Ogletree Deakins Expands St. Louis Office, Adds Five Attorneys

ST. LOUIS – January 8, 2013 – Ogletree, Deakins, Nash, Smoak & Stewart, P.C. (Ogletree Deakins), one of the largest labor and employment law firms representing management, is pleased to welcome a group of five attorneys from The Lowenbaum Partnership to the firm’s St. Louis office. The move cements Ogletree Deakins as the dominant labor and employment law firm in St. Louis and deepens the value the firm delivers to clients in the market and across Missouri. Joining Ogletree Deakins as shareholders are Bob Stewart, Stan Schroeder, and Bill Lawson; Charlie Morgan serves as of counsel, and Nathan Harris as an associate. Their collective experience expands the office’s capabilities in complex and growing areas of significance to employers including traditional labor relations, employee benefits, and employment litigation. With this move, Ogletree Deakins becomes the largest management-side labor and employment practice in St. Louis and, when combined with its Kansas City office, the largest labor and employment practice in Missouri.

“This group is well known and highly regarded for their talents and exceptional representation of clients. Their addition brings ERISA knowledge and an enhanced depth of traditional labor experience to our office, while bolstering several of our other practice areas locally,” said Gregg Lemley, a shareholder in Ogletree Deakins’ St. Louis office. “We are thrilled with the opportunity to be adding such a talented and well-respected group of lawyers to our office.”  

Bob Stewart is a veteran labor and employment attorney with more than 30 years of practice in the St. Louis market. He has tried more than 50 employment cases to verdict, and also has extensive traditional labor experience, including handling more than 200 labor arbitrations, negotiating more than 100 labor agreements, and managing dozens of union campaigns.

Stan Schroeder, an employee benefits attorney practicing for more than 30 years, has extensive experience in ERISA litigation and claims resolution, employee benefit plan design, and consulting with employers on all types of employee benefit, ERISA, and executive compensation issues. Also a Certified Public Accountant, Schroeder handles a broad range of issues including fiduciary and service provider claims litigation, multi-employer pension plan issues, 401k plan discrimination and compliance matters, COBRA, and healthcare reform issues. 

Bill Lawson focuses his practice on labor arbitration, and litigating employment discrimination claims under Title VII, the Americans With Disabilities Act, the Age Discrimination in Employment Act, the Family and Medical Leave Act, the Fair Labor Standards Act, and the assorted state counterparts to these federal laws. He also advises clients on employment-related matters such as personnel policies, human resource issues, employment contracts, restrictive covenants, severance agreements, and employee handbooks. Lawson has litigated numerous employment litigation claims and has tried more than 50 labor arbitrations during his career.

Charlie Morgan joins Ogletree Deakins as of counsel. His practice focuses on the Fair Labor Standards Act, Occupational Safety and Health, Family Medical Leave Act, employer discrimination litigation, and human resource counseling, and he also has substantial experience with employee benefits and ERISA. Early in his career, Morgan spent several years as an investigator with the Department of Labor and an attorney at the Solicitor’s office in Kansas City.

Stewart, Schroeder, Lawson and the others expressed they are excited to be able to provide their clients with the unsurpassed personalized and efficient service that a firm of Ogletree Deakins’ size and reach can deliver. This move reunites Stewart, Schroeder, Lawson and Morgan with Burt Garland, a shareholder in the St. Louis office who joined Ogletree Deakins more than four years ago. 

“I am excited to resume practicing law with this very talented group of lawyers,” said Garland. “I am confident they and their clients will benefit greatly from their relationships with Ogletree Deakins.”

About Ogletree Deakins

Ogletree Deakins is one of the largest labor and employment law firms representing management in all types of employment-related legal matters. The firm has more than 650 lawyers located in 42 offices across the United States and in Europe. Ogletree Deakins was named “Law Firm of the Year” in both the Litigation – Labor & Employment and the Employment Law – Management categories in the 2013 edition of U.S. News – Best Lawyers “Best Law Firms” list. In addition to handling labor and employment law matters, the firm has thriving practices focused on business immigration, employee benefits, and workplace safety and health law. Ogletree Deakins represents a diverse range of clients, including more than half of the Fortune 50 corporations in the United States.