Thomas (Tom) Limbrick is an associate attorney in our St. Louis office and represents clients in a wide range of civil litigation, including business torts, class actions, employment disputes, and personal injury. Prior to joining the firm, Tom served as a law clerk to Judge Ronnie L. White of the U.S. District Court for the […]
Mark Sanders is a member of the St. Louis Office who concentrates his practice in commercial, real estate, and fiduciary litigation. His diverse experience extends to a broad range of matters including probate and fiduciary litigation, the uniform commercial code, business torts, contract disputes, shareholder disputes, non-compete litigation, trade secrets, and real estate disputes. Mark […]
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.
James Deutsch is a founding Member of the Firm and Member of the Jefferson City office with over 30 years of experience representing businesses and individuals in disputes with the state, federal and local governments. His focus is on legislative and rulemaking practice, challenging agency regulatory action, issues of state and federal constitutional law, litigation and appellate practice, on all areas of administrative law with an emphasis on gaming and wagering law.
Jim has been listed for ten years in “Best Lawyers in America” in the field of gaming law and he has appeared and argued before the United States Supreme Court.
Prior to that he was a partner in a major Saint Louis, Missouri law firm practicing in Jefferson City. He spent 12 years working in government, including as: Deputy Director and General Counsel of the Missouri Department of Revenue; Commissioner, Missouri Administrative Hearing Commission; and Chief Deputy Attorney General for Missouri.
Jim has acquired a number of awards and honors over his career. He is rated A/V by Martindale-Hubbell. He has been listed in “Missouri and Kansas Super Lawyers” in the field of administrative law. He is a founding member and officer of the International Masters of Gaming Law and is a graduate of the National Judicial College. He has written and lectured frequently on the subject of professional responsibility and ethics in the practice of licensed professions as a result of having been named by the Engineering News Record as “Man of the Year” and made an Honorary Fellow of the American Society of Civil Engineers for his work in deciding the 1981 collapse of walkways at the Hyatt Regency Hotel in Kansas City, Missouri. He is a former United States Marine and Vietnam Veteran. He is active in working with military veterans and veterans’ issues.
Robert Blitz is a founding member of the firm. His practice focuses on the areas of trials and appeals. Bob’s continued success across the nation has earned him his reputation as a well-known and respected member of the trial bar. He has had great success in both defending and prosecuting business and commercial disputes, with his verdict and settlement numbers exceeding $300,000,000, including breaches of contracts, real estate, securities, first amendment, entertainment, employment and other business-related cases.
Bob has also successfully represented clients, individual and corporate, in construction, restrictive covenants, and Title VII cases and contract, discrimination, trade secrets, business torts, land use, entertainment, and other complex civil business litigation. He has represented more than 100 cases, which he has tried to verdict or judgment and many more in which favorable settlements were received for clients.
Bob holds many awards including Best Lawyers in America, Super Lawyers, Best Lawyers in St. Louis, Attorney of the Year by Lawyers Weekly and Largest Verdicts and Settlements in the State of Missouri.
Chris Bauman is a member of the St. Louis Office who joined the firm in 2003 after serving as Deputy Chief Legal Counsel and Interim Chief Legal Counsel in the office of Missouri Governor Bob Holden. Chris has represented a number of closely-held businesses and local businesses in connection with their complex commercial litigation, including lender disputes, construction matters, and litigation concerning operational control of business entities.
Chris’s practice is centered on trials and appeals, including litigation and appeals concerning securities class actions, tax increment financing and other public financing mechanisms, employment covenants, wrongful death, and a wide variety of contractual disputes.
Chris has acted as first chair in several cases tried to judgment as well as numerous evidentiary hearings on temporary restraining orders and preliminary injunctions. He has also argued appeals before the Missouri Supreme Court and the Court of Appeals, Eastern and Western Districts.