Missouri

Lawyer Charged With Using Power of Attorney to Murder Her Well-to-Do Dad Loses Will Fight

Temporarily removed in September as personal representative of her well-to-do father’s estate, after she was charged with his murder in an unusual case based on an allegedly forged power of attorney for health care, a Missouri lawyer has now been permanently eliminated as his executor. Susan Elizabeth “Liz” Van Note,…

Nov 16, 2012 6:51 PM CST

Prominent Lawyer Disbarred re Claimed $800K In Client Loans Says He’s Now a Busy Legal Consultant

A prominent Missouri lawyer who once served as president of the Kansas City Metropolitan Bar Association has been disbarred by consent. James C. Wirken, 68, was accused of taking out loans from clients without adequately advising them of the fairness of the transactions, urging them to get independent legal counsel…

Nov 7, 2012 5:19 PM CST

Lawyer Sues Ex-Firm and Law Partner for Alleged Claims About Unsolved Murder, Bombing

A lawyer who claims a former law partner falsely alleged he was responsible for an unsolved murder has filed a suit for defamation and tortious interference. Mark Bates filed the suit on Oct. 25 in St. Louis County Circuit Court, report the St. Louis Post-Dispatch and Courthouