Missouri

Ogletree leader says he quit over lawyer issue and will take group and $10M business book elsewhere

A now-former vice president of Ogletree, Deakins, Nash, Smoak & Steward has made an unusual announcement. Don Prophete, 45, says he has resigned from the South Carolina-based national labor and employment boutique over a dispute about its treatment of a lawyer he recruited. Although he apparently has no firm plans…

Apr 3, 2013 9:16 PM CDT

Sheriff sends undercover officer to courthouse with gun; she makes it through 6 checkpoints

Saying that he was unable to arrange a meeting with a Wisconsin county executive to discuss court security in the wake of safety concerns raised by a high-profile courthouse shooting in Delaware last month, the Milwaukee County sheriff tried a different approach. Sheriff David A. Clarke Jr. sent a female…

Mar 7, 2013 5:38 PM CST

A day after interim law dean resigns, SLU names longtime faculty member as new dean

Saint Louis University on Tuesday announced the appointment of a new law school dean, after the sudden resignation Monday of a practicing lawyer who had been serving as interim dean. Michael Wolff, a longtime law professor at SLU who also formerly served as chief justice of the Missouri Supreme Court…

Mar 5, 2013 11:50 PM CST

Interim SLU law dean says he resigned because of his big mouth; new dean is named

Updated: The interim dean of Saint Louis University School of Law says he wasn’t cut out for the job. Tom Keefe Jr. announced his resignation from the post on Monday. “I’m a plain-spoken, ambulance chasing plaintiffs lawyer,” he told the St. Louis Business Journal, and that fact alone caused consternation…

Mar 5, 2013 1:11 PM CST

‘Girls Gone Wild’ company files for bankruptcy to deal with ‘frivolous and burdensome legal affairs’

A Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing by the company that produces the racy Girls Gone Wild videos was apparently prompted by large judgments in several tort cases. However, GGW Brands LLC said in a written statement that its Wednesday filing in federal bankruptcy court in Los Angeles would not prevent the…

Mar 1, 2013 6:27 PM CST

Bad coffee leads to embezzlement case against law firm worker

A really bad cup of coffee that burned the lips of a Wisconsin law firm worker resulted in a criminal case against a co-worker who is now accused not only of tainting the beverage with a foreign substance but embezzling from her employer. Kay Lee Gysbers was released on a…

Feb 7, 2013 3:36 PM CST

Longtime defense lawyer takes plea in Secret Service money-laundering sting

A prominent Missouri criminal defense lawyer has taken a plea in a federal money-laundering conspiracy case that arose from a Secret Service sting, effectively ending his legal career. Ronald E. Partee admitted in federal court in Kansas on Wednesday that he agreed to help hide the source of what he…

Jan 30, 2013 9:02 PM CST

Fan didn’t assume the risk of injury by airborne hot dog, appeals court says

A Kansas City Royals fan who suffered a detached retina after he was hit by a flying hot dog is getting a new chance to take his negligence case to a jury. Fan John Coomer was hit with a foil-wrapped hot dog flung by the Royals mascot Sluggerrr at a…

Jan 17, 2013 5:19 PM CST

Top Mo. Court Hears Case re Judge Whose Clerks Handled Her Call While She Vacationed in China

The Missouri Supreme Court is to hear arguments Thursday morning concerning a St. Louis judge who drew harsh criticism for reportedly having her clerks handle her call and deal with at least 350 cases while she vacationed in China. The Commission on Retirement, Removal and Discipline has recommended that Associate…

Jan 3, 2013 4:39 PM CST

Trial Lawyer Does Double Duty as SLU Law Dean While Winning $25M in Settlements

Some might find working either as a law school dean or a busy plaintiffs’ lawyer a more than full-time job. Tom Keefe Jr. is doing both. Temporarily at the helm of the law school at St. Louis University after his predecessor resigned suddenly in the midst of a dispute with…

Dec 12, 2012 9:09 PM CST

Does Law School’s Appointment of Kirkland Leader as Dean Signal New Focus on Legal Jobs?

The managing partner of the Washington, D.C., office of Kirkland & Ellis is on the verge of a significant career change, one that may also signal a growing new emphasis on legal jobs at the nation’s law schools. Daniel F. Attridge will take the helm as law dean of Catholic…

Nov 28, 2012 11:15 PM CST

After Goodwill Worker Finds $14K in Box of Xmas Decorations, Competing Claims Wind Up in Court

A Missouri judge had to decide between competing claims for a cash stash found in a box of Christmas decorations donated to a Goodwill store in St. Louis County. But although at least 15 people vied for the $14,505 turned in by the honest thrift store worker who found the…

Nov 20, 2012 11:30 PM CST

Lawyer Charged With Using Power of Attorney to Murder Her Well-to-Do Dad Loses Will Fight

Temporarily removed in September as personal representative of her well-to-do father’s estate, after she was charged with his murder in an unusual case based on an allegedly forged power of attorney for health care, a Missouri lawyer has now been permanently eliminated as his executor. Susan Elizabeth “Liz” Van Note,…

Nov 16, 2012 6:51 PM CST

Prominent Lawyer Disbarred re Claimed $800K In Client Loans Says He’s Now a Busy Legal Consultant

A prominent Missouri lawyer who once served as president of the Kansas City Metropolitan Bar Association has been disbarred by consent. James C. Wirken, 68, was accused of taking out loans from clients without adequately advising them of the fairness of the transactions, urging them to get independent legal counsel…

Nov 7, 2012 5:19 PM CST

Lawyer Sues Ex-Firm and Law Partner for Alleged Claims About Unsolved Murder, Bombing

A lawyer who claims a former law partner falsely alleged he was responsible for an unsolved murder has filed a suit for defamation and tortious interference. Mark Bates filed the suit on Oct. 25 in St. Louis County Circuit Court, report the St. Louis Post-Dispatch and Courthouse News Service. Bates…

Nov 2, 2012 2:45 PM CDT