BAMSL members had a fabulous time at this year’s annual Rendezvous on the Roof event, which was held on the 28th floor of the Thomas EagletonUnited States Courthouse with a spectacular view of the Gateway Arch, the Old Courthouse and Busch Stadium/Ballpark Village. A special thank you to the courthouse’s very own Betty Ann Skrien for her assistance in putting the event together and to Hon. E. Richard Webber for opening the en banc courtroom briefly for tours and photos.

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Did your firm host an intern from the St. Louis Internship Program (SLIP) intern this summer? Many BAMSL members did, as did BAMSL.  

Oghenemega “Mega” Emeje, a 16-year-old honor roll student at Innovation School of Cool Valley, spent eight weeks this summer as an intern in the BAMSL offices. Mega’s activities included putting together packets for the annual Motion for Kids Holiday Party and attending BAMSL events to meet our members (including the Rendezvous on the Roof and the Summer Associates courthouse tour and luncheon). 

She also spent time learning about digital marketing techniques and understanding how a business is run. She initiated a project to interview each BAMSL staff member to learn more about their education, career paths and roles in the organization. At the end of her internship, she did a 20-minute presentation for the staff sharing what she learned from each staff member and what she learned in order to achieve her goals and one day open her own business.  

Mega and the BAMSL staff also invited SLIP interns who were interning at St. Louis area law firms for a pizza and cookie lunch party at the BAMSL Bar Center during their last weeks of the internship. The interns and their supervisors shared their experiences, what they learned and where they are headed. 

BAMSL also was surprised to receive one of the Capture the Vision Awards during SLIP’s 30th Anniversary Celebration on Aug. 17 at 18 Rails at the City Foundry. BAMSL Assistant Executive Director, Marketing and Membership, Susan Sagarra and BAMSL Executive Assistant Rebecca Hedrick accepted the award having served as supervisors of the summer intern program. 

Thomas C. Hullverson had the idea to start an internship program and called then-BAMSL President Mark Levison on the first day of his presidency (May 1, 1992) to get the program started for interns in the legal field. The inaugural class in 1992 had 52 interns by June 15. The program now includes numerous other career fields, including the medical community, law enforcement, accounting and other industries. 

SLIP alum Shanise Johnson serves as executive director of the program. In 2020, SLIP merged with the Boys and Girls Clubs of Greater St. Louis. The 30th Anniversary Party celebrated providing paid summer internships to more than 4,200 interns since the program started.    

SLIP’s goal is to provide hope and opportunity for high school students in financial need through paid summer internships, intensive work readiness training, and year-round college and career planning, in partnership with businesses and community organizations, and to build the St. Louis community by developing motivated, well-trained, and talented future employees. 

Since 1992, 98 percent of SLIP interns have successfully acquired work readiness skills, graduated high school, and pursued postsecondary education and professional careers. The 8-week paid summer internships are preceded by a guided application process and rigorous work readiness training and followed by year-round college access activities. An intensive guided application process develops skills needed for college and job applications. In 10 required Saturday training sessions prior to the internships, students set personal career goals and develop job seeking, work readiness, and practical office skills. Year-round college prep and career planning activities help interns access post-secondary education. Ongoing SLIP networks of peers and professionals provide support, role models, and networks for future jobs.

I would like to address the issues of best practices for family lawyers: the value of persistence, the value of preparation, and considering all avenues to achieve a good result for your client.  

Recently we represented a client in a case that took more than 18 months to be resolved. We had many hearings, unreasonable delays, and at times felt as if the case would never be concluded. When we did not get the result we wanted, even though we had the law to support our position, we sought a re-hearing. We filed a petition for third-party custody. Our motion for re-hearing was granted. We floated settlement offers to opposing counsel that were rejected. We had an unsuccessful mediation. We prepared zealously for the next hearing; opposing counsel finally responded with a counteroffer, very closely aligned with our goals. We never stopped trying to come up with a better strategy. It worked. 

More cases are resolved by creative settlement negotiations than by trials. The law and its statutory requirements rarely provide a solution to the unique circumstances of a matter.  

Particularly in family law.  

A common mistake lawyers make is to try to settle a case at the onset of their representation without the requisite knowledge to address the client’s needs, rather than approaching it as a venture concurrent with trial preparation.  

