Connor will hear Missouri voting discrimination case.
February 7, 2007... Byline: Donna Walter An 8th Circuit panel, including former U.S. Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Connor, will hear a challenge to Missouri's voting law on Monday morning. In Missouri Protection and Advocacy Services et al. v. Robin...

A.G. Edwards to face trial in St. Louis County Circuit Court over Saigh trust.
February 7, 2007... Byline: Heather Cole A.G. Edwards Trust Co. will be heading back to St. Louis County Circuit Court over the company's approval of $1.3 million in renovations to nonagenarian Rose Saigh's home, but the company won't face a claim of...

Commentary: Love or money? Courts could decide.
February 7, 2007... Byline: Will Connaghan Valentine's Day is just a week away, but a Missouri Senate committee got a jump on all things romantic last week when it held a hearing on SB246. If state Sen. Jack Goodman -- a Republican from District 29 in...

Missouri professor vouches for bill to restrict illegal immigrants.
February 7, 2007... Byline: Scott Lauck An immigration bill introduced in the Missouri legislature is on solid legal ground, even though one major provision has yet to be tested in state court, a prominent University of Missouri-Kansas City law professor said...

St. Louis-based Gallop, Johnson & Neuman hires three new associates.
February 7, 2007... Byline: St. Louis Daily Record Staff Robert J. Droney, Gary R. Long and Robert B. Preston have joined the law firm of Gallop, Johnson & Neuman as associates. Droney is a member of the firm's Real Estate & Construction Law and Governmental...

Swacker elected to La Clinica Latino Community Health Centers board.
February 7, 2007... Byline: St Louis Daily Record Staff Carmody MacDonald's Suzanne S. Swacker was elected to the Board of Directors for the La Clinica Latino Community Health Centers. La Clinica is a multicultural proficient Health Care Center for the...

St. Louis office of Husch & Eppenberger hires new associates.
February 7, 2007... Byline: St. Louis Daily Record Staff Matthew D. Guymon has joined Husch & Eppenberger LLC as an associate attorney in the firm's Land Use Development and Financing Practice Group. Guymon concentrates his practice in the areas of real...

New, but thinner, shield law drafted.
February 8, 2007... Byline: Allison Retka Jefferson City legislators are taking another crack at legally protecting journalists from having to testify about information or confidential sources should they be subpoenaed in court cases. A House bill filed...

Shield law: National debate.
February 8, 2007... Byline: St. Louis Daily Record Staff The question of whether journalists should be required to testify about the sources of their reporting has been high profile in recent months. Among the current cases: * The Libby trial. New York Times...

Commentary: Supreme opportunity for moot court competitors.
February 8, 2007... Byline: Will Connaghan I have never been to a U.S. Supreme Court hearing, but Tuesday's moot court competition at Washington University School of Law may have been the next best thing. U.S. Supreme Court Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr....

Supreme Court selects local attorney to oversee state disciplinary counsel.
February 8, 2007... Byline: St. Louis Daily Record Staff The Missouri Supreme Court has selected St. Louis attorney Alan D. Pratzel to serve as the state's chief disciplinary counsel, the court said in a news release Wednesday. Pratzel is expected to begin...

Movie debuted at Sundance Festival furthers legacy for gamer-turned-attorney.
February 9, 2007... Byline: Bridget Heos Present-day lawyer Steve Sanders spent the summer of 1981 playing Pac-Man. A 16-year-old growing up in Clinton, he wasn't a jock. And he wasn't in the cool crowd. "Because I was a geek and a nerd and awkward, I spent...

Unmarried couple settles housing suit against city of Black Jack.
February 9, 2007... Byline: Allison Retka A federal judge gave final approval Thursday morning for a $28,000 settlement to a Black Jack family who sued the city for denying an occupancy permit because the heads of household were unmarried. Half the amount...

Federal lawsuit accuses attorneys of malpractice.
February 9, 2007... Byline: Donna Walter Two longtime attorneys will soon find themselves in federal court -- this time as defendants. Hrant Norsigian Jr. of the Castle Law Office of St. Louis and Joseph A. Bartholomew of Cook, Shevlin, Ysursa, Brauer &...

