Missouri Lawyers Awards 2024: Publisher’s Letter, honorees

2023 was the year of large verdicts — including two that topped a billion dollars — while the median million-dollar plaintiff win tracked by Missouri Lawyers Media rose two million dollars over 2022 and 2021. Our Lawyer of the Year, Mike Ketchmark, secured one of those billion-dollar-plus verdicts in 2023, while the other large win was a $1.56 billion verdict involving Monsanto’s Roundup weed killer.

Missouri Lawyers Media took a long look back at this incredible year to not only identify those gladiators who marked big verdict and settlement wins for their clients in 2023, but those whose actions in and out of the courtroom have had — or will have — significant impact on the profession.

The attorneys we recognize all carry the hallmarks of tremendous purpose and vision.

Of accomplishment and impact.

Nominations for these awards were submitted from across the state and from a wealth of resources. The nominations alone are a testament to the great work practiced day in and day out by so many dedicated men and women. But in selecting the honorees, we witness the ripple effect of their work as well. In addition to the profession, these lawyers make a commitment to their communities, however they define that.

They are leaders, not followers. They understand and demonstrate that service to their communities isn’t a byproduct of success; in fact, success is a byproduct of service.

On behalf of everyone at Missouri Lawyers Media, I extend our sincerest congratulations to the 2023 Missouri Lawyers Awards honorees. We are proud to be a part of this recognition and grateful to those honored this year.

— Susan A. Bocamazo, Esq., Senior Group Publisher

Lawyer of the Year

Michael Ketchmark of Ketchmark & McCreight, who led the small Kansas City-based legal team that won a nearly $1.79 billion class-action lawsuit against the National Association of Realtors and several major real estate companies.

Influential Appellate Advocates

Awarded to the newsmakers — the Missouri lawyers who made substantial contributions to the legal community this year.

Jason “Jay” Barnes of Simmons Hanly Conroy, for his efforts to combat the unauthorized surveillance and monetization of consumer data, including that of hospitals patients.

Leslie Greathouse, general counsel of Spencer Fane, who helped the Kansas ACLU wage a Fourth Amendment fight against the Kansas Highway Patrol.

Gabe Gore, St. Louis Circuit Attorney, who was named to guide the office through turbulent times after the prior officeholder resigned.

Mary R. Russell, chief justice of the Missouri Supreme Court, who has led the court through a period of historic gains for women.

Legal Champions

Awarded to plaintiffs’ or defense lawyers, not based on the size of verdicts, but the importance of the principle or policy at stake.

Amy Breihan, co-director of the MacArthur Justice Center’s Missouri office; and Anthony Rothert, director of integrated advocacy at the ACLU of Missouri, for bringing a successful conclusion to a constitutional challenge to public defender wait lists.

Mark Emison of Langdon & Emison, who advocated for allegedly wrongfully convicted inmate Michael Politte.

Kersten Holzhueter of Spencer Fane, who achieved a significant legal victory for a mortgage loan servicer in a case related to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Matthew Jacober, Alana McMullin and Alex Brown of Lathrop GPM; Lindsay Runnels and Kylie Mank of Morgan Pilate; and Tricia Rojo Bushnell, executive director of the Midwest Innocence Project, who won freedom for Lamar Johnson.

Bernie Rhodes of Lathrop GPM, who defended a tiny weekly newspaper in Kansas that was raided by local police.

Sophie Zavaglia of SWMW Law, who won a significant verdict in Wisconsin for a woman who died after alleged childhood asbestos contamination.

Kristin Zurek of Cordell & Cordell, who advocates for men going through divorces, making use of a recent law change setting a rebuttable presumption of equal time with both parents in custody proceedings in Missouri.

Influential Appellate Advocates

Awarded to the lawyers behind the most significant appellate decisions of the year.

David M. Duree of David M. Duree & Associates, who won a notable ruling from the Missouri Supreme Court that shot down a judge’s attempt to hold a circuit clerk in contempt.

Hugh Eastwood, a solo attorney in St. Louis, who won a rare chance to continue a lawsuit against a Missouri state judge who allegedly jailed a man’s children during a disagreement in a custody dispute.

James R. Layton of Tueth Keeney Cooper Mohan Jackstadt, who won a key Missouri Supreme Court ruling that restored a city’s discretion to reject a convenience store development project.

Ryan L. McClelland of the McClelland Law Firm and Matthew Osman of Osman & Smay, whose case in the 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals allows a suit to proceed against a hospital that allegedly underpaid employees by rounding off the amount of time they worked.

Neal Perryman of Lewis Rice, who won a ruling that clears the way for local officials to challenge a judge’s decision to throw out a series of state health regulations.

Heidi Doerhoff Vollet of Cook, Vetter, Doerhoff & Landwehr, who won a ruling that state lawmakers lacked power under the Missouri Constitution to use the budgetary process to strip a department authority to purchase land.

Law Firm Leaders

Awarded to chairpersons, managing partners or other law firm executives who demonstrated extraordinary vision, innovation and leadership during the year.

Joseph Cordell, founding partner of Cordell & Cordell, a nationwide family law firm with a focus on men.

Jessica Merrigan, a partner at Spencer Fane in Kansas City who co-chairs its environment and energy practice groups.

Braden Perry, a founding partner of Kennyhertz Perry, a business and litigation law firm in Kansas City.

Neil S. Sader, founding partner of the Sader Law Firm, a bankruptcy law firm in Kansas City.

Elizabeth Shocklee, managing partner of Evans & Dixon, a St. Louis-based business law firm with offices throughout the Midwest.

Russell Watters of Watters Wolf Bub Hansmann, who leads a large St. Louis defense firm that broke away from Brown & James.

Seth Webb of Brown & Crouppen, who spearheaded the St. Louis-based firm’s mass tort practice.