Apollo Carey | Up & Coming Lawyer

Apollo Carey, 38, shareholder, Sandberg, Phoenix & von Gontard, St. Louis

Practice areas: Corporate, tax, business and real estate

Law school: Saint Louis University (J.D.), Washington University (LLM in tax law)

Is a hot-air balloon ride really a form of “air commerce”? Apollo Carey was part of the team of lawyers that thought so — and fortunately for their client, the Missouri Supreme Court did, too.

The court ruled in April that Carey’s client, Balloons Over the Rainbow in St. Louis, was covered by a federal exemption for interstate air commerce. The ruling meant the company got a refund of thousands of dollars in state sales taxes.

Prior to his legal career, Carey was a hearing officer for the St. Louis County Board of Equalization and an appraiser for the St. Louis County Tax Assessor’s Office. He is a board member of the Missouri Growth Association, which promotes commercial real estate and economic development in the state, and he serves as the treasurer of a related political action committee.

Carey is also a board member of the St. Louis Internship Program, an organization that provides work-related experience, training and internship placement opportunities to inner-city high school students.

What is your greatest accomplishment to date?

Keeping my marriage intact through law school.

Who is your legal hero?

F. Lee Bailey

What’s been your favorite moment as an attorney so far?

Any time I save my clients money.

What do you do for fun?

Hiking, riding motorcycles, playing sports.

What simple piece of advice do you have for young lawyers?

Law school and the bar examination may be difficult, but the real work starts once you get hired.