In the spirit of celebrating Black History Month, the BAMSL Minorities in the Legal Profession (MILP) Committee together with the LGBTQ+ Committee will host the annual Legal Pioneers installation ceremony virtually to recognize our 2020 honorees who have exemplified a commitment to diversity and service within the legal community.

The 2020 Legal Pioneers honorees, whose induction was delayed due to the pandemic, are Judge Lawrence E. Mooney (Ret.), the first known openly gay judge to serve on the Eastern District of the Missouri Court of Appeals, and Judge Kathy A. Surratt-States, the first Black Chief Judge for the U.S. Bankruptcy Court, Eastern District of Missouri.

In conjunction with the award ceremony, both judges also will be panelists for a lively discussion approved for one hour of MCLE credit on cultural competency. The event will be held 4:30-6 p.m. on Wed., Feb. 24. Please visit www.bamsl.org/events for more details.

BAMSL members donated money and their time to assist with the Urban League of Metropolitan St. Louis in support of its Clean Sweep and Large-Scale Food, Toiletries and PPE Distribution event on Martin Luther King, Jr., Day - Mon., Jan. 18. The drive-through event served 3,500 families in the St. Louis region.

To view more photos from the event, please visit www.bamsl.org/Photos.

BAMSL collected $23,700 to donate to the Urban League yesterday. Thank you to the following for their contributions:

Armstrong Teasdale LLP
Dowd Bennett LLP
Husch Blackwell LLP
Lashly & Baer, P.C.
The Simon Law Firm, P.C.
Sarah Bardol
Michael Gunn
Jack Hilton
Diane and Michael Marshall
Hon. Richard Webber

The BAMSL Well-Being Committee during January and February is focused on emotional well-being and has two upcoming CLEs to promote emotional well-being. 
 
The first is a free CLE, "Attorney Emotional Health: Building Resiliency, Increasing Capacity and Creating More Ease in your Life," at noon on Fri., Jan 22. Please register here, and pass it along to your colleagues, friends and contacts.

Join fellow BAMSL members for an end-of-the-week stress reliever from 4:30-5:15 p.m. on Thurs., Feb. 18. Tune in to watch St. Louis attorney Christian Misner transform into "Christian the Magician." Misner is a professional magician best known as the house magician at the world-famous City Museum since 2005. Join Misner for magic that will blow your mind and make you wonder, "how'd he do that?!" Please register here.

The Well-Being Committee also reminds you to make your 2021 wish on the postcard you should have received via USPS. Check out the blog post regarding wishes here.

How can we help you support your emotional well-being? Post questions or comments anonymously, email Dan Barnett at BAMSL at dbarnett@bamsl.org, or Well-Being Committee Chair, Amy Rebecca Johnson at ajohnson@pcblawfirm.com. 

Resources are always available at www.bamsl.org/WellBeing.

Although the future of in-person events remains in constant uncertainty, BAMSL is still planning its regular events for the next few months. We hope to be able to do all or most of them in person, but will pivot to virtual or hybrid as needed. We appreciate the support of our sponsors each year to help present the events. Here is what we have planned so far.

Feb. 25 

February is Member Appreciation Month and we will wrap up the month with a hybrid in-person/virtual Member Appreciation event at the Schlafly Tap Room in downtown St. Louis. The event is free to BAMSL members but sponsors are appreciated. Visit www.bamsl.org/MemberAppreciation2021 for updated information.

March 4 

Judicial Retirement Dinner - www.bamsl.org/JudicialRetirementDinner2021

April 9 

Saint Louis Bar Foundation Spirit of Justice Awards Celebration - www.bamsl.org/SpiritofJustice2021

April 30 

Law Day - www.bamsl.org/LawDay2021

June 2-4 

Bench & Bar Conference - www.bamsl.org/BenchBar2021

June 14 

Golf Tournament - www.bamsl.org/GolfOuting2021

For more information about sponsorship opportunities in 2021, please email Susan McCourt Baltz at sbaltz@bamsl.org.

Election Filing Now Open, Deadline is Jan. 31

The BAMSL Nominating Committee has recommended the following slate of candidates for the 2021-22 bar year:

President-Elect – Anne Marie Brockland
Vice President – Kendra Howard
Secretary – Untress “Trez” Quinn
Treasurer – Kevin Gunn
ABA Delegate – Lynn Ann Vogel

President-Elect Robert Tomaso will assume the BAMSL Presidency on May 1, 2021

Nominations will be accepted for the following Board of Governors positions:

• President-Elect
• Vice President
• Treasurer
• Secretary
• ABA Delegate
• Member-at-Large (five openings)

Nominations will be accepted for the following Young Lawyers Division positions:

• Chair-Elect
• Vice Chair
• Treasurer
• Secretary
• Member-at-Large (two openings)

The 2021-22 Election schedule is as follows:

• Jan. 10, 2021 Board and YLD election petition filing period opens at 8:30 a.m. 
• Jan. 31, 2021 Board and YLD election petition filing period closes at 5 p.m.
• March 2, 2021 Board and YLD election ballots delivered to members and online voting opens at 9 a.m.
• March 16, 2021 Voting closes and all ballots due at 5 p.m.
• March 31, 2021 Election results to be announced on or before March 31

For more information, please visit www.bamsl.org/Elections.

BAMSL once against hosts its Member Appreciation Month in February. What better way to show our love and appreciation for our BAMSL members than during the month of love?

• Please watch the Tuesday afternoon Legal Pulse e-newsletters and our Web site for updates.
• Plan to attend, virtually or in-person our Member Appreciation Hybrid Reception, presented by the Membership Committee, on Thurs., Feb. 25 at Schlafly Tap Room in downtown St. Louis or via Zoom.
• Like and watch our social media platforms – LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter and Instagram – for special posts about BAMSL Member Appreciation.
• Also, we are conducting a contest during February, March and April. If you update your BAMSL membership information via your profile on the BAMSL Web site, you will be entered to win a $10 Amazon Gift Card. One winner per month in a random drawing, to be selected on the first day of the next month.

Upcoming CLE Opportunities

Reminder that announcements about upcoming CLEs are now condensed into one weekly e-mail arriving every Thursday in your inbox. The weekly emails will list all upcoming CLEs with a link for more information and to register for each one.

Please visit http://events.bamsl.org for all BAMSL events, details and registration information.

BAMSL's Legal Placement Service

Multiple Paralegal Openings

BAMSL’s Placement Director is currently assisting multiple St. Louis area law firms with their paralegal recruiting. If you know a paralegal or nurse paralegal with experience in one of the following practice areas, please send them our way: real estate, workers’ compensation, corporate law, complex commercial litigation, medical malpractice, insurance defense litigation, plaintiff asbestos litigation, products liability, pharmaceutical litigation, personal injury, estate planning/probate, and trust administration. Interested candidates should e-mail their resume directly to jmacke@bamsl.org for confidential review.

St. Louis Lawyer Magazine

Announcing New Partners? Let us help you.

As a member of BAMSL, you are invited to use the monthly St. Louis Lawyer magazine to reach your friends and colleagues in the St. Louis legal community.

Display advertisements are the ideal way to spread the word about your firm’s activities, e.g., announcing new partners, opening of new offices, special awards and accomplishments, mergers, addition of new associates, potential co-counsel opportunities, In Memoriam ads, etc.

For rate information and to reserve your ad space, please contact Jennifer Macke at jmacke@bamsl.org. The ad deadline for the upcoming March issue is 9 a.m. on Thurs., Feb. 18.

The ad deadline for the issue is 9 a.m. on Fri., Jan. 15. Please note the deadline is one business day early due to BAMSL’s observance of MLK Day.

St. Louis Bar Journal

Attention ADR Professionals: Advertising Opportunity 

BAMSL is now selling advertising space for its upcoming Spring 2021 St. Louis Bar Journal. The issue is devoted to the topic of Alternative Dispute Resolution. For rate information and to reserve your ad space, please contact Jennifer Macke at jmacke@bamsl.org. Ad deadline is 9 a.m. on Mon., March 1. As of this writing, two premium full-page, full-color cover spots are still available.