Member Bridget Nave will speak at an upcoming National Business Institute (NBI) seminar entitled “A 2-Day Practical Course – Estate Planning and Administration: The Complete Guide” in St. Louis on August 10 and August 11, 2017. Bridget will offer insights on Common Trust Structures and When They’re Used and Transfers During Life and Inter-Vivos Trusts (including Beneficiary Designations, Titling Assets, Gifting Approaches, Tax Effects of Asset Transfers During Life, Top Creditor Protection Approaches, Planning for Real Estate and Types and Functions of Common Living Trusts).
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Economic Development Legislation – 2017 Legislative Session
Missouri businesses, local governments, and real estate, public finance and economic development professionals should be aware of a number of provisions related to economic development in legislation enacted during the 2017 regular legislative session of the Missouri General Assembly.
BB&D Opens New Office in Columbia, Missouri
Blitz, Bardgett & Deutsch, LC is pleased to announce the opening of its newest office in Columbia, Missouri. The Columbia Office is located at 414 E. Broadway, Suite 100, Columbia, MO 65201. The Columbia office, along with current offices in St. Louis and Jefferson City, will enable the firm to better serve clients throughout Missouri and […]
New Tax Incentives Available for Port-Related Activities in Missouri
Beginning in 2017, new tax incentives are available for manufacturers or distributors of manufactured goods shipped through Missouri ports. Senate Bill 861 (2016) enacted three new tax deductions for companies transporting cargo through water ports and airports in Missouri. See Sections 143.2100-.2115, RSMo. The Missouri Department of Economic Development (DED) and the Missouri Department of Revenue (DOR) are charged with jointly administering the new tax deductions. Taxpayers and tax professionals should be aware of these deductions and take steps to determine their eligibility for the 2017 tax year.
BB&D, On Behalf Of Regional St. Louis Entities, Files Lawsuit Against NFL, NFL Teams, And Team Owners Arising Out Of Relocation Of Rams Franchise
The City of St. Louis, St. Louis County, and the St. Louis Regional Convention and Sports Complex Authority (RSA) filed suit in Circuit Court of St. Louis City demonstrating that the NFL, its teams, and owners violated their own Relocation Guidelines. The suit cites extensively to these Relocation Guidelines, which bind the NFL, NFL team […]
BB&D St. Louis Law Firm Pledges Support For The Missouri Coalition For The Right To Counsel
The Missouri Coalition for the Right to Counsel, a newly formed nonprofit entity, has proposed a system wherein private practice attorneys try certain jury cases in St. Louis and St. Louis County, where they can gain trial experience and reduce the caseloads for public defenders. BB&D is among more than a dozen St. Louis area […]
BB&D Member Glenn Norton Appointed Mediator In Nascar Racer’s Wrongful Death Case
BB&D Member Glenn Norton will serve as the Mediator in Ward v. Stewart, 7:15-cv-01023, an action against race car driver Tony Stewart in which the family of Kevin Ward Jr. claims Stewart caused the 2014 death of fellow racer Ward at a dirt track in New York. The parties agreed to the appointment of Norton, […]
Christopher R. Pieper
Chris Pieper is a trusted advisor and counsel, skilled in developing and executing effective strategies for highly complex legal, policy, and public relations challenges and opportunities. As a member of the firm, Chris’s practice is focused on regulatory & government solutions, real estate, public finance and incentives, local government, environmental, tax advice and controversies, energy and utilities, international business, administrative law, and appellate litigation. Chris recently returned to private practice following service at the highest levels of state government, including directing the Missouri Department of Economic Development and as Chief of Staff to the Governor.
Chris began his legal career at a large St. Louis law firm before being recruited to the incoming administration of Missouri Governor Jay Nixon, where he served in various roles, including Legislative Director for the Missouri Department of Revenue, Special Assistant Attorney General, Deputy General Counsel for the Missouri Department of Natural Resources, and Trustee for the Petroleum Storage Tank Insurance Fund (PSTIF), one of the largest insurers of storage tank liability in the country.
In 2010, Chris was appointed General Counsel and later to act as Director of the Missouri Department of Economic Development (DED), a cabinet-level agency with more than 900 employees and overall budget and programs of more than $1 billion. Chris directed programs related to job creation, real estate and infrastructure development, workforce development, international trade, military installations, the arts, and tourism. As director, Chris served as a member of the Missouri Development Finance Board (MDFB), the Missouri Technology Corporation (MTC), the Missouri Workforce Investment Board, the Missouri Military Preparedness and Enhancement Commission, the Missouri Partnership, and the Hawthorn Foundation. As General Counsel, Chris provided strategic and legal counsel as part of the executive management team, directed all outside litigation, and represented the department before the Administrative Hearing Commission. Chris developed and drafted policy and legislation, including the Missouri Manufacturing Jobs Act, which helped to revitalize Missouri’s automotive industry, Missouri Works, which streamlined Missouri’s business incentives and workforce training programs, and the Aerospace Industry Jobs Act, which strengthened Missouri’s aerospace industry by bring the first-ever commercial aircraft production to the State.
