Attorneys who fought to keep abortion rights on the ballot named Lawyers of the Year

Abortion rights have become one of the defining issues of the decade, and since the Supreme Court overturned Roe V. Wade in 2022, the matter has bounced between the courts and the ballot box as states work to define what this means.

Missouri became one of these battleground states as legal challenges mounted to first place a constitutional amendment allowing the healthcare on the ballot and later to remove it. As one of the most important legal battles in the state this year, Missouri Lawyers Media has named the attorneys who helped successfully retain the amendment on the ballot as the attorneys of the year.

This team included Tori Schafer from the ACLU of Missouri, Chris Grant from Schuchat, Cook & Werner and Charles Hatfield with Stinson. The team set out to prove before trial courts what proponents are required to include in a ballot measure. This came on the heels of challenges from conservative opponents of the amendment who argued it failed to meet initiative petition requirements by clearly stating what laws could be repealed if the measure passed. Hatfield successfully argued before a narrowly divided Missouri Supreme Court and determined that the disqualification of Amendment 3 was unlawful and did not violate the single subject clause. Because of this team of dedicated attorneys, voters in Missouri were given the opportunity to voice their opinions at the ballot box, and they approved the amendment by a 52-48 percent margin.

These attorneys and 23 other lawyers and judges will be honored at the Missouri Lawyers Awards on Feb. 13 from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the Missouri Athletic Club in St. Louis. The other honorees are:

Influential Lawyer

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

Nelson Wolff is a personal injury attorney who has made a name for himself by representing the victims of railroad accidents. Wolff obtained eye-catching verdicts in two railroad accidents this year. One client was awarded $2.75 million by a city of St. Louis jury (exceeding pretrial demand by $1 million) and a $12 million verdict against the Kansas City Southern Railway Company.

John G. Simon, leader of The Simon Law Firm, led his team as the firm obtained a trifecta of nine-figure verdicts over the past year. In June, Simon was part of the team that represented a girl who was raped in a Champaign, Illinois psychiatric facility when she was 13 years old. Simon was able to obtain a $535 million award for the victim.

David Coffman, Booker Shaw and Ben Harner of Thompson Coburn defended Stanley Fastening Systems and successfully argued for a new trial for their client before an Eastern District panel of the Missouri Court of Appeals. They were able to obtain this new trial because of the opposing counsel’s repeated references to Stanley Fastening Systems as a “billion-dollar company” in violation of the trial court’s order in limine prohibiting any argument regarding the company’s financial status. Before the new trial was ordered their client would have had to pay $7.7 million in noneconomic damages to a customer injured by a stapler gun.

Influential Appellate Attorney

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

Barbara Smith Tyson of BCLP submitted an amicus brief on behalf of secretaries of state in the Trump v. Anderson Supreme Court case. The case asked the high court to determine when a presidential candidate should be disqualified from the ballot. The brief called on the court to determine that it is not the secretary of states’ place to disqualify a candidate. Also this year, Smith Tyson successfully led a legal team that reunited a mother and child in a Hague Convention case.

Michael Raupp of Husch Blackwell has developed a “powerhouse appellate practice” in the Midwest. He has obtained notable defense victories for state entities, hospital systems and businesses alike. This past year he successfully defended a state representative securing an 8^th circuit reversal after a judgment in a lower court was entered against him for blocking a constituent on social media.

Jonathan Sternberg of the Sternberg Law Firm always has substantial appellate cases on his plate and last year obtained victories in State ex rel. DKM Enters., LLC v. Lett and Payne v. Nilsson. In 2023, he helped represent former St. Louis Circuit Attorney Kim Gardner against efforts to oust her from office, though she ultimately resigned.

Dave Roland of Freedom Center of Missouri is part of a team of attorneys suing the state over its court record redaction laws. These new rules limit the access of journalists and the public to court records by redacting the names and information of victims and witnesses.

Michael Wolff is a retired Missouri Supreme Court judge who is also on the team leading the redaction lawsuit and recently signed a letter calling on the state’s appeals court to reconsider its ‘Points Relied On’ rule. The redaction lawsuit seeks to invalidate court record redaction rules the Missouri General Assembly approved in 2023. While the state’s highest court has not yet commented on the effort to change its points relied on rules for appellate briefs, Wolff joins dozens of other attorneys calling for a change to what they believe is an arbitrary rule resulting in case dismissals.

