EDITOR’S NOTE: Celebrating 2010 in Missouri law 

Missouri has no shortage of career awards, and they do an excellent job of honoring the careers of legal professionals in Missouri. But until now we have had no awards that recognized the immediate impact that lawyers had in the year that just passed.
Thus the creation of the Missouri Lawyer Awards.
And since what Missouri Lawyers [...]

Kris Kobach: Led the fight nationwide against illegal immigration 

Kris Kobach has been one of the country’s preeminent voices against illegal immigration, making his arguments in the classroom, in court, in legislatures and in the media.
Now he has a new platform — as an official of the state of Kansas.
Earlier this month, Kobach was sworn in as Kansas’ Secretary of State, following an election [...]

Amy Lorenz-Moser: Amy’s Hail Mary 

In 2010, two women convicted of killing their abusive husbands in the 1970s were paroled as a result of Amy Lorenz-Moser’s pro bono work.

“These killings, while they might not be in the heat of the moment, are self-defense,” Lorenz-Moser says. The women’s release, she says, has “undone a great injustice.”

The Simon Law Firm: Pumped their passion into arbitration 

A passion for their clients and the legal minds to back it up drive the lawyers at The Simon Law Firm. That combination translated into a victory for consumers when the Missouri Supreme Court decided in Brewer v. Missouri Title Loans that some arbitration clauses are just too unfair to enforce.

John Murphy: Pushing his firm — and himself — as Shook Hardy chairman 

Although he has presided over a period of growing revenue spurred by more trial work, John Murphy says he still has room to improve as a leader.

Jerome Dobson: Won major appellate rulings in employment law 

When Missouri employment law cases started to shift from federal to state courts in the early 2000s, Jerome Dobson and his firm saw an opportunity to help shape caselaw in a largely untested arena.

Dean Dankelson: Gave voice to prosecutors’ criminal justice concerns 

For many years, in the public debate over Missouri’s public defender caseload issues, one side remained strangely quiet: the prosecutors who stood opposite the defenders in each and every case.

Cat Kelly: Led the defense of the Missouri State Public Defender System 

Cat Kelly has a pronouncement for anyone who fears her upcoming ascension to director of the Missouri State Public Defender System will make it harder to track her down.

“The Bluetooth is not coming off,” Kelly says. “The cell number will not be changing.”

Jim Bennett: Leading from the front lines 

Jim Bennett is the co-founding partner of a St. Louis litigation firm, overseeing the work of 11 attorneys and seven staff members in a firm with growing business.

But you won’t find Bennett pouring over the firm’s financial records or leading administration meetings.

Bob Langdon: Scored a $23 million verdict in a significant Ford rollover trial 

When he began practicing law, Bob Langdon didn’t read novels in his spare time. He read trial transcripts.