Mark T. Keaney, 30

ST. LOUIS

Law school: Saint Louis University

On the first Thursday of each month, a large number of scared and

confused petitioners pack the

St. Louis County Circuit Court’s

domestic violence docket. And with

them are a number of volunteer

attorneys from Bryan Cave, brought

there at the request of one of the

firm’s young associates, Mark

Keaney.

Keaney, who recently left the

firm, worked each month to find

colleagues who were willing

and able to provide pro bono

representation and reassurance

as petitioners try to obtain orders of protection against their abusers. The

program is a joint effort by CitiMortgage, Bryan Cave and Legal Services of

Eastern Missouri.

It’s not Keaney’s only volunteer effort. He is also the president and

founder of a local nonprofit organization, Children of Africa Fund for Social

Mobility, which provides an education for more than 400 children in an

orphanage in Ofaakor, Ghana. The organization has raised more than

$250,000 for the orphanage, which has been used to build such educational

necessities as classrooms, a library and a computer lab with Internet access.

Since 2009, he has made annual trips to visit and volunteer at the

orphanage, where he and other volunteers do everything from teach

classes to harvest crops.

Who is your legal hero?

My father, Mark Keaney Sr.

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

As a young lawyer, I’d say don’t be afraid to fail and/or ask questions. Be

humble. Be kind to others. And remember that this world is way bigger and

more important than you (and me).