Read the full article … SIU Law Journal

Read the full article … St. Louis Construction News and Review

Raza and Berkowitz discussed with Buck the important, yet often confusing and problematic, subject of summer vacations and children in families of divorce.

Watch the interview …

“It’s important that the agent has experience in the type of real estate you’re looking for,” she said, whether that’s a condo, ranch or townhouse. “Also, find out what geographic areas they specialize in.”

While searching for a home, you’ll spend a lot of time with your real estate agent, so choose one you feel comfortable talking to, Helmuth said. “Getting along with them on a personal level is important,” she said. “We talked about a lot more than real estate.”

Also try to determine how assertive the prospective agent is and about their negotiating style. “Will they push for you, or will they just roll over?” Helmuth said.

 Helmuth ultimately found her agent by attending open houses.

Read the full story … St. Louis Business Journal

With the divorce rate for people 50 and over doubling in the last decade (according to a recent article in the Wall Street Journal), Raza discussed reasons behind this trend.

Watch the interview …

Recently the St. Louis Post-Dispatch featured Long in a “Real Parenting” article titled “Mom weighs keeping twins together in school,” tackling the subject of whether to keep twins together or separate them in school. As a twin herself, Long has first-hand insight into how to guide her twins’ educational process.

Currently, Julia and James are in the same room in day care.  They are very close to each other, especially at nap time, when they push their cots next to each other.

For the future, Long says they will consider each child and his or her needs and personalities as well as the teachers when deciding whether or not to separate the children. According to Long, there are many options for parents for twins. Long and her husband Ed were mindful of their twins’ educational needs when they chose the location of their home. They wanted a school district that would have options to put their twins in different classrooms, based on the chilren’s personalities and “how they fit with the teachers.”

Long is an active member of the Greater St. Louis Mothers of Twins Club, and this topic is very much on everyone’s mind. Most agree with separating twins, and some say the schools make the decision for them.

When asked if Long was worried that the twins’ relationship would be harmed by being separated in school, she replied:

“You have to remember, they are going to be siblings forever. You have aftercare together, recess, evening and weekends and holidays. You’re still going to have that bond.”

Spoken like a twin with experience.

Read the full story St. Louis Post-Dispatch

The Post reports that the new bills will affect all newly-hired firefighters going forward, but some changes will also affect current firefighters, including “reducing retirement earnings for nearly all firefighters going forward” and increasing yearly firefighter contributions.

 According to the article, the Mayor’s proposal faces opposition from the Firemen’s Retirement System of St. Louis, the firefighters’ pension board, if passed.

Executive Director Vicky Grass declined to comment on the bills’ details. But the system’s private attorney, Dan Tobben, said Wednesday that the mayor wasn’t going about reform correctly.

“The fact that they’re ‘opting out’ and setting up a different pension program seems clearly to be against state law,” he said.

Moreover, he said, courts across the country have ruled that cities can’t change benefits for existing workers, only new hires.

 Read the full story St. Louis Post-Dispatch

 Read more … historical cases between the City of St. Louis and the Firemen’s Retirement System:

Firemen’s Retirement System vs. City of St Louis - Supreme Court decision

Firemen’s Retirement System vs. City of St Louis - Court of Appeals decision

“Jeff is an excellent litigator, and has extensive experience in real estate, construction and financial litigation,” said Ron Danna, senior principal and co-founder of the firm. “He’s a proven leader, and we believe he’s the one to lead the title litigation practice into its next phase, one committed to quality client service and continued growth.”

Supporting Schmitt and Danna McKitrick’s title litigation practice is litigator David A. Zobel, as well as transactional lawyers Michael J. McKitrick and James M. Heffner. With McKitrick’s 30 years of experience in real estate litigation and transactions, McKitrick and other members of the transactional team focus on areas that are tangential and necessary to support title litigation, such as creditors’ rights.

Schmitt earned his J.D. from the University of Missouri-Columbia and his B.A. (magna cum laude) from Saint Louis University. He is admitted in Missouri, Illinois, U.S. District Court, Eastern District of Missouri, and U.S. Court of Appeals, Eighth Circuit.

Schmitt is past president of the Clayton Chamber of Commerce and executive committee member. After clerking for the U.S. Attorney’s Office of the Eastern District of Missouri, he joined Danna McKitrick as a promising young law clerk and worked his way up to principal. He was recognized in 2010 by The Missouri Bar Young Lawyer’s Section as a “Young Lawyer You Should Know.”