Tara Kelly, city attorney for Kansas City, represented Mayor Quinton Lucas’ legal challenge against Secretary of State Jay Ashcroft over voters’ approval of Amendment Four in the 2022 election. This amendment would increase the minimum amount of funding for a police force. Lucas opposed the amendment because it could take decision making authority away from local elected officials.

Jim Layton with Tueth Keeney Cooper Mohan & Jackstadt has a long, impressive history as a top appellate attorney in the state and also represented Lucas in the Ashcroft case before the Missouri Supreme Court. Layton argued that the fiscal summary note was the last thing voters saw before voting “Yes or No” and did not accurately summarize the auditor’s fiscal notes. As a result, the state’s highest court ordered a new election on the measure.

Law Firm Leader

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

John Schultz, partner with Franke Schultz & Mullen, is a leader who mentors young attorneys, cares for his clients and has developed an impressive record of favorable verdicts throughout his career. He recently secured a successful defense for an athletic training center against claims that it failed to prevent coach abuse of a softball player. Schultz also has defended the Agape boarding school amid abuse allegations.

Pat Whalen, chairman of Spencer Fane, has led his firm to a 104 percent revenue increase in 2023 and Spencer Fane was featured as a top 10 MOney firm in the 2024 list. This year he also guided the firm through mergers with firms to expand its presence in the southwest and navigated a structure change to improve culture.

Jim Cantalin, partner and managing attorney of Brown & Crouppen Law Firm, has implemented an oversight program designed to maximize case values through systematic file reviews and aggressive advocacy. As a result of this oversight, the value of individual cases at the firm has increased significantly. Cantalin himself has obtained multiple million-dollar verdicts in his personal injury practice.

Maureen Brady, owner of McShane & Brady along with her co-owner Lucy McShane, has led the firm to becoming one of the most successful women-owned law firms in the state. Their practice is also one of the few women-owned personal injury law firms in Missouri and through Brady’s leadership, has become a leader in HIPAA Law.

Ed Dowd is the name partner of Dowd Bennett and under his leadership, he has drawn the most former officials to his firm. Earlier this year, he led the firm through its merger with a one-attorney firm in Dallas, Texas. In addition to St. Louis and Dallas, the firm now has a presence in Boston, Denver and Chicago.

David Cosgrove, of Cosgrove Law, has his own impressive legal practice and still makes time to help the small firm punch above its weight and remain competitive and revered in St. Louis’ legal market. Cosgrove is currently leading his firm through the age of AI and is investing in large language models and artificial intelligence tools to help streamline compliance monitoring.

Jeffrey Simon leads Husch Blackwell’s Kansas City office and represents Fortune 500 companies in a range of legal matters. Under his leadership, Husch Blackwell has become one of the most innovative firms in the state as one of the first large national law firms to establish a practice group devoted to cannabis. Husch Blackwell’s psychedelics and emerging therapies practice group is another pioneering practice the firm launched this year.

Legal Champion

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

John Hessel is an all-star attorney who formerly served as the Kirkwood City Attorney. In this role, he nearly died during the Kirkwood City Hall massacre but thanks to his nerve, became a hero instead by throwing chairs at the gunman. He is a pillar of his community and as he winds up a long and successful career, he is remembered as a wonderful mentor and determined attorney. Now with Lewis Rice, Hessel focuses on litigation that helps cities and other municipalities.

Katherine Myers, a founding partner of Edelman, Liesen & Myers LLP, continues to advocate for hundreds of clients in her employment law practice, championing their cases of discrimination, harassment and contract disputes. She is a steadfast advocate for the LGBTQ community and is heavily involved in her community.

Ryan Frazier of Monsees & Mayer champions abuse survivors and is representing the plaintiffs in the Agape Boarding School case. Dozens of lawsuits have been filed against the school in recent years by former students of the boarding school for child abuse. The school closed in May.

Sean O’Brien, a distinguished teaching professor at UMKC’s law school, is one of the attorneys who helped to free Sandra Hemme, who was the longest-held wrongfully incarcerated woman in the country. Also on the team were two attorneys from the Innocence Project who are not based in Missouri. Hemme spent 43 years in prison for a murder she did not commit and she is now 64 years old.