BSCR Firm News/Blogs Feed

Gregorio Silva's FCRA Insights Referenced in Inside Mortgage Finance Article

22 Feb 2024

Inside Mortgage Finance recently referenced insights from a blog post authored by Gregorio Silva, an attorney at Baker Sterchi, in an article titled "USDA Can Be Liable for FCRA Violations, Supreme Court Says." The article discussed a significant Supreme Court decision regarding the Federal Credit Reporting Act (FCRA).

In U.S. Department of Agriculture Rural Housing Service v. Kirtz, the Court affirmed that federal home loan agencies can face civil penalties for FCRA violations. Silva's blog post highlighted the potential impact of this unanimous decision, foreseeing increased litigation against these agencies. He also underscored the rigorous FCRA requirements and the potential need for additional resources for compliance.

Silva, who co-chairs Baker Sterchi’s Financial Services Practice Group, has a diverse civil litigation practice defending the financial services, transportation and propane industries. Recently accepted into the LCLD Fellows Program, which offers intensive leadership training for diverse attorneys, Silva is also a member of the Hispanic National Bar Association. Recognized in Missouri & Kansas Super Lawyers Rising Stars since 2022, Silva earned his law degree from the University of Nevada, Las Vegas William S. Boyd School of Law and is admitted to practice in Missouri, Kansas, Alaska, Arizona, California and Nevada.

Headquartered in Bethesda, Maryland, Inside Mortgage Finance Publications, Inc. is a leading provider of business-to-business news and statistics within the residential mortgage industry.

David Eisenberg Article Published in the ABA Appellate Practice Section

12 Dec 2023

On December 8, the Appellate Practice Section of the American Bar Association (ABA) published an article authored by Baker Sterchi Member David Eisenberg. The article, titled Don’t Chase Every Rabbit, focuses on the importance of avoiding the inclusion of weaker, less pertinent arguments in appellate briefs and oral arguments. Instead, Eisenberg advocates for a strategic focus on reinforcing the case with strong and compelling points.

Eisenberg has over thirty years of experience representing Fortune 100 and other companies in employment and labor law matters, consumer and general business litigation and appellate litigation. He is the editor of Baker Sterchi’s Missouri, Employment & Labor and Product Liability blogs and has served on the Editorial Board of the ABA Appellate Practice Committee, and on that Committee’s Appellate Rules subcommittee.

The ABA is a prominent organization dedicated to advancing the legal profession and fostering collaboration among lawyers, judges and legal scholars in the United States. Established in 1878, it has played a key role in shaping legal policy and providing educational resources for its membership.

Mike McMullen's Passion for Photography Featured in MO/KS Super Lawyers Magazine

16 Nov 2023

Baker Sterchi Member Mike McMullen is featured in the 2023 Missouri and Kansas Super Lawyers magazine for his black-and-white photography. The article, titled "The Whole World Just Goes Slow Motion," delves into McMullen's journey as a photographer, revealing how he transformed his passion into a business in the early 2000s, establishing a gallery and attending art fairs across the country.

In the article, McMullen notes that the appeal of black-and-white photography lies in its ability "to evoke a response, an emotional connection." Additionally, he draws a parallel between photography and litigation, stating, “Some of the discipline that’s required to do serious photography is very similar to litigation, in that you have to be very patient and very persistent.”

The Super Lawyers magazine recognizes lawyers who have achieved a notable level of peer recognition and professional accomplishment. It also highlights selected attorneys through feature articles. McMullen is not only featured in the magazine but is also acknowledged in the category of Personal Injury-Products: Defense. With more than 30 years of experience, McMullen defends product cases, representing clients in manufacturing, propane, marine, insurance and transportation industries, handling catastrophic accident cases across the United States.

Although McMullen closed his gallery in the 2010s, he remains an active photographer. Additionally, his work continues to grace various locations around Kansas City, including the Leopold Gallery, Jackson County Courthouse and the Kansas City Metropolitan Bar Association office. Click here to view the magazine’s feature article about McMullen.

Nicholas Ruble Published in the Illinois Bar Association Labor & Employment Newsletter

20 Jul 2023

The Illinois State Bar Association (ISBA) Labor & Employment Section published an article by Baker Sterchi attorney Nicholas Ruble in its July 2023 newsletter. Titled With Charge against Apple, NLRB General Counsel Seeks to Expand Scope of Protected Concerted Activity, the article had previously been published on the Baker Sterchi Employment & Labor Law Blog.

