Missouri Lawyers Media has been honoring excellence in law for decades.  Six 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 2022 group of honorees stands just as tall.

On these pages, you find the stories of 20 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 2022 honorees. While their companies and work may vary, they share a common excellence in their profession.

For that, we salute them.

— Liz Irwin, publisher

Click here to see the digital edition and past honorees.

2022 honorees:

Lifetime Achievement

Lisa Green, Chief Legal Officer, HOK Group, Inc

Health care organization

Sara Ivarra Juarez, Director of Legal & Risk, Mosaic Health System

Jennifer A. Kozinn, Vice President and General Counsel, North Kansas City Hospital

David L. McCune, Vice President, Legal Services, Physician Strategy, BJC HealthCare

Jan Murray, Senior Vice President, Chief Legal Officer and Secretary, Saint Luke’s Health System

Nonprofit or government organization

Dwayne A. Fulk, Vice President-Chief Legal Officer, City Utilities of Springfield

Brian T. Rabineau, General Counsel, Port KC

Private company with annual revenues over $500M

Robyn Buck, Senior assistant general counsel, Bayer

Joel Christensen, Senior Assistant General Counsel, Claims, ARCO Construction Company

Erica Glanz, Senior Counsel – Employment; Senior Director – Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion, Bunzl Distribution North America

Private company with annual revenues up to $500M

John Schierholz, Vice President, General Counsel & Secretary, Duke Manufacturing

Public company

Randy Canis, Chief Patent Counsel, Cigna

Noah Garcia, Senior Corporate Counsel | Labor/Employment, Information Governance, The Kansas City Southern Railway Company

Justin Relihan, Vice President Legal Services, Nidec Motor Holdings Corporation (Americas)

Joel Samson, Vice President Legal Affairs, Centene

Scott Thein, Deputy General Counsel, StoneX Group

Greg Wolf, General Counsel, Maxus Properties

Rising star

Alicia Baumhoer, Associate General Counsel, Associated Electric Cooperative, Inc.

Carly Duvall, Assistant General Counsel, TreviPay

Lindsay Grise, Associate Counsel, Burns & McDonnell

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