2025 In-House Counsel Awards: Publisher’s letter, honorees

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Missouri Lawyers Media has been honoring excellence in law for decades. Eight years ago, we expanded our range of honor events to recognize and celebrate top in-house lawyering throughout our state.

That first event in 2017 over-delivered on its promise to spotlight those who consistently excel in the legal departments of some of Missouri’s most significant businesses and organizations. And while it might be natural to worry that subsequent performances would never reach the same high, we weren’t.  We knew we had only scratched the surface of remarkable depth of legal talent serving these businesses.

As predicted, our 2025 group of honorees stands just as tall.

On these pages, you find the stories of men and women who partner and lead with CEOs across a spectrum of businesses and organizations — public to private, large to small, emerging to maturing.

They are strategists. Collaborators. Problem-solvers.  Innovators. They are uncomfortable with ambiguity and navigate a company to excel in efficiency and execution. They are often courageous in their recommendation and guidance during turbulent times.

Parsing the broad business of law into precise practice areas is an evolving need for firms. Legal specialists must become laser-focused in meeting current needs of their many clients. But it’s the generalist who best suits the in-house counsel role for the single client. That attorney has a seat at the boardroom with a stake in the overall and long-term success of the company.

So in selecting the honorees for the In-House Counsel Awards, we look not only at expertise in the legal profession, but the commitment and impact these attorneys have made within their companies. They understand and demonstrate a unique blend as counselor and business strategist as they help to guide their companies’ vision.

Please take the time to read the profiles of all of our 2025 honorees. While their companies and work may vary, they share a common excellence in their profession.

For that, we salute them.

Sincerely,

Susan A. Bocamazo, Esq., Sr. Group Publisher

View and buy photos from the 2025 event