In the article, Ruble examined charges by the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) that Apple violated the National Labor Relations Act through its surveillance, interrogation, and treatment of employees suspected of participating in a union organizing campaign. In addition to analyzing the NLRB's decision, Ruble provided key insights for employers facing a union organizing campaign in their workplace.

With over a decade of experience in traditional labor law, Ruble represents companies in employment and labor matters, as well as general business litigation. He is Vice Chair of the Baker Sterchi Employment & Labor Practice Group, Co-Vice Chair of the Kansas City Metropolitan Bar Association Labor and Employment Law Committee and serves on the steering committee for ALFA International’s Labor & Employment Practice Group.

The ISBA Labor & Employment Law newsletter is exclusively available to members of the association.

Crawford and Shunk Contribute to ALFA Insurance Compendium and Quick Reference Guide

03 Jul 2023

Clay Crawford and Michael Shunk, Members in Kansas City, contributed to the ALFA International Insurance Practice Group's 2023 Compendium and Quick Reference Guide. Shunk and Crawford both contributed to the Missouri section of the Compendium, while Shunk contributed to the Kansas section of the Compendium and both the Missouri and Kansas sections of the Quick Reference Guide.

The compendium provides an informative overview of various topics, including regulatory limits on claims-handling, contract interpretation principles, choice of law, duties imposed by state law, interpleader actions, and more. The Quick Reference Guide serves as a comprehensive state-by-state resource, covering essential aspects of insurance actions involving personal injury. It encompasses topics such as statute of limitations, liability standards, fault allocation, non-economic caps and limits on actual damages and availability of the Daubert standard.

Shunk is a steering committee member of ALFA’s Insurance Practice Group and serves as a co-chair of the Baker Sterchi Insurance Coverage and Bad Faith Practice Group. Crawford is a Fellow in the American College of Coverage Counsel and a member of ALFA’s Insurance Practice Group. He is responsible for more than thirty reported decisions in coverage, extra-contractual and personal injury cases.

Baker Sterchi is the Kansas City, Missouri and Overland Park, Kansas member firm of ALFA International, a premier global legal network of 140 independent law firms in the United States and internationally. ALFA offers educational programming in various practice areas for attorneys and clients associated with its member firms. The Missouri section of the Compendium can be found online here, the Kansas Section here, and the Quick Reference Guide here.

Greg Odom Contributes to Illinois Defense Counsel 2022 Survey of Law

14 Jun 2023

Baker Sterchi Member Greg Odom contributed to the toxic tort section of the 2022 IDC Survey of Law.

The Survey of Law is an annual publication by the Illinois Defense Counsel (IDC) that provides comprehensive summaries of significant cases and developments in various areas of law, including civil practice, construction law, employment law, ethics, insurance law, local government law, tort law and toxic tort law. The compilation is a collaborative effort by IDC members, aiming to share their insights on the most notable legal matters in Illinois. Odom’s contribution focuses on three asbestos-related cases: Lishman v. Air & Liquid Sys. Corp., Romig v. MW Custom Papers and Sherman v. BNSF Ry. Co. These cases were filed in Illinois and involved personal jurisdiction issues that were resolved by the state's courts.

Odom, who practices in Baker Sterchi’s Belleville office, is an experienced trial attorney with a practice focused on defending clients in mass toxic torts and commercial litigation in state and federal courts across Illinois and Missouri. He holds positions as a member of the IDC Board of Directors and the Toxic Torts Committee and serves as an author and editor for the Survey of Law.

Founded in 1964, the IDC is a leading association of attorneys in Illinois who devote a substantial portion of their practice to representing business, corporate, insurance, professional, and other individual defendants in civil litigation. The 2022 IDC Survey of Law can be found here (subscription required).

Baker Sterchi Attorneys Contribute to ALFA Transportation Law Compendium

02 Jun 2023

Baker Sterchi attorneys Jon Benevides and Jim Jarrow contributed to the Missouri and Kansas sections of the 2023 edition of the ALFA International (ALFA) Transportation Practice Group's 50-state Transportation Law Compendium. Additionally, Kyle Roehler contributed to the Missouri section, while Shawn Rogers contributed to the Kansas section.

The ALFA Transportation Law Compendium serves as a valuable quick reference for 17 common topics in transportation litigation. It covers essential areas such as the rules and regulations governing third-party litigation funding, the standards applied for spoliation of physical and/or documentary evidence, applicable law/choice of law questions in motor vehicle accident cases, and more. The Missouri section can be accessed online here, while the Kansas section can be found here.