Read “Business” in St. Louis Post-Dispatch

Read “People” in St. Louis Business Journal

Saint Louis, MO – January 17, 2012 – Danna McKitrick, P.C. has announced that Attorney Margaret L. Wichmann has joined the firm as an associate. Wichmann represents business clients in matters related to business transactions, intellectual property, employment law, and real estate.

Wichmann will be an integral part of the firm’s expansion of their intellectual property, according to Ruth A. Binger, principal with Danna McKitrick and head of the firm’s transactional department.

“We’re pleased to successfully recruit a candidate with Maggie’s advanced degree in intellectual property. She’s a great addition to our growing IP practice,” said Binger. “Additionally, her skills and temperament also mesh well with our transactional team and further expand Danna McKitrick’s service to its business clientele.”

Wichmann is experienced in real estate, corporate, and financial transactions as well as litigation support for intellectual property and commercial litigation. She has also assisted business owners with estate planning matters.

“Danna McKitrick is exactly the type of firm I was looking to join,” stated Wichmann. “For me, the firm is ideal in terms of the size, the clients I work for, the resources available to associates, and the potential for professional growth through mentoring relationships. It is a great place to practice law.”

During law school, Wichmann worked in the Judicial Clerkship Clinic for Judge William D. Stiehl in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Illinois. Before law school, she worked as a legal assistant for a criminal attorney.

Wichmann has the unique experience of working as an intern in Bangkok, Thailand, studying the anti-trafficking laws in Southeast Asia and assisting in multi-lateral negotiations for the Thailand Ministry of Social Development and Human Security. She also participated in the Summer Institute for Global Justice at Utrecht University in the Netherlands.

Wichmann earned her LL.M. in Intellectual Property and J.D. from Washington University School of Law in St. Louis. Her credentials include: Dean’s List, Dagen-Legomsky Public Interest Fellowship, Cash-Nickerson Fellowship, Whitney R. Harris Wold Law Institute, Washington University Law Review Senior Editor and Staff Editor, Student Bar Association Faculty Appointments Committee, Environmental Moot Court Semi-Finalist, Women’s Law Caucus Executive Board Social Chair, International Humanitarian Law “Students as Teachers” Program Presenter, Negotiation Competition. She earned her B.A. in philosophy from Washington University.

Admitted in Missouri and the U.S. District Court, Eastern District of Missouri, Wichmann is a member of the American Bar Association, The Missouri Bar, and the Bar Association of Metropolitan St. Louis. She is the author of “Reaching Beyond Guantanamo: The Future of Counter-Terrorism Law in the United States,” 6 Cambridge Student Law Review 197 (2010).

Read “People” in St. Louis Business Journal

Read “Business” in St. Louis Post-Dispatch

While details have not been released, Jeff Rainford, the mayor’s Chief of Staff, has started briefing the aldermanic council on the mayor’s intents. According to aldermen, Rainford has stated that if negotiations with the International Association of Fire Fighters Local 73 are not successful,

… the city would move to essentially “opt out” of the current system and start a new agency to govern firefighter retirement ….”

Slay has stalled a proposal already presented to the board for consideration that would save over $1 million a year, according to one alderman. The proposal was created through negotiations between the union and the City, with the drafting assistance of Dan Tobben and Cheryl Beebe Snell, attorneys for the Firemen’s Retirement System.

Joe Vaccaro, alderman in the city’s southwestern 23rd Ward, is frustrated that Slay has successfully stalled his bill, which he introduced this session to change firefighter disability benefits and save the city more than $1 million a year.

Slay asked Craig Schmid, alderman in south city’s 20th Ward and chair of the Public Employees committee, not to hear the bill until Slay’s plan is ready.

“He told me it doesn’t go far enough,” Vaccaro said of Slay. “Why not let my bill stand, save taxpayer money, and they can introduce their own legislation?”

Herein lies one of the underlying problems with the City’s proposal: does the City of St. Louis have the authority to set up a retirement system for its firefighters? In St. Louis, firefighter and police retirement systems are set up by state law, which Slay has publicly acknowledged.  In the article, Tobben stated that he did not think that, without a state law allowing it, the City can create its own pension system for new employees.

“This all sounds very speculative and uncertain at this point,” Tobben said. “Beyond that, they sound like they are going down a road that may not be legally proper.”

If the City is concerned about legality of such a move, its spokesman is choosing to not address the issue.

Rainford refused to address such concerns. “We’re not going to talk about the legal aspects of it at the moment,” he said Friday.

Read more … St. Louis Post-Dispatch

Read more … historical cases between the City of St. Louis and the Firemen’s Retirement System:

Firemen’s Retirement System vs. City of St Louis - Supreme Court decision

Firemen’s Retirement System vs. City of St Louis - Court of Appeals decision