Up & Coming Award Winners

Young lawyers know the importance of having mentors guide them through their early career. Which is why this year, Missouri Lawyers Weekly decided to honor mentors along with the Up & Coming lawyers for 2013.

The first mentors to receive the new award are:

Mark Leadlove, a partner at Bryan Cave

Madeleine McDonough, a partner at Shook, Hardy & Bacon

Joel Poole, chief counsel of the litigation division in the Missouri Attorney General’s Office

They along with 48 lawyers under 40 years old or within the first 10 years of their careers will be honored at the 2013 Up & Coming awards on Sept. 13.

The Up & Coming lawyers were selected by the newspaper’s editors based on their academic and career accomplishments, their ability to overcome obstacles in their lives and careers, their community involvement, and their potential to make a difference in the profession, the legal system or the community.

Selections were made in two other first-time categories. Kate Nolen Proffitt, director of Legal Services for Jackson County, was named Up & Coming Nonprofit Leader, and Bhavik Patel, Sandberg Phoenix & von Gontard’s youngest practice group leader was named Up & Coming Law Firm Leader. The judges decided not to make a selection in the new category of Pro Bono Project.

More than 170 Missouri lawyers were nominated for the award this year.

The winning Up & Coming lawyers are:

Hope K. Abramov, Thompson Coburn, St. Louis

Castor J. Armesto, Stinson Morrison Hecker, Clayton

Tina N. Babel, Carmody MacDonald, Clayton

Christopher O. Bauman, Blitz, Bardgett & Deutsch, St. Louis

Carrie Bechtold, Bryan Cave, St. Louis

Brian J. Beck, Rosenblum Goldenhersh, Clayton

J. Zachary Bickel, The Robertson Law Group, Kansas City

Jessica Blome, Missouri Attorney General’s Office, Jefferson City

Anthony W. Bonuchi, Polsinelli, Kansas City

Matthew A. Braunel, Thompson Coburn, St. Louis

Kirsten A. Byrd, Husch Blackwell, Kansas City

Matthew C. Casey, Casey & Devoti, St. Louis

Nicole Cortés, The Migrant and Immigrant Community Action Project, St. Louis

Aimee D.G. Davenport, Lathrop & Gage, Jefferson City

Patrick Foppe, Lashly & Baer, St. Louis

Aaron French, Sandberg Phoenix & von Gontard, St. Louis

Josef S. Glynias, Husch Blackwell, Clayton

Shannon Grisham, Pratt & Jensen, Springfield

Justin D. Guerra, Holloran, White, Schwartz & Gaertner, St. Louis

Aaron Haber, Muchnick & Haber, St. Louis

Ann Peper Havelka, Shook, Hardy & Bacon, Kansas City

Megan S. Heinsz, Dowd Bennett, Clayton

Trevor A. Jenkins, Bryan Cave, Kansas City

Scott D. Kaiser, Shook, Hardy & Bacon, Kansas City

Amanda Pennington Ketchum, Dysart Taylor Cotter McMonigle & Montemore, Kansas City

Matthew Kitzi, Armstrong Teasdale, Jefferson City

Corey L. Kraushaar, Brown & James, St. Louis

Joel N. Lander, Bryan Cave, St. Louis

Nathan D. Leming, Williams Venker & Sanders, St. Louis

Amelia M. Lewis, Thompson Coburn, St. Louis

Whitney Deacon Lloyd, Baker Sterchi Cowden & Rice, Kansas City

Jeffrey A. Masson, Thompson Coburn, St. Louis

Jessica Mayo, The Migrant and Immigrant Community Action Project, St. Louis

Joshua M. McCaig, Polsinelli, Kansas City

Leanne M. Rakers, Harness Dickey & Pierce, Clayton

Melanie A. Renken, Greensfelder, Hemker & Gale, St. Louis

Cephus Richard III, Johnson, Vorhees & Martucci, Joplin

Katrina Richards, The Hershewe Law Firm, Joplin

Shontaia J. Riley, Greensfelder, Hemker & Gale, St. Louis

Abby L. Risner, Greensfelder, Hemker & Gale, St. Louis

Christopher E. Roberts, Butsch Roberts & Associates, Clayton

Douglas A. Robinson, Harness Dickey & Pierce, Clayton

Andrew J. Scavotto, Stinson Morrison Hecker, Clayton

Elizabeth J. Schlesinger, Lewis, Rice & Fingersh, St. Louis

Christopher J. Schmidt, Bryan Cave, St. Louis

Holly Pauling Smith, Shook, Hardy & Bacon, Kansas City

Benjamin C. Thompson, Bryan Cave, Kansas City

Johnny S. Wang, Polsinelli, St. Louis

For more information on the awards, click here.