Kelly Sabatés, better known as “Koki”, is a litigation associate at the St. Louis firm. Koki started at the firm as a summer associate in 2019. She earned her law degree from the University of Missouri in 2020 with honors as a member of the Order of Barristers and awarded the Fred L. Howard Prize for Excellence in the Advancement of Advocacy. During law school, she was President of the Student Bar Association, a pupil member of the Elwood L. Thomas American Inn of Court, member of several trial teams, and Mock Trial Director for the Board of Advocates program.

Koki earned her Bachelor of Fine Arts in Acting from the University of Minnesota-Duluth in 2016.

Memberships & Activities

• Bar Association of Metropolitan St. Louis, (2017-Present)
• Cuban American Bar Association, (2017-Present)
• Missouri Bar Association, (2017-Present)
• Missouri Organization of Defense Lawyers

Awards & Recognition

• Academic Awards & Activities

  University of Missouri Columbia

  • Fred L Howard Prize for Excellence in the Advancement of Advocacy
  • Roscoe Anderson Award for Excellence in Advocacy, 2019, 2020
  • Attorney General’s Cup Champion, 2018
  • CALI Award, Law & Society, Summer 2018
  • Mock Trial Champion, Spring 2018
  • Moot Court-Top 10 Oralist, Spring 2018

  University of Minnesota-Duluth

  • The Kennedy Center’s John Cauble One-Act Play Competition, Regional Winner and National Finalist, 2015
  • Irene Ryan Acting Competition, Regional Semifinalist, 2015

News & Events

Baker Sterchi Welcomes Koki Sabates in St. Louis

10.12.20 | Kelly "Koki" Sabatés joins Baker Sterchi's St. Louis office as an associate attorney practicing in the areas of insurance coverage, medical malpractice, personal injury defense, premises liability, and product liability. She previously served as a summer law clerk with the firm.

Blog Posts

Court Holds COVID-19 Government Closures Do Not Trigger Business Interruption Coverage

01.06.21 | A recent ruling from the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan has provided more guidance in predicting how COVID-19 related losses and litigation will be handled.

Single-Insurer MDLs Are Among Us - JPML Allows Centralization of COVID-19 Insurance Coverage Cases

12.30.20 | The U.S. Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation initially ruled centralization was not appropriate for businesses seeking business interruption insurance coverage because of varying policy language. At that time, more than 450 cases were pending in Federal Courts—now there are over 700.

Discovery Is Not a Game | Illinois Appellate Court Overturns $50 Million Dollar Birth Injury Verdict

10.13.20 | Illinois appellate court overturns $50 million jury verdict involving alleged brain injury at birth finding an abuse of discretion where trial court barred any reference at trial to the child's autism diagnosis.

Discovery Is Not a Game | Illinois Appellate Court Overturns $50 Million Dollar Birth Injury Verdict

10.13.20 | Illinois appellate court overturns $50 million jury verdict involving alleged brain injury at birth finding an abuse of discretion where trial court barred any reference at trial to the child's autism diagnosis.

One [Insurance] Policy Does Not Fit All - JPML Limits Centralization of COVID-19 Insurance Coverage Cases...At This Time

09.02.20 | On August 12, 2020, in a much-anticipated ruling, The U.S. Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation rejected two petitions to centralize hundreds of cases filed by the policyholders of businesses suffering losses from the Pandemic; however, the panel did indicate that centralization may certainly be appropriate for cases against single insurer policies.

Missouri Supreme Court Affirms Prospective Only Application of Amendments to Sect. 537.065 RSMo Providing for Notice to the Insurer and Intervention as a Right

08.28.19 | The Missouri Supreme Court affirms that amendments to RSMo Sect. 537.065 requiring a valid Sect. 537.065 contract between a plaintiff and a tortfeasor limiting recovery to insurance and notice to insurers for an opportunity to defend do not apply retroactively to cases where the contract was entered into prior to the effective date of the amended statute.

Taxation of Lost Wages Awards Under the FELA: the Illinois Appellate Court Applies Loos v. BNSF

08.21.19 | The U.S. Supreme Court recently resolved a split among state and federal courts on the issue of whether lost wages under the Federal Employers' Liability Act (FELA) are taxable under the Railroad Retirement Tax Act (RRTA). The Illinois Appellate Court was one of the first in the nation to apply the Supreme Court's holding that awards of lost wages in FELA cases are taxable.

Insurer Joins Long, Strange Legal Trip of a Used Car Dealer's Legacy in Missouri Law

08.07.19 | The epic legal saga of a Clay County used car dealer's deceptive "Drive for Life" promotion continues, with a buyer bringing the fight to the dealer's insurer in the Missouri Court of Appeals for the Western District.

Illinois Counties Remain Top Jurisdictions for Asbestos Litigation in 2018

07.08.19 | Even with asbestos litigation on the slow decline, Madison County and St. Clair County, Illinois remain the top venues for asbestos litigation.

From the East to the West, Does Arbitration in Missouri Reign Best? Missouri Courts Uphold and Invalidate Arbitration Agreements

06.25.19 | Missouri has continued to hold that arbitration agreements are not unconscionable when they are shown to have valid mutual assent and are not self-serving.