News
Durone Joins Board of Lyric Opera
Partner Anthony Durone joined the Board of Trustees of the Lyric Opera of Kansas City in November 2021. Founded in 1958, the Lyric Opera brings high quality live operatic performances to the people of the Kansas City area and five-state region at the state-of-the-art Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts . Upcoming Lyric performances in the 2021-2022 season include The (R)evolution of Steve Jobs and Tosca .
Read More >Gilman Appointed to Federal Courts Advocates Section Nominating Committee
Partner Stacey Gilman has been appointed to serve on the Kansas City Missouri Bar Association’s Federal Courts Advocates Section (FCAS) Nominating Committee to identify the slate of leadership for 2022. FCAS connects federal court practitioners with federal judges, magistrate judges, and other federal court practitioners; and also develops and executes continuing education programs to help practitioners navigate the federal courts system and stay up-to-date with relevant developments. Stacey was appointed to FCAS’s 2021 Nominating Committee by the current FCAS President, who had come to know Stacey as opposing counsel in federal …
Read More >Costello Receives 2021 President’s Award from Association for Women Lawyers
On December 7, 2021, at the annual holiday party for the Association for Women Lawyers of Greater Kansas City , partner Megan Costello was awarded the 2021 President’s Award. Outgoing AWL President Nicole Fisher announced that Costello received the award based on her work as a board member in 2020 and 2021, when Costello served as chair of the organization’s Marketing and Communications committee. During the pandemic, Costello helped keep AWL’s members connected with AWL events and other community developments through the organization’s monthly Spotlight newsletter. Regarding her award, Costello …
Read More >Twelve Berkowitz Oliver Attorneys Named Super Lawyers, Rising Stars
Twelve attorneys at Berkowitz Oliver have been named 2021 Missouri & Kansas Super Lawyers or Rising Stars. The 2021 Missouri & Kansas Super Lawyers are: Stacey Gilman , for Business Litigation Jim Humphrey , for Securities Litigation Jeff Morris , for Criminal Defense: White Collar Shazzie Naseem , for Criminal Defense: White Collar Kathleen Nemechek , for Employment & Labor David Oliver , for Business Litigation Tom Schult , for Class Action John Shaw , for Securities Litigation Christina Wahl , for Criminal Defense: White Collar Jennifer Wieland , for Class Action Two attorneys were named 2021 Rising Stars: Carson Hinderks , …
Read More >Three New Associates Join the Firm
Three new associates have recently joined Berkowitz Oliver. Blake Saffels is a 2021 graduate of the University of Kansas School of Law . He also graduated from KU’s Business School in 2013. He managed operations for 2 companies in different industries before attending law school. He focuses his practice on white collar criminal defense and general business litigation. Billy Hupp is a 2020 graduate of the University of Virginia School of Law . He graduated from Emory University with a B.A. in history and philosophy in 2015. While in law school, he served as Editor-in-Chief of the Virginia Employment Law Journal …
Read More >Berkowitz Oliver Named 2022 Tier 1 Firm for Kansas City Metro by U.S. News & World Report
Berkowitz Oliver has been named a Tier 1 firm in the Kansas City Metro area by U.S. News – Best Lawyers(R) “ Best Law Firms ” in 2022 in the following eight practice areas: Bet-the-Company Litigation Commercial Litigation Criminal Defense: General Practice Criminal Defense: White-Collar Litigation – Regulatory Enforcement (SEC, Telecom, Energy) Litigation – Securities Mass Tort Litigation / Class Actions – Defendants Product Liability Litigation – Defendants
Read More >Wieland Honored for Work with Veterans
Partner Jennifer Wieland received the Volunteer Attorney Spotlight for November 2021 from the Kansas City Metropolitan Bar Foundation for her work with its Military Matters program. Wieland has performed pro bono work through the Military Matters program since 2017. She specializes in military discharge upgrade cases for veterans in all branches of the military.
Read More >Firm Chili Cook-off Returns
The firm held its annual Chili Cook-off competition on October 29, 2021. The Chili Cook-off coincides with Breast Cancer Awareness Month every October. The event is held to honor firm employees Lynne Clark and Lois Steward. This year’s Chili Champion was new associate Billy Hupp , whose “Indian Spiced Chili” bested the eight entries. He took home the coveted Pepper Belt Buckle. The event also featured the firm’s first-ever Cornbread Bake-off, won by Stacey Gilman and her “Cheesy Chivey Buttermilk Cornbread Biscuits.” Gilman took …
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