Correction.(Correction notice)
February 9, 2007... Byline: Staff Report In Will Connaghan's column published on Wednesday, Feb. 7 the URL for a gay rights information Web site was incorrect. The site should have read www.actwin.com/eatonohio/gay/GAY.htm.

Nelson D. Nolte of Polster, Lieder, Woodruff & Lucchesi LC made member of the firm.
February 9, 2007... Byline: St. Louis Daily Record Staff Nelson D. Nolte of Polster, Lieder, Woodruff & Lucchesi LC, was recently made a member of the firm. His practice areas include patents, trademarks, copyrights, unfair competition, Internet law, domain...

David L. Howard joins Polster, Lieder, Woodruff & Lucchesi LC as senior associate attorney.
February 9, 2007... Byline: St. Louis Daily Record Staff Polster, Lieder, Woodruff & Lucchesi LC also announced that David L. Howard has joined the firm as a senior associate attorney. Howard's practice areas include patents, trademarks, copyrights, trade...

Steven M. Tripi, CPA, promoted to audit supervisor by Huber, Ring, Helm & Co. PC.
February 9, 2007... Byline: St. Louis Daily Record Staff Steven M. Tripi, CPA, has been promoted to audit supervisor at the accounting and consulting firm Huber, Ring, Helm & Co. PC. Tripi has 10 years of professional experience, providing specialized audit,...

Michael D. Basler, CPA, promoted to audit manager at Huber, Ring, Helm & Co. PC.
February 9, 2007... Byline: St. Louis Daily Record Staff Michael D. Basler, CPA, was promoted to audit manager at HRH. Basler has eight years of professional experience. He provides specialized audit and tax services, consulting, accounting services and...

Michael C. Joy promoted to BankCentre leader at Midwest BankCentre's Fenton location.
February 9, 2007... Byline: St. Louis Daily Record Staff Michael C. Joy has been promoted to BankCentre leader at Midwest BankCentre's Fenton location. Joy oversees bank operations and service to retail and business customers. He joined Midwest BankCentre in...

St. Louis office of Bryan Cave promotes two lawyers.
February 10, 2007... Byline: St. Louis Daily Record Staff Report Bryan Cave LLP has elected two lawyers in its St. Louis office to counsel in the firm. This brings the number of counsel firmwide to 91. Bryan Cave has more than 800 lawyers total. Amy Thompson,...

Variety of events to mark Dred Scott sesquicentennial.
February 12, 2007... Byline: St. Louis Daily Record Staff Report This year marks the 150th anniversary of the U.S. Supreme Court's decision in Dred Scott v. Sanford, and a wide variety of events will mark the historic occasion. From the Old Courthouse to...

Bryan Cave promotes two lawyers in its St. Louis office.
February 12, 2007... Byline: St. Louis Daily Record Staff Report Bryan Cave LLP has elected two lawyers in its St. Louis office to counsel in the firm. This brings the number of counsel firmwide to 91. Bryan Cave has more than 800 lawyers total. Amy Thompson,...

American Board of Trial Advocates Missouri/Southern Illinois Chapter announces executive committee.
February 12, 2007... Byline: St. Louis Daily Record Staff Report The Missouri/Southern Illinois Chapter of the American Board of Trial Advocates (ABOTA) has announced the members of the organization's 2007 Executive Committee. President: Mike Pitzer, Rabbitt,...

ADA called no bar to limiting voting rights.
February 13, 2007... Byline: Donna Walter Is voting a type of personal care? The answer to that question may be the answer to whether a Missouri law denying the right to vote to individuals under full guardianship care violates the U.S. Constitution and the...

KC woman claims she bit into burger with live worm.
February 13, 2007... Byline: Charles Emerick Charleatha Rhodes wriggled and writhed after taking a bite out her McDonald's burger. And so did the worm that she claimed to have bit into. The Kansas City woman accused the restaurant of negligence after she ate...

