Zachary L. Hammerman, 31

Firm: Greensfelder, Hemker & Gale

Location: St. Louis

Law school: Stanford University

Hometown: University City

Achievements include:  Hammerman has been instrumental in building one of St. Louis’ only technology transaction practice groups. He has contributed significantly to the growth of Greensfelder’s Technology Transactions Practice Group by more than 500 percent in recent years.

All-time favorite Supreme Court justice? Chief Justice Earl Warren

Favorite writers?  Italo Calvino, Georges Perec, Silas Flannery. My wife and I named our son Calvino (Cal for short) in reference to this master of 20th century Italian prose, whose “If on a winter’s night a traveler” remains one of our favorite reads.

Your most useful law school course?  The Negotiation and Advanced Negotiation Series, which allowed me to pit my principled negotiation approach against a variety of classmates’ styles, and confirm that successful results can be achieved for clients without smoke and mirrors, sleight of hand, or other tactics of dubious value.

Favorite fictional hero?  Bartleby the Scrivener

Your greatest fear?  Becoming Bartleby the Scrivener

Your favorite moment as a lawyer so far? 
My favorite moment as an attorney remains one of my early pro bono efforts. In coordination with Legal Aid, I provided counsel to an elderly composer of traditional Mexican folk songs. We recovered the copyrights from a defunct record company, then arranged for the recording and production of the music using mostly volunteer talent. I’ll never forget the look on the client’s face when the first copy of his CD arrived in the mail. It remains one of my favorite CDs in my record collection, as well.