During his time with DED, Chris gained unique expertise in federal, state and local economic development programs, including Historic Tax Credits, Low Income Housing Tax Credits, Brownfield Tax Credits, Missouri Works, New Markets Tax Credits, BUILD, Missouri Development Finance Board (MDFB) Tax Credits, State Tax Increment Financing (TIF), Private Activity Bonds, Community Development Block Grants (CDBG), Neighborhood Assistance Program (NAP), Tax Increment Financing (TIF), Chapter 100, Chapter 353, Community Improvement Districts (CIDs), Transportation Development Districts (TDDs), Neighborhood Improvement Districts (NIDs), among others.
Following his time as DED director, Chris was appointed Senior Policy Advisor and ultimately Chief of Staff to the Missouri Governor, engaging in all aspects of State government—a budget of more than $27 billion and more than 44,000 employees. In these roles, Chris drove passage of legislation enabling a historic bond issuance to invest more than $500 million in capital improvement projects throughout the state; coordinated the administration’s successful efforts to secure the new headquarters of the National Geospatial Intelligence Agency—resulting in a $1.7B redevelopment and more than 3,000 high-paying jobs; and spearheaded administration efforts in key economic development initiatives such as City Arch River, CORTEX, and the $4.4 billion redevelopment of the former Bannister Mall in Kansas City into a global headquarters creating 15,000 new jobs.
Chris graduated with dual degrees, magna cum laude, from the University of Missouri-Columbia, and worked a news reporter and editor for Pulitzer Publishing before attending law school. He graduated cum laude from the University of Missouri School of Law and was a member of the Order of the Coif and Lead Articles Editor for the Missouri Law Review.
Chris served as law clerk for the Hon. Ronnie L. White, Chief Justice of the Missouri Supreme Court, now U.S. District Judge for the Eastern District of Missouri, and as law clerk to the Hon. John R. Gibson, Senior Circuit Judge for the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 8th Circuit.
Chris is a member of the Boone County Bar Association, the Cole County Bar Association, the Elwood Thomas Inn of Court, and was recently appointed to a four-year term on the Missouri Arts Council.
Richard B. Rothman
Richard B. Rothman is a founding Member of the firm and has been a Member of the firm since its formation in 2000. Richard’s practice focuses on the areas of business law, mergers and acquisitions, securities compliance, real estate and estate and tax planning. Richard has lectured in the past regarding various tax and estate planning matters for the Missouri Bar Association, Missouri Society of Certified Public Accountants, and the Bar Association of Metropolitan St. Louis. He is also a past chairman of the Probate and Trust Section, of the Bar Association of Metropolitan St. Louis. Richard has served as a Patent Agent for the Office of Naval Research in Washington, D.C., and as a Patent Examiner in the United States Patent Office. From approximately 1985 through 1995, Richard was a principal owner and executive in several companies successfully involved in real estate investment and development and manufacturing of finished goods for sale at retail throughout the United States.
Glenn A. Norton
Glenn A. Norton is Of Counsel with the Firm. His practice focuses on the areas of mediation, arbitration and special master appointments. He has extensive experience in the courtroom, with hundreds of jury and non-jury trials, and has been assigned by The Supreme Court to cases involving complex litigation and felony matters. As a retired judge, Glenn Norton is particularly well-suited to preside over arbitration hearings on any type of matter. Judge Norton is certified by the University of Missouri School of Law as a mediator.
Judge Norton was appointed Judge for the Missouri Court of Appeals in 2002. He served as Chief Judge of the Court and presided over the settlement docket until he left the Court in 2015. He has also previously served as Chief Legal Counsel to Governor Bob Holden, where he oversaw the legal departments for all 15 state agencies and reviewed judicial appointments, death penalty cases, budget issues, clemency applications and legislation.
Judge Norton practiced law in the former Briscoe and Norton Law firm in 1985, where he was responsible for murder trials and other high-profile felonies, and he was elected to serve as Associate Circuit Judge for Ralls County. He was re-elected to this position in 1998. Within the Judicial Branch, Judge Norton served on the Executive Council, the Legislative Steering Committee and as Chair of the Associate Circuit Judge Section.
He is also a Past-President of the Missouri Association of Probate and Associate Circuit Judges. He has been active in many areas of judicial education, including serving on the faculty of The National Judicial College, and is a frequent presenter on various topics regarding the law in Missouri and in other states. He was the Chairman of the Supreme Court’s Trial Judge Education Committee until 2014.
Judge Norton served on the Disproportionate Minority Confinement Governing Board, the Missouri Statewide Legal Services Commission for Low Income Missourians, and on the Board of Directors of the Missouri Municipal and Associate Circuit Judges Association. He serves as Chairman of the Board of Directors of Action for Autism, and is on the Executive Committee of Howard Park School for developmentally challenged children.