In this issue of Missouri Lawyers Weekly

NEW PARTNERS 2010: FEWER SLICES OF THE PIE
Making partner at a law firm is like finally noshing on a juicy piece of a pie you’ve spent years laboring to bake. So it’s a punch to the gut to see the recession has snatched pieces away from more Missouri associates this year.

Firms step up promotions of women
When Amy Blaisdell joined Greensfelder, Hemker & Gale as a summer associate in 2000, she was newly married and five years from having her first child.

ASK FOR IT
Thirty years ago, when Mary Bonacorsi walked into a deposition, usually the only woman staring back at her was the court reporter.

Real estate rebound: Practice area shows growth
This year’s new partner announcements showed a 30 percent jump from last year in the number of promoted real estate attorneys in Missouri. That’s nine new partners in a practice area the financial crisis hit hard.

New Partner Lists
Click on this link to see New Partners for 2010.

Got bilked?
Scammers crept close to the trust account of Gladstone plaintiffs attorney Gregory Leyh last month until his wife and law partner, Jan Leyh, raised tax questions about the case. While Gregory Leyh sought answers to the questions, the $350,000 he deposited in his account turned up counterfeit.

CoxHealth apologizes 
It’s a situation that turns the typical personal injury lawsuit timeline on its head: Hospital officials admit upfront that an employee made a potentially harmful or fatal error. It releases data on the exact number of affected people and the cause of the error. Perhaps most important, they say they are “deeply sorry.” 

Jury awards $11M over hog farm
Jackson County Judge Jay Daugherty repeated 13 times the figure “$825,000″ Thursday afternoon as tearful farmers from Berlin, Mo., sat on the edges of the seat cushions they’d warmed for four weeks. 

St. Louis County police target unlicensed officers
An announcement last week from St. Louis County Police Chief Timothy Fitch has perked the ears of St. Louis criminal defense attorneys. 

DAs may replace prosecutors
Missouri is big on local government. The state has 523 school districts. It has 114 counties plus the separate city of St. Louis. And each of those counties has its own elected prosecuting attorney. But some in law enforcement and at the Capitol think that’s too many.

‘Zombie’ plaintiffs can sue officers for arrest, but leg seizure allowed
Seven men and women, arrested after they dressed as zombies to protest “mindless” consumerism at a Minneapolis summer festival, can resurrect one of their civil rights claims as the result of a decision by the 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. 

Scenes from the 20th Annual Justice for All Ball
Some 650 people attended the 20th anniversary Justice for All Ball at the Chase Park Plaza in St. Louis, and many of them ended up on the dance floor.

Four Verdicts & Settlements, which can be found here.

Twenty-four opinions, which can be found here.

CLE and Events Calendar