Cell tax litigation in Missouri balloons as Sprint comes onboard.
February 14, 2007... Byline: Allison Retka Sprint Nextel Corp. heaped dozens of boxes of filings on the St. Louis County Circuit clerk last Thursday, suing 49 county municipalities. The company also sued the city of St. Louis and cities in 50 other counties...

Parent company of St. Louis-based General American Life liquidators want billions from Goldman Sachs.
February 14, 2007... Byline: Heather Cole Fresh off a $95 million settlement with Morgan Stanley, the liquidators of General American are adding Goldman Sachs to the list of defendants. The liquidators filed an amended lawsuit Tuesday, seeking $3 billion in...

St. Louis housing enforcement system called unconstitutional.
February 14, 2007... Byline: Scott Lauck Kansas City wants to get noncriminal housing violations out of its municipal court and into an administrative system. But the municipal judge whose cases would be reduced by the effort said the whole scheme is probably...

Letter: Local laws are threatening rural livelihoods.
February 14, 2007... Byline: Don Nikodim Dear Editor: Missouri's pork producers are facing challenges that threaten their livelihood. They are already regulated by strict, science-based standards at both the state and federal level. Now, their very existence...

St. Louis office of Clayco promotes David R. Molamphy.
February 14, 2007... Byline: St. Louis Daily Record Staff Design and construction firm Clayco has promoted David R. Molamphy to project manager in its St. Louis office. In his new position, Molamphy oversees design coordination, preconstruction and...

Keith Weber with St. Louis-based Merrill Marine Services Inc. receives accreditation.
February 14, 2007... Byline: St. Louis Daily Record Staff Keith John Weber, with Merrill Marine Services Inc. of St. Louis, is a machinery and technical specialties appraiser who has achieved Accredited Member status with the American Society of Appraisers. The...

Newsmakers: Husch & Eppenberger first law firm to commit funds to St. Louis Bar Foundation fund-raising campaign.
February 14, 2007... Byline: Staff Report Husch & Eppenberger is the first law firm to commit funds to the St. Louis Bar Foundation's Strengthening the Foundation of Justice fund-raising campaign. The firm donated $10,000 to the bar, which recently kicked off...

Husch & Eppenberger first law firm to commit funds to St. Louis Bar Foundation fund-raising campaign.
February 14, 2007... Byline: St. Louis Daily Record Staff Husch & Eppenberger is the first law firm to commit funds to the St. Louis Bar Foundation's "Strengthening the Foundation of Justice" fund-raising campaign. The firm donated $10,000 to the bar, which...

St. Louis-based Murphy Co. promotes Robert Eichelberger.
February 14, 2007... Byline: St. Louis Daily Record Staff Robert Eichelberger has been promoted to manager-refrigeration solutions within the 24-hour service operation at Murphy Co. The firm is the St. Louis area's largest mechanical contractor and operates...

Jeremiah King joins Chesterfield-based Brinkmann Constructors.
February 14, 2007... Byline: St. Louis Daily Record Staff Jeremiah King of St. Charles has joined Brinkmann Constructors as a project engineer, providing estimating, design and construction coordination services on the firm's design/build projects. He is...

Cole joins St. Louis-based Geotechnology Inc.
February 14, 2007... Byline: St. Louis Daily Record Staff Geotechnology Inc., a provider of consulting services in applied earth and environmental sciences, hired Pamela S. Cole to join the company's business development team. Cole's responsibilities include...

St. Louis County Circuit jury hikes eminent domain price tag on hotels project.
February 15, 2007... Byline: Allison Retka In a reverse of the last eminent domain dispute in St. Louis County, a jury has sided with a property owner over a private developer who would like to plant two major hotels in the Brentwood Boulevard corridor of...

Missouri's underpaid public defenders get stuck paying for parkingv.
February 15, 2007... Byline: Scott Lauck To the indignity of being overworked and underpaid, add another daily problem for state public defenders: parking. Members of the Missouri Senate's Budget Committee on Wednesday lamented that public defenders in the...

Final Twist: Suit settled for $5 million in favor of St. Louis Blues hockey player.
February 16, 2007... Byline: Donna Walter After nine years of litigation and jury verdicts of $24.5 million and $15 million, former St. Louis Blues hockey player Tony Twist has settled his right of publicity claim against Todd McFarlane Productions Inc. for $5...

AG Jay Nixon calls for new payday lending law.
February 17, 2007... Byline: Allison Retka Attorney General Jay Nixon is pushing for legislation this session that would rein in the booming payday loan industry in Missouri. Flanked by representatives of charity organizations that assist hundreds of...

Lawyers to lead state Democrats.
February 17, 2007... Byline: Donna Walter Two words can sum up how St. Louis attorney John Temporiti plans to approach his task as the new chairman of the Missouri Democratic Party: political pragmatism. "Ultimately, the goal is to win an election," he said....

AG Jay Nixon calls for new payday lending law.
February 19, 2007... Byline: Allison Retka Attorney General Jay Nixon is pushing for legislation this session that would rein in the booming payday loan industry in Missouri. Flanked by representatives of charity organizations that assist hundreds of...

Lawyers to lead state Democrats.
February 19, 2007... Byline: Donna Walter Two words can sum up how St. Louis attorney John Temporiti plans to approach his task as the new chairman of the Missouri Democratic Party: political pragmatism. "Ultimately, the goal is to win an election," he said....

Four judges to discuss local black legal history at dinner reception in St. Louis.
February 20, 2007... Byline: St. Louis Daily Record Staff The black history of the St. Louis legal community will be discussed and celebrated Thursday night at a dinner reception at the Westin Hotel in downtown St. Louis. The Mound City Bar Association and the...

Matthew J. Eddy joins St. Louis-based Lashly & Baer PC.
February 20, 2007... Byline: St. Louis Daily Record Staff Matthew J. Eddy has joined Lashly & Baer PC as a member. Eddy holds a JD from the University of Missouri-Kansas City School of Law and concentrates his practice in areas of civil litigation, including...

St. Louis Chapter of Assn. of Corporate Counsel elects officers.
February 20, 2007... Byline: St. Louis Daily Record Staff Daniel J. Lett has been elected 2007 president of the St. Louis Chapter of the Association of Corporate Counsel. Lett is general counsel for BunzlUSA, Inc., St. Louis. Lett and other elected offi cers...

Eric Disney joins St. Louis-based Holtkamp, Liese, Schultz & Hilliker.
February 20, 2007... Byline: St. Louis Daily Record Staff Eric Disney as joined Holtkamp, Liese, Schultz & Hilliker PC as an associate and will handle the defense of workers' compensation matters in Missouri and Illinois.

Matthew Funk joins Chesterfield-based Brinkmann Constructors.
February 20, 2007... Byline: St. Louis Daily Record Staff Matthew Funk has joined Brinkmann Constructors as a project engineer, providing estimating, design and construction coordination services on the firm's design/build projects. He is assigned currently to...

Dale Poslosky named to West County Regional Board of Midwest BankCentre.
February 20, 2007... Byline: St. Louis Daily Record Staff Dale Poslosky, principal of Modern Business Interiors, has been appointed to the West County Regional Board of Midwest BankCentre. Poslosky, co-owner of Modern Business Interiors since 1997, specializes...

St. Louis-based Clayco names Jim Meier chief information officer.
February 20, 2007... Byline: St. Louis Daily Record Staff Building and design firm Clayco has named Jim Meier chief information officer. Meier brings to Clayco 16 years of experience in technology management, engineering, recruiting and business development...

Dan Underwood joins Legal Services of Eastern Missouri.
February 20, 2007... Byline: St. Louis Daily Record Staff Dan Underwood has joined Legal Services of Eastern Missouri as the managing attorney for the Children's Legal Alliance, a unit that assists special needs children with educational access issues. Before...