Being prepared to try a case is usually the best way to achieve a good settlement. 

Proceeding with thorough discovery, both informal and formal, is the surest way to assess a reasonable resolution.  

This can be a hard concept to translate to clients, as it is often a costly and lengthy process.  

Of course, there are alternatives, and mediation is one of them. Mediation requires the same meticulous and transparent gathering of information, but you can get an appointment with a mediator more expeditiously than a trial setting.  

An experienced mediator can act as an agent of reality by raising issues that make parties ask themselves if they really want to risk their chances with a “day” in court. Sometimes mediation fails simply because the emotions of a family situation are so heightened that reasoning becomes impossible. Old grudges, hurts, betrayal, dishonesty, all are hard to come to terms with when the wounds are too fresh. So the timing of when to explore mediation is critical. 

Collaborative law gives the parties a unique forum to be present with counsel to try to amicably resolve the matter. Akin to mediation, it also involves mental health and financial professionals and is committed to a group approach to complex issues. 

Most recently in St. Louis County, judges with experience in family law are working with families to resolve cases not on their docket. Bringing in a fresh viewpoint has been helpful in dealing with high-conflict cases where parties greatly benefit from hearing ideas from someone with judicial gravitas. 

Utilizing community resources, such as individual counseling for your client, can also be important. Lawyers are often good listeners, but we are not trained with the same skill set as a therapist or counselor. It is always important to know what we are not best at doing. 

Cases involving grandparents who are being denied time with their grandchildren present great and unique challenges. There is a grandparents’ visitation statute, a third-party custody and visitation statute, and even a statute to petition a court to order mediation between the parents and grandparents. 

There is also the opportunity to intervene in existing dissolution of marriage cases. 

Each option should be explored, including an informal request for mediation to the opposing party before they retain counsel.  

It is usually a mistake to file a pleading as your first launch. Taking your adult children to court may send a harsher message than is necessary and may be the death knell to your relationship with them and your grandchildren. 

The biggest mistake we can make is to encourage our clients to pursue strategies not likely to end up with a good result. If we do, we surely need to lay out our reasoning for their consideration of another approach, in writing.  

We will all make mistakes. That is why they call it the “practice” of law. Let’s learn from those as well as from our successes.  

After a two-year hiatus due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the annual BAMSL Motion for Kids holiday party is expected to be back in person this December. 

For more than 20 years, the Saint Louis Bar Foundation and BAMSL have hosted an annual holiday party for children in the St. Louis community who are currently in foster care or affected by the criminal justice system. Each year, thousands of children, with their families and caregivers, gather to celebrate the holidays complete with games, arts and crafts, visits with Santa, live entertainment, refreshments, and even a book corner to cozy up and read.  

After they have made their rounds to each station and posed for a picture with Santa (or Louie from the St. Louis Blues or Fredbird from the St. Louis Cardinals), the children make their way to the gift room to pick up a gift carefully chosen for them by a sponsor in the St. Louis legal community.  

Gracious volunteers donate hours of their time in the months leading up to the event, planning and organizing, in order to accommodate as many children as possible for an unforgettable event. Fundraisers are held in the months leading to the event, to raise money to ensure each element of the party is seamlessly executed. On the day of the event, volunteers from all over the St. Louis metropolitan area give their time to help spread the holiday cheer.  

As with so many events and activities for the past two years, an indoor gathering was not a feasible option. Not to be deterred, the Motion for Kids committee and BAMSL staff got creative in order to safely execute some version of the event in 2020 and 2021. The surge of Covid-19 rates in December of 2020 and implementation of stay-at-home orders put BAMSL in an extremely tough position and although plans had been made for a modified, COVID-conscious drive-through event, the difficult decision was made to cancel. Despite the inability to provide the entire Motion for Kids experience for the children, volunteers persevered to still bring one aspect of the party to them – the gifts – with a modified drive-through at the BAMSL office.  

A highlight for every child around the holidays, receiving their gift at the end of the party seems to be one of children’s favorite aspects of the event. Volunteers worked closely with agency partners to facilitate the gift purchasing and distribution, ultimately giving gifts or gift cards to 1,543 children in 2020.  

The Motion for Kids 2021 event gave a glimpse into Motion for Kids past with a carefully crafted and COVID-cautious drive-through event. Hundreds of cars filled with children, family, friends and caregivers, drove through the parking lot of the St. Louis Fire Department headquarters past Santa and Mrs. Clause, while volunteers handed out arts/crafts, books, refreshments, and, of course, a specially selected gift from their wish list.  

While BAMSL would have preferred to host the enormous party like they had in the past, the drive-through event was the next best thing.  

Despite all of the roadblocks and barriers presented by COVID-19, the dedicated BAMSL staff and volunteers have overcome them all to bring the joy of the holiday season to these children the past two years.  

After such a difficult couple of years, we are delighted with the prospect to be back in person, hosting the event as we have in years past while adhering to health guidelines to keep our volunteers and guests safe. The Motion for Kids 2022 party will be one to remember as we gather again to bring joy to the children in our community who might not otherwise be able to celebrate the holiday season.   

Join us in celebrating the most wonderful time of the year. Stay tuned to BAMSL’s social media channels, the weekly Legal Pulse e-newsletter and special announcements about all the details - including the date, venue, purchasing gifts and volunteering - as plans are finalized in the next couple of weeks. 

 

Edward Jones 

Courageous Conversations Program 

 

Saint Louis Bar Foundation President Kerry Feld Wofford nominated Edward Jones for its Courageous Conversations program on race and social justice. The program began in 2017 and it has contributed more than $26 million to support 259 organizations. 

Wofford wrote that Edward Jones has been an exemplary partner for justice and social services organizations in the St. Louis area as well as making those initiatives a focus in their internal operations.  

When Edward Jones implemented the Courageous Conversations program, it drew thousands of Edward Jones participants. The dialogue has been so impactful that, in 2020, Edward Jones began convening virtual community-based Courageous Conversations to build empathy and common understanding of what must be done to build inclusive economic growth. 

Further, Wofford said Edward Jones commits to supporting organizations and efforts that are important to their clients, associates and communities – including a $1 million investment in the National Urban League, which has 90 affiliates in 37 states serving 300 communities; and a $200,000 contribution to its St. Louis affiliate toward economic empowerment programs, such as Save Our Sons, established after the civil strife in Ferguson in 2014. 

Edward Jones has contributed more than $26 million through the corporation, Edward Jones Foundation and associate philanthropic support to 259 organizations, including the St. Louis Anchor Action Network (STLAAN). STLAAN brings together institutions, companies and community partners to develop and implement successful wealth-building strategies to address long-standing patterns of inequity in our region.  

Core to the network is the belief that we can achieve more working together. Community stakeholders and institutional leaders work together, learn from one another and implement impactful strategies designed to increase employment, career development and minority supplier spending in St. Louis. The goal of the intentional investments made together is to create benefits that will elevate whole communities and ultimately build a stronger and more equitable St. Louis region. 

According to Edward Jones, the company has a strong commitment to inclusion, diversity and equity. “At Edward Jones, our commitment to inclusion and diversity transcends platitudes and promises. We know progress depends on the hard work and everyday actions all of us take as we work together toward true equity. Building a truly equitable culture starts with each one of us. And we're prepared to do the work.”  

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 Left Bank Books Foundation 

Literacy & Justice Project  

 

Saint Louis Bar Foundation Board Member Marty Perron nominated the Left Bank Books Foundation for its efforts to ensure recently banned books reach the hands of those who truly want to read the books. 

Left Bank Books owner Kris Kleindienst will be accepting the award for the bookstore’s Literacy & Justice Project. The initiative started in response to public schools and other venues banning books. The project offers free copies of selected banned books for people, especially young people, who want to read them. 
  
Literacy & Justice Project is the Left Bank Books Foundation’s newest project. For the first initiative, the Foundation is offering free copies of selected banned books to individuals who cannot otherwise read the books.  

According to the American Library Association, a reported 273 books were the subject of attempted censorship in 2020, the majority of which focused on issues of race, gender, and sexuality.  

In January 2022, the Wentzville School District removed copies of The Bluest Eye, the debut novel by Nobel Laureate Toni Morrison, from its school libraries, along with three memoirs: All Boys Aren’t Blue, Heavy and Fun Home.  

In Tennessee, a school board pulled Maus, the Pulitzer Prize-winning graphic cat-and-mouse retelling of the Holocaust, from the school curriculum.  

According to Left Bank Books, “race, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, ethnicity, religion and even history apparently are taboo subjects in the eyes of an extreme minority. While the efforts to resist the rightward turn away from the democratic principle of free expression are multi-faceted and ongoing, we thought we would try to make a difference in real time for folks who lack access to the material being challenged.”  

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Greg Linhares 

Clerk of Court for the Eastern District of Missouri at Thomas F. Eagleton U.S. Courthouse 

& 

Dana McWay 

Clerk of Court for the U.S. Bankruptcy Court at the Thomas F. Eagleton U.S. Courthouse 

 

Saint Louis Bar Foundation Immediate Past President Jenny Schwendemann nominated Linhares and McWay to receive the Spirit of Justice Award for their commitment to the court. 

“Greg has been with the court for several years and during his tenure, the court has expanded its reach to the public via education trainings and providing pro bono legal services,” Schwendemann said. “Greg and Dana oversaw and implemented, with BAMSL as a partner, both the Bankruptcy Pro Se Assistance Program Clinic and the Federal Court Legal Advice Clinic. Additionally, the Judicial Learning Center reaches hundreds of students and teachers each year.” 

Linhares spearheads the Federal Practice Committee, which has worked with the judges to create new court rules or revise outdated rules that lead to more efficiency and clarity for federal practitioners. 

Linhares joined the court in 2014. The Clerk of Court reports to the Chief Judge and is responsible for managing the operational and administrative functions of the Court. He previously served as the Missouri State Courts Administrator, a position he had held since 2008. Following his graduation from law school, he worked as a staff attorney for the Missouri Joint Committee on Legislative Research, then as a legislative analyst for the Missouri House of Representatives and later chief of staff and counsel to the House Majority Floor Leader. He served as commission counsel and legislative liaison for the Missouri Supreme Court from 2002 until 2008. Linhares has also served as a Captain in the U.S. Army Reserve Judge Advocate General's (JAG) Corps, 3rd Infantry Division and 8th Legal Support Organization.  

McWay has served as Clerk of Court for the U.S. Bankruptcy Court since August of 1998. She is responsible for managing all non-judicial functions of the court, including operations, finance and budget, information technology, facilities, and personnel management, and serve as liaison to members of the Bar. She also is an adjunct professor at Saint Louis University School of Law. After law school, she clerked for Hon. Myron H. Bright, U.S. Senior Circuit Judge, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit. 

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 Zoe Lyle Linza 

Retired BAMSL Executive Director 

 

BAMSL Past President and current ABA Delegate Lynn Ann Vogel nominated Linza for a special award, the Lifetime Contribution Spirit of Justice Award. Linza is most recently known for her 14 years as Executive Director of BAMSL. 

“All of the work and accomplishments in that role would be more than sufficient to earn her this award,” Vogel said. “But if you look at her history, her entire career has been in support of the public and the Rule of Law.” 

Linza first served the people working in the Missouri Department of Revenue in Jefferson City. After that role, she became the Executive Director of the Missouri Optometric Association, where one of her chief functions was to lobby. 

“As a lobbyist, she was intricately involved with shaping laws on a daily basis, so before she was ever directly involved with lawyers, she was already involved in serving the law by making certain the right laws were passed,” Vogel said.  

She came to St. Louis to work for the U.S. District Court, Eastern District, another job serving the public and directly involved in the legal world. 

When she accepted the position as Executive Director of BAMSL in 2006, she also assumed the role as Executive Director of the Saint Louis Bar Foundation.  

“I am fairly certain that part of the job was not clearly presented during the interview process,” Vogel said. “Not many will ever know how much she steered our Bar and our Foundation, and she did it all with a passion for doing the right thing to help as many people as possible.” 

Vogel further stated Linza was a beacon of light and energy, reigniting and uniting everyone in BAMSL.  

“When Zoe accepted the position, we had an opportunity to grow from the talents of someone not familiar with the old systems and customs, who could regenerate the full spectrum of the good that we had to offer each other and the community, and to help us grow into the technology era,” Vogel said. “It was the dawn of many fast-moving changes in the profession and in society dealing with Baby Boomers, who were comfortable with the way things were, but were becoming outnumbered by the Gen X and now the Gen Y, who wanted and needed an organization that could keep up with the changes in the profession.  

“With her faithful belief in ‘good, right and true wins in the end,’ Zoe has masterfully navigated and directed BAMSL through the much-needed changes, which incidentally led to the largest growth in membership in decades. Her efforts were not only noticed by her membership, but her national peers in NABE (National Association of Executives) recognized her efforts by awarding her the coveted Bolton Award, which is presented every other year to a bar executive who epitomizes the highest standard of professional excellence.” 

Vogel further stated that “Zoe showed us how to change, how to be more mindful of our community at large and mostly, to remember to serve. I believe she is the beacon of the Spirit of Justice … as a citizen who has given so much of her time and talent.” 

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See Previous Winners

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Register for the Event

BAMSL's Well-Being Committee has formed a team for the 2022 St. Louis BizDash, scheduled for Thurs., Sept. 22 at the new St. Louis City SC Centene Stadium. Registration is $45 per person. Visit stlbizdash.com for more information. Join BAMSL's team at bamsl.org/bizdash.

BAMSL also is sponsoring a team at the 15th annual Out of the Darkness Suicide Prevention Walk from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Sun., Sept. 25 at Creve Coeur Lake Park - Tremayne Pavilion. Registration starts at 9 a.m. Walk at your leisure, but must start walking by 2 p.m. to complete the route on time. Register here: bamsl.org/ootd.

The Out of the Darkness Community Walk is a journey of remembrance, hope and support. It unites our communities and provides an opportunity to acknowledge the ways in which suicide and mental health conditions have affected our lives and the lives of those we love and care about.

If you are seeking support and/or resources, please visit afsp.org/get-help and afsp.org/resources. If you are experiencing a mental health crisis or thinking about suicide, please call 988 or visit 988lifeline.org.

Additionally, the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention (AFSP) is now a sponsor of the BAMSL Well-Being Committee.

AFSP is dedicated to saving lives and bringing hope to those affected by suicide, including those who have experienced a loss. AFSP creates a culture that is smart about mental health through public education and community programs, develops suicide prevention through research and advocacy, and provides support for those affected by suicide.

Learn more about the AFSP Missouri chapter and its events and programs at afsp.org/chapter/missouri.

Democracy world-wide is in a state of recession according to the Democracy Index.¹   

“The Democracy Index is based on five categories: electoral process and pluralism, the functioning of government, political participation, political culture, and civil liberties.”   

In 2020, the Democracy Index reported that almost 70 percent of countries had reduced democratic scores. The United States was demoted to a “flawed” democracy in 2015 and has not since recovered (23 countries² are listed as “full” democracies).  

Here is what the report had to say about the United States: 

US democracy under pressure from rising polarization and declining social cohesion 

The US’s performance across several indicators changed in 2020, both for better and worse. However, the negatives outweighed the positives, and the US retained its “flawed democracy” status. Increased political participation was the main positive … The negatives include extremely low levels of trust in institutions and political parties, deep dysfunction in the functioning of government, increasing threats to freedom of expression, and a degree of societal polarization that makes consensus almost impossible to achieve. Social cohesion has collapsed, and consensus has evaporated on fundamental issues – even the date of the country’s founding.³   

We will tackle polarization and dwindling public trust in the system, and what we can do about it as lawyers, later in the year. For now, the best place to start is, well, the start. The singular question that has plagued me in my mission to discover what lawyers should be doing to support the Constitution is how are lawyers supposed to collectively support the Constitution when we are also tasked with disputing each other in Court as to how that very same Constitution should be interpreted? Are there fundamental Constitutional principles with which all lawyers should agree? It is the essential question that must be answered before we can move forward in our quest to ascertain what we can do to uphold our oath to support the Constitution. And it will be the topic of our next speaker series.  

I hope you will all join me at 4 p.m. on Mon., Sept. 19 to listen to one of my favorite law school professors, Prof. Joel Goldstein, who has agreed to come out of his much-deserved retirement to speak to us on this topic. It is truly an honor to have him speak to us, and I look forward to seeing you all there and chatting with you afterward at the happy hour. 

Register Now

Also, I wanted to give a shout-out to BAMSL’s Pro Bono Committee and St. Louis Attorneys Against Hunger Committee. Both have been working diligently to support our community, which is especially needed given the recent floods. Not only is giving back to the community the right thing to do, but it also helps to build trust in our system of government (a key to helping to support our Constitution! See what I did there?). Our St. Louis Attorneys Against Hunger Committee is seeking 100 volunteers as part of the 9/11 Day of Service to pack food for the St. Louis Area Foodbank and the Outreach Program. Please visit our website to sign up. 

See you all at the next BAMSL event. 

¹https://www.eiu.com/n/campaigns/democracy-index-2021/
²Norway, Iceland, Sweden, New Zealand, Canada, Finland, Denmark, Ireland, Australia, Netherlands, Taiwan, Switzerland, Luxembourg, Germany, Uruguay, United Kingdom, Chile, Austria, Costa Rica, Mauritius, Japan, Spain, South Korea.
³Democracy Index 2020, In Sickness and in Health? The Economist Intelligence Unit, p. 6-7.

Freedom Suits Memorial Dedicated on June 20 
The Freedom Suits Memorial, a sculpture honoring more than 300 courageous slave plaintiffs who sued for their freedom in the decades leading up to the Civil War, was unveiled on the eastern plaza of the Civil Courts Building in downtown St. Louis on June 20. BAMSL members Hon. David Mason and Paul Venker, who leads the Freedom Suits Memorial Steering Committee, were instrumental in making this decade-long project a reality. To learn more and to donate, please visit www.bamsl.org/FreedomSuits. 
 

@stlmetrobar It was so exciting to finally see the freedom suits memorial unveiled on Monday after so many years of hard work. #juneteenth #freedomsuits #stlouis ♬ original sound - BAMSL

 
BAMSL BRIEFS 
 
Young Lawyers Division Leaders 
Lauren Collins’ name and title of Immediate Past Chair was inadvertently left off the list of YLD Executive Committee for the 2022-23 bar year in the May-June 2022 issue of the St. Louis Lawyer magazine. Additionally, Jonathan Doss, Michael Figenshau, Katesha Long and Katherine Murchison have been named YLD Members-at-Large. Rene Morency and Aaron Ranking continue to serve as YLD’s ABA Delegates. 
 
The YLD Committee Chairs are: 
Bench & Bar Committee – Sarah Bardol and Vince Taormina 
Bridging the Gap Committee – Erin Pfirrman 
Committee Addressing Racial Equity in St. Louis (YLD CARES) – Theodore Hughes  
Communications Committee - Katie Ricks  
Community Service Committee – Mark Ohlms and Abby Twenter 
Continuing Legal Education (CLE) Committee – Mary Simon 
Membership Committee – Tamar Hodges  
Mentorship Committee – Ryan Krupp 
Nominating Committee – Courtney Chen 
Pro Bono Committee – Brittney Shaw 
Read Across America – Onalee Yousey 
Social Event Committee – Katie Doherty 
St. Louis Bar Foundation/Motion for Kids Committee – Courtney Green 
Trivia Night Committee (benefiting Motion for Kids) - TBD 
 
 
Did you Know? BAMSL Now has an App for That! 
Introducing BAMSL's new app - with easy access to register for BAMSL events and CLEs as well as a simple way to connect with colleagues straight from your phone. Visit www.bamsl.org/app to download the app today. 
 
 
Join BAMSL at the St. Louis BizDash 
BAMSL's Well-Being Committee has formed a team for the 2022 St. Louis BizDash, scheduled for Thurs., Sept. 22 at the new St. Louis City SC Centene Stadium. Registration is $45 per person. Visit www.stlbizdash.com for more information. Join BAMSL's team at www.bamsl.org/bizdash. 
 
 
 
Fee Waived: Join BAMSL's Lawyer Referral Directory 
BAMSL’s attorney members are invited to join the St. Louis Lawyer Search with no fee to join. St. Louis Lawyer Search is a free online lawyer directory provided by BAMSL for the public. BAMSL’s attorneys may provide their legal services with their regular fee schedule but also have the opportunity to provide some services pro bono. 
 
Join the directory for free by completing the form at  www.bamsl.org/JoinLRS. For more information about the program, visit www.bamsl.org/clientreferrals. 

 
PEOPLE AND PLACES 
 
Congratulations to Danny Barnett-Foster 
BAMSL Assistant Executive Director for Operations Danny Barnett-Foster, Esq., has been appointed Vice-Chair of the ABA's YLD Sexual Orientation & Gender Identity (SOGI) Committee. His term will run Sept. 1, 2022, to Aug. 31, 2023. 
 
 
New Board Members Elected to Legal Services of Eastern Missouri 
Emily Elam, John Hickey and Sandra J. Keys were all unanimously elected as new members of the Legal Services of Eastern Missouri’s Board of Directors to serve two-year terms. Elam is a senior vice president and assistant general counsel in Citi’s US Personal Banking Group. Hickey is a member with Lewis Rice where he serves on the firm’s Appellate Committee. Keys is a community advocate with broad experience and will represent client needs. 
 
At the June 16, 2022, meeting, the Board also elected the Hon. T. Bennett Burkemper as president. Burkemper succeeds Maria V, Perron. Other new officers include Paula Finlay as vice president and Christina Fletcher as at-large member of the Executive Committee.  
 
 
 
AffiniPay Acquires MyCase from Apax Funds  
AffiniPay, the parent company of LawPay, announced that it acquired legal practice management software company MyCase, from funds advised by Apax. This combination creates one of the fastest-growing integrated legal practice management software and payments companies, and strengthens both LawPay and MyCase’s commitment to serve all law firms and their clients. AffiniPay’s acquisition of MyCase will accelerate the adoption of digitization for payments and legal practice management software. 
 
 
Spence Becomes Partner at Buckley, LLC 
Buckley & Buckley, LLC, announced that Graham J. Spence recently was named a partner. Spence has been with the firm since 2015, and will continue to defend and litigate personal injury suits for the firm’s clients. 
 
 
News from Carmody MacDonald P.C. 
David M. Fedder, a prominent real estate and commercial litigation attorney with nearly 30 years of experience at national firms, has joined Carmody MacDonald P.C. as a partner. He is known for handling high-profile eminent domain and property rights cases, including interstate natural gas pipeline projects in numerous state and federal jurisdictions, including Missouri, Illinois, Kansas, Maryland, Ohio, and West Virginia. 
 
Kerri A. Mitchell also joined the firm and will work with the Homeowner and Condominium Association Practice Group. She previously served as an insurance defense counsel and represented a variety of clients, including municipalities, corporations, and small business owners in their litigation matters.  
 
Samuel E. Beffa joined in the firm’s transactional group. Beffa focuses his practice on real estate, corporate transactions, and business law.  
 
 
Baker Sterchi Welcomes Sliment 
Baker Sterchi Cowden & Rice welcomed Bradley Sliment as an associate in St. Louis. Sliment’s practice focuses on personal injury, premises liability and product liability defense.  
 
 
 
UPCOMING BAMSL EVENTS  
 
July 20 Rendezvous on the Roof 
July 27 Summer Associates Luncheon 
Oct. 21 Spirit of Justice Awards Celebration 
 
NOTE: All event information is online at www.bamsl.org/events. Please also visit our social media platforms and the weekly e-news Legal Pulse for the most updated information about all BAMSL events. To become a sponsor of these events, please contact BAMSL Executive Director Susan McCourt Baltz at sbaltz@bamsl.org. 
 
BAMSL CLE SCHEDULE 
 
July 20 Women Who Lead in Law: A Long and Winding Road 
July 21 Supreme Court of Missouri Update 2022 
Sept. 6 International Law and the War in Ukraine: International Criminal Law  
Oct. 4 International Law and the War in Ukraine: Financial Implications for Global Trade and the U.S. Economy 
Nov. 1 International Law and the War in Ukraine: Refugee Protection, Migration and Statelessness 
May 31-June 2, 2023 SAVE THE DATE: Bench & Bar Conference 
 
Please visit www.bamsl.org/CLE for the most updated information about BAMSL CLEs. 

 

It has been almost a half a century since I sat in a crowded, overheated room at the Jefferson City Ramada Inn taking the Missouri Bar Exam. Terrified that a poor performance on this mammoth test might end my dream of becoming a lawyer, I nonetheless gripped my pencil and pushed forward. Truly, this was a test of both my short-term memory and my long-term memory. 
 
I began law school at the age of 20 and graduated at the age of 30, with a six-year-or-so interruption in between to give birth to three wonderful children, follow my husband to his military obligation, and live out of the state, never thinking that I would actually complete my legal education. 
 
As you may recall, the basic courses the bar exam tests are those that you take in your first year: contracts, torts, property, et al. How would I ever remember anything that I learned 10 years prior? 
 
I give full credit to the bar review course. My peers were sitting back and leisurely taking in the instructor’s points of knowledge. They were mostly talking about where they (the guys) would go for a beer afterwards. On the other hand, I was on the edge of my seat with heightened interest about these topics, most of which sounded more than vaguely familiar. It was as if I were taking a “Law for Dummies" course, focusing on the black letter law and not being too distracted by the details.  
 
Honestly, I was too young to realize what peril I was in. By some miracle, or getting someone else’s test results, I actually passed.  
 
Why am I moved to speak out about the dreaded bar exam? It is July, and you very well may have a law clerk, a child or a grandchild who will be taking this test. Help them approach it with a sense of humor and balance. After all, we all now know it was actually the smallest hurdle to leap over in our long legal careers. 
 
What I have learned about the practice of law since then was never covered in law school or in a bar review course.  
 
One of the most important lessons I have learned is that in our profession, our clients want to know what we know, but they also want to know that we care, all of us. 
 
Recently I represented a woman in a domestic violence matter and watched the judge handle his Adult Abuse docket with a complete absence of kindness toward litigants. He was focused on providing rudimentary information about how his docket would work in a very cold and detached way. In his interactions with petitioners, he showed no sensitivity to this special docket. 
 
I have seen other judges, without showing any bias toward petitioners, reflect by their tone and language that this was a place that all could feel heard and safe. It really does not take a lot to do that, but it gives such confidence in our system of justice.  
 
I have seen life (law) from both sides now—judge and attorney. When I was on the bench, did I always consider how each word I said would be received by a litigant, or was I too invested in moving my docket and keeping cases on a tight timeline track? Likely not always. I wish I had. 
 
At a time when our democracy has been challenged, we all need to take a step back and put ourselves in the shoes of those people we serve, our clients. And ask ourselves how our behaviors or conversations or attitudes affect them?  
 
We all have a high comfort zone with this environment and know the protocol and missteps to avoid. Most of the time. Our clients, on the other hand, are terrified. As much as we try to prepare them for what may happen in the courtroom, how the opposing counsel may act and what the judge may order, it is a completely different world to them--frightening and fraught with possible loss of a child, loss of their liberty, and potential financial devastation. 
 
Given the choice between being efficient and kind, let’s choose kind.  
 
We are all struggling with varying issues: health, family, career. We need to weigh our words, our tone, and the way we present the administration of justice to people not schooled in the law or traumatized by the experiences that brought them to court. 
 
Good luck to those taking the bar exam soon. It is only the beginning of being tested for the tremendous responsibilities that lie ahead. Find a mentor, be a mentor, and join me in guiding the next generation of lawyers and judges to do the right thing in the kindest way. That is really a passing score on any test. 

Congratulations to the team of Richard Gerber, Matthew McArthur, Matthew Leffler and Steve Doyle, of Evans & Dixon, LLC, for winning the Firm Challenge as well as the overall Flight A competition at BAMSL's annual Golf Outing yesterday at Greenbriar Hills Country Club. The team also won the skins competition with an eagle on Hole No. 3.

Congratulations also to Liam Mardis, Closest to the Pin on No. 5; Larry Parres, Closest to the Pin on No. 7 and No. 16; Matt Morris, Longest Drive (men); Breanna Hunt, Longest Drive (women); and Dylan Favazza, Longest Putt on Hole No. 1.

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