ACCSTL April Newsletter

Monthly News & Updates

April 2022

Upcoming Events

See what's happening:

05/11/22 | REGISTER TODAY!

2022 Corporate Counsel Institute - 8:00 a.m. - 5:30 p.m. Ritz Carlton - 100 Carondelet Plaza - Clayton, MO 63105 - https://www.acc.com/education-events/2022/2022-corporate-counsel-institute-cci

CLE/CPD Credit Options

06/15/22 | ACC St. Louis Diversity Program: Advancing Equality Through the Corporate Equality Index -

12-1:00 pm - Free to members - https://www.acc.com/education-events/2022/acc-st-louis-diversity-program-advancing-equality-through-corporate-equality

CLE/CPD Credit Options

Deadline: Friday, April 15

NOMINATE HERE!

The St. Louis Business Journal’s 2022 Corporate Counsel Awards will recognize the best and brightest legal minds in the corporate landscape.

These awards will span all levels of the corporate legal department structure, from in-house generalists and specialists to chief legal officers and general counsel, who work in nonprofit organizations or in public or private companies of any size in any industry.

ACC Resource Collection:

Conflict in Ukraine

The Association of Corporate Counsel (ACC) is comprised of in-house counsel from around the world who are dedicated to respecting and upholding the rule of law in service to our organizations and communities. As such, we stand with our members and the global community to support the brave Ukrainian people.

In an effort to provide ongoing support to our members, one step we are taking is developing this webpage focused on issues arising from the conflict in Ukraine, including the many sanctions being levied by other countries. We are working as quickly as we can to create and curate additional articles and information to help ACC members be informed to counsel their organizations and navigate the numerous legal and ethical issues arising from these events.

If you are aware of additional resources or actions ACC should consider, please let us know at legalresources@acc.com.

-ACC Global Staff

******************************

Check out the recent March 30th ACC St. Louis program:

Understanding and Complying with U.S. and Global Sanctions Against Russia through the following link: https://www.acc.com/chapters-networks/chapters/st-louis/program-materials-st-louis

Members mingled and caught up with one another on Tuesday, April 5th for the ACC St. Louis Spring Social at Wild Crush, as shown below:

Photo Call

for Members' Fur Babies

We would love to feature some of our ACC St. Louis members' pets in our social media communication, so we're asking interested parties to send a jpg photo to accstl@qabs.com with answers to some of these questions:

What is your pet's name?
How did you get your pet?
What is the funniest/most memorable thing that you pet has done?
What is the best thing about your pet?

While not all submissions are able to be featured, we will do our best to give your favorite pet his or her day in the sun!

Step up to volunteer in the the Diversity & Inclusion Committee's tenth annual Street Law series! This successful outreach program serves as a diversity pipeline to expose students from various ethnic and racial backgrounds to the practice of law in a way that encourages the consideration of legal careers and the pursuit of higher education.

Small teams of volunteer chapter members teach an interactive session on an area of the law at participating high schools. All teaching materials, curriculum and aides are provided to the teams.

The in-school sessions are followed by an all-day workshop held at our corporate sponsor's location where the students can learn more about the practice of law as they attend a career fair and lunch with area judges and legal professionals.

April offers meetings with St. Charles West High School students to present the following sessions:

Employment Law: April 11th from 10:15 - 11:00 a.m.
Intellectual Property: April 25th from 10:15-11:00 a.m.

Getting to Know

ACC St. Louis Board Member

Chris Wittenauer

Title: General Counsel

Company: Peabody Energy

In current position for: 5 months (previously VP and Deputy General Counsel,

Commercial Mergers and Acquisitions)

Law School: St. Louis University

Undergrad: Truman State University

________________________________

1. If I was not a corporate lawyer, I would be:

I would like to think I would be some “Moneyball” type person for the Cardinals but in reality I would probably be a CPA – which is what I was before I went to law school.

2. My hobbies are: I like to do my morning boot-camp workouts with an organization called F3. Our family has two dogs, some fish, a (currently missing) hamster and chickens which keep me busy. I am also wanting to buy a Volkswagen Bus to rehab in our garage but that project is currently awaiting approval from my wife.

3. When I want to relax, I: I like to golf but I don’t really play the full course. I go to some of the practice holes and just hit balls and work on my game. It hasn’t really helped me be better at golf but it is relaxing.

Welcome to Our Newest ACC-St. Louis Members!

Lisa Bertain - Edward Jones
Danielle Cherney - Spire, Inc.
Helena Cheuk - Safety National Casualty Corporation
Shantia Coley - Edward Jones
Aubrey Crane - Enterprise Holdings, Inc.
Alyssa Cross - Mastercard
Erika Cruz - Mastercard
Jamie Ditch - Eli Lilly and Company
Mario Gianino - Safety National Casualty Corp.
Alicia Goede - Eyecare Services Partners
Natalie Grosso - World Wide Technology, LLC
Audrie Howard - Schnucks Markets, Inc.
Shawn McLain - Wells Fargo Law Department
Natalie Pastar - Bunge
James Smith - EmpowerMe Wellness
Vivian Van Bogaert - Edward Jones
Anne Wathen - CSI Leasing, Inc.

Recent Missouri Employment Litigation:

Key Takeaways for In-House Counsel

By Andrew L. Metcalf, Employment Law Counsel, Human Interest, Inc.

and James M. Paul, Shareholder, Ogletree Deakins

In recent years, Missouri appellate courts have issued a number of opinions that elucidate unique aspects of workplace law in the Show-Me State. Missouri’s employment law statutes share key similarities with various federal laws with which many in-house counsel may already be familiar. But, Missouri laws are phrased in their own unique terms, and our state courts sometimes interpret that language differently from similarly worded federal employment laws.

Here are four things about Missouri employment law that in-house counsel should be aware of when litigating a workplace legal dispute: