Photos: 2019 Gridiron Show

Staff Report//November 25, 2019//

Listen to this article

The Lawyers Association of St. Louis hosted its 63nd annual Gridiron on Nov. 22 at The Chase Park Plaza Hotel St. Louis. Attorneys and judges sang, danced and spoofed current events as well as each other through such parody numbers as “Put It Off” (“Shake It Off”) “When Will I Find Law” (“When Will I Be Loved”), “It’s My Turn, I’m Closing” (Hold On, I’m Coming”), “Roundup” (“Rawhide” theme) and “They’re Gonna Sue (“Runaround Sue”).

In Gridiron tradition, the association inducted two longtime supporters of the show into its “Hall of Shame.” Claudia Walters was honored for serving as videographer of the Gridiron show for the past 35 years. This show was the last for Walters, who is stepping down as videographer.

Also honored was association past president and Gridiron performer Matthew J. Padberg, who was lauded for his 25-year contribution to the show as one of the faces of “Gridiron News” segments that took a humorous look at local legal news and events.

2019 Gridiron Show: 2019 Gridiron Show

The Gridiron cast opens the show with “Bills to Pay,” sung to the music of Bruno Mars’ 2011 cover of “Valerie” by The Zutons at the Gridiron Show hosted by the Lawyers Association of St. Louis at the Chase Park Plaza on Nov. 22, 2019. Photo by T.L. Witt
2019 Gridiron Show: 2019 Gridiron Show

The Gridiron crowd enjoys dinner before the show Nov. 22 at The Chase Park Plaza Hotel in St. Louis. Photo by T.L. Witt
2019 Gridiron Show: 2019 Gridiron Show

Justin Guerra, president of the Lawyers Association of St. Louis, welcomes the audience to the association’s 63rd annual Gridiron show Nov. 22 at The Chase Park Plaza Hotel in St. Louis. Photo by T.L. Witt
2019 Gridiron Show: 2019 Gridiron Show

Supreme Court Chief Justice George W. Draper III, former St. Louis County Circuit Judge Judy P. Draper and Travis Noble, from left, chat after arriving at the Gridiron show at the Chase Park Plaza Hotel on Nov. 22, 2019, in St. Louis. Photo by T.L. Witt
2019 Gridiron Show: 2019 Gridiron Show

In a nod to the Stanley Cup-winning St. Louis Blues, former Chief Administrative Law Judge Leslie Brown Smith, Megan Sterchi Lammert, Robert Will and Sarah Jane Hunt, from left, join the cast to close the show by singing “Law-y-Yer” to the tune of the Blues’ unofficial theme song “Gloria” at the Gridiron Show hosted by the Lawyers Association of St. Louis at the Chase Park Plaza on Nov. 22, 2019. Photo by T.L. Witt
2019 Gridiron Show: 2019 Gridiron Show

Peter J. Dunne presents Claudia Walters with a rocking chair in recognition of her role as the Gridiron’s videographer for the past 35 years. This was the last show for Walters, who also was inducted into this year’s Gridiron Hall of Shame. Photo by T.L. Witt
2019 Gridiron Show: 2019 Gridiron Show

Scenes from the Gridiron Show hosted by the Lawyers Association of St. Louis at the Chase Park Plaza on Nov. 22, 2019. Photo by T.L. Witt
2019 Gridiron Show: 2019 Gridiron Show

Scenes from the Gridiron Show hosted by the Lawyers Association of St. Louis at the Chase Park Plaza on Nov. 22, 2019. Photo by T.L. Witt
2019 Gridiron Show: 2019 Gridiron Show

Former St. Louis Circuit Judge Douglas R. Beach, left, congratulates Matthew J. Padberg, a former president of the Lawyers Association of St. Louis and longtime participant in the annual Gridiron Show, for his induction into the show’s “Hall of Shame” on Nov. 22, 2019 at the Chase Park Plaza in St. Louis. Photo by T.L. Witt
2019 Gridiron Show: 2019 Gridiron Show

Saint Louis University School of Law Professor Susan “Tonie” FitzGibbon and Pat Wolff share a moment together before the Gridiron show hosted by the Lawyers Association of St. Louis at the Chase Park Plaza on Nov. 22, 2019. Photo by T.L. Witt
2019 Gridiron Show: 2019 Gridiron Show

Michael Harrison, Megan Sterchi Lammert, Sarah Jane Hunt and Robert Will, from left, join the cast in singing “Bills to Pay” to open the Gridiron Show hosted by the Lawyers Association of St. Louis at the Chase Park Plaza on Nov. 22, 2019. Photo by T.L. Witt
2019 Gridiron Show: 2019 Gridiron Show

Scenes from the Gridiron Show hosted by the Lawyers Association of St. Louis at the Chase Park Plaza on Nov. 22, 2019. Photo by T.L. Witt
2019 Gridiron Show: 2019 Gridiron Show

Former Chief ALJ Leslie Brown Smith, left, and Peter J. Dunne sing “This Suit is All I Need to Get By” to the tune of “You’re All I Need to Get By” at the Gridiron Show hosted by the Lawyers Association of St. Louis at the Chase Park Plaza on Nov. 22, 2019. Photo by T.L. Witt
2019 Gridiron Show: 2019 Gridiron Show

Scenes from the Gridiron Show hosted by the Lawyers Association of St. Louis at the Chase Park Plaza on Nov. 22, 2019. Photo by T.L. Witt
2019 Gridiron Show: 2019 Gridiron Show

Peter J. Dunne, St. Louis County Associate Circuit Judge John “J.B.” Lasater, Colleen LaVelle, Erin Madden and Megan Sterchi Lammert, from left, sing “It’s My Turn, I’m Closing” to the tune of “Hold On, I’m Coming” at the Gridiron Show hosted by the Lawyers Association of St. Louis at the Chase Park Plaza on Nov. 22, 2019. Photo by T.L. Witt
2019 Gridiron Show: 2019 Gridiron Show

Scenes from the Gridiron Show hosted by the Lawyers Association of St. Louis at the Chase Park Plaza on Nov. 22, 2019. Photo by T.L. Witt
2019 Gridiron Show: 2019 Gridiron Show

Scenes from the Gridiron Show hosted by the Lawyers Association of St. Louis at the Chase Park Plaza on Nov. 22, 2019. Photo by T.L. Witt
2019 Gridiron Show: 2019 Gridiron Show

Scenes from the Gridiron Show hosted by the Lawyers Association of St. Louis at the Chase Park Plaza on Nov. 22, 2019. Photo by T.L. Witt
2019 Gridiron Show: 2019 Gridiron Show

Scenes from the Gridiron Show hosted by the Lawyers Association of St. Louis at the Chase Park Plaza on Nov. 22, 2019. Photo by T.L. Witt
2019 Gridiron Show: 2019 Gridiron Show

Michael Harrison, left, and Sarah Jane Hunt sing “Won’t Use Them Again” to the tune of Whitesnake’s “Here I Go Again” at the Gridiron Show hosted by the Lawyers Association of St. Louis at the Chase Park Plaza on Nov. 22, 2019. Photo by T.L. Witt
2019 Gridiron Show: 2019 Gridiron Show

Scenes from the Gridiron Show hosted by the Lawyers Association of St. Louis at the Chase Park Plaza on Nov. 22, 2019. Photo by T.L. Witt