Even in death, former St. Louis attorney Hocker made legal waves.
February 21, 2007... Byline: Will Connaghan Former St. Louis attorney Lon Hocker Jr. passed away on Jan. 31 and left a legal legacy that will be remembered in both Missouri and his adopted state of Massachusetts. Hocker, 96, was born in St. Louis and lived in...

Proposals would toughen constitutional amendments in Missouri.
February 21, 2007... Byline: Scott Lauck Missouri's Constitution was ratified in 1945, and it has continued to evolve since then. Not in the "living document" sense that roils legal scholars concerned about judicial activism but in the sheer number of times it...

Bill would bar courts in Missouri from taxing.
February 21, 2007... Byline: Scott Lauck The Missouri House gave first-round approval Tuesday to a constitutional amendment that would bar courts from levying or increasing taxes. In a two-hour debate on the House floor, supporters said the measure, if...

Justices seek meaning of 'control' in Saint Louis University case.
February 22, 2007... Byline: Scott Lauck Saint Louis University is clearly guided by the ideals and principles of the Society of Jesus that has been affiliated with it since 1829. But is it controlled by that creed? That's another question. Actually, it was...

St. Louis Board of Alderman's clerk named to administer probate court.
February 22, 2007... Byline: Donna Walter Patrick J. Connaghan, clerk of the St. Louis Board of Alderman, is going to court. On Tuesday, the St. Louis Circuit Court voted that Connaghan be named clerk and commissioner of the probate court. Connaghan was on a...

Lauren Donovan joins St. Louis-based ARCO Construction Co.
February 22, 2007... Byline: St. Louis Daily Record Staff Lauren Donovan has joined ARCO Construction Co. as a project manager. Her responsibilities include estimating, staffing and managing projects for ARCO's design/build, industrial and commercial clients....

Alan C. Richter named executive director of construction incubator.
February 22, 2007... Byline: St. Louis Daily Record Staff Alan C. Richter has been named executive director of the new Regional Union Construction Center (RUCC) incubator. The incubator was recently established by PRIDE of St. Louis Inc., the area's venerable...

St. Louis-based Clayco names Jim Meier chief information officer.
February 22, 2007... Byline: St. Louis Daily Record Staff Building and design firm Clayco has named Jim Meier chief information officer. Meier brings to Clayco 16 years of experience in technology management, engineering, recruiting and business development...

Dan Underwood joins Legal Services of Eastern Missouri.
February 22, 2007... Byline: St. Louis Daily Record Staff Dan Underwood has joined Legal Services of Eastern Missouri as the managing attorney for the Children's Legal Alliance, a unit that assists special needs children with educational access issues. Before...

MCBA report says bar groups need to be proactive in approach to diversity.
February 23, 2007... Byline: Donna Walter The Missouri Bar and mainstream bar associations in the St. Louis area need to take a proactive approach to diversifying the leadership ranks of their organizations, according to a Mound City Bar Association report. In...

Taxes are necessary for good schools, roads and healthcare.
February 23, 2007... Byline: Will Connaghan No one really enjoys paying taxes. But they are necessary if we are to have good schools, good roads, good health care and many other vital services we take for granted. This week, the Missouri House of...

Panel seeks will for more black attorneys.
February 24, 2007... Byline: Richard Jackoway Law schools are not pushing as hard to enroll minority students as they did when they were young, a panel of black judges said at the Hon. Theodore McMillian Black History Month Dinner last week. The four judges...

Missouri State Public Defender may refuse new cases.
February 26, 2007... Byline: Scott Lauck The Missouri State Public Defender's Office is on the verge of refusing to allow its attorneys to take new cases - what one Public Defender commissioner referred to as "the nuclear option." A vote of the Public...

Panel seeks will for more black attorneys.
February 26, 2007... Byline: Richard Jackoway Law schools are not pushing as hard to enroll minority students as they did when they were young, a panel of black judges said at the Hon. Theodore McMillian Black History Month Dinner last week. The four judges...