Based in Kansas City, Benevides, Jarrow, Roehler and Rogers are members of ALFA’s Transportation Practice Group. They represent transportation carriers and their insurers in commercial motor vehicle accidents and handle various other legal matters encountered by the trucking industry. Jarrow serves as a co-chair of Baker Sterchi's Trucking Practice Group.

Baker Sterchi is the Kansas City and Overland Park member firm of ALFA International, a premier global legal network of 140 independent law firms in the United States and internationally. The ALFA organization offers educational programming in several practice areas for attorneys and clients of its member firms.

Greg Odom Toxic Tort Article Featured in IDC Quarterly Magazine

13 Jan 2023

Baker Sterchi Member Greg Odom’s article “Was Ford Motor Co. v. Mont. Eighth Jud. Dist. Ct. Actually a Game-Changer for Toxic Tort Defendants?” was recently featured in an edition of the Illinois Defense Counsel Quarterly Magazine.

“When contesting specific jurisdiction, defense counsel should be mindful that the crux of the Ford holding is that the specific-injury causing product does not need to be purchased in the forum state for specific jurisdiction to exist,” Odom notes in the article. “After Ford, a strict causal relationship between the defendant’s forum state contacts and the plaintiff’s action may not be required.”

Odom, located in Baker Sterchi’s Belleville office, is an experienced trial attorney with a practice focused on defending clients in mass toxic torts and commercial litigation in state and federal courts across Illinois and Missouri. He is an IDC Board of Directors member, Toxic Tort Committee member, and a Survey of Law author and editor.

Founded in 1964, IDC is a premier association of attorneys in Illinois who devote a substantial portion of their practice to representing business, corporate, insurance, professional, and other individual defendants in civil litigation.

Stumph-Turner, Ruble and Nielsen Contribute to ALFA Business Litigation Trade Marks Compendium

16 Dec 2022

Baker Sterchi attorneys Megan Stumph-Turner and Nick Ruble contributed to the 8th and 10^th Circuit sections of the 2022 ALFA International (ALFA) Business Litigation Practice Group Trade Marks Compendium, with Baker Sterchi law clerk Jack Nielsen also contributing to the 10^th Circuit section.

The 2022 ALFA Business Litigation Trade Marks Compendium is a quick reference for six common topics relating to trademarks, including standards for nominative fair use of a mark; the Lanham Act; recent trends regarding the application of trade dress laws; and more. The 8^th Circuit can be found online here, and the 10^th Circuit here.

Stumph-Turner is a steering committee member of ALFA’s Business Litigation Practice Group, as well as the Women’s Initiative Practice Group. She focuses her practice on creditors’ rights, financial services, real estate, construction, and commercial litigation. Stumph-Turner received her Juris Doctor from the University of Missouri-Columbia, and is admitted to practice in Iowa, Kansas, and Missouri.

Ruble is a steering committee member of ALFA’s Labor & Employment Practice Group, and an experienced employment and labor law attorney. Ruble received his Juris Doctor from the University of Missouri-Kansas City School of Law and is admitted to practice in Missouri and Kansas.

Nielsen is a 3L student at the University of Kansas School of Law, where he serves as an articles editor for the Kansas Law Review. He previously served as a law clerk for the Honorable Stephen Bough at the U.S. District Court in the Western District of Missouri.

Baker Sterchi is the Kansas City, Missouri and Overland Park, Kansas member firm of ALFA International, a premier global legal network of 140 independent law firms in the United States and internationally. The ALFA organization offers educational programming and compendiums in several practice areas for attorneys and clients of its member firms.

Stumph-Turner, Ruble and Headrick Contribute to ALFA Business Litigation Trade Secrets Compendium

29 Nov 2022

Baker Sterchi attorneys Megan Stumph-Turner and Nick Ruble contributed to the Missouri and Kansas sections of the 2022 ALFA International (ALFA) Business Litigation Practice Group Trade Secrets Compendium, with Mary Jo Headrick also contributing to the Missouri section.

The 2022 ALFA Business Litigation Trade Secrets Compendium is a quick reference for eight common topics relating to trade secrets, including statutory authority; the inevitable disclosure doctrine; state law differences from the DTSA; and more. The Missouri section can be found online here, and the Kansas section here.

Headrick focuses her practice on civil defense and employment litigation. She earned her law degree from the University of Arkansas School of Law and is admitted to practice in Missouri.

Baker Sterchi is the Kansas City, Missouri and Overland Park, Kansas member firm of ALFA International, a premier global legal network of 140 independent law firms in the United States and internationally. The ALFA organization offers educational programming and compendiums in several practice areas for attorneys and clients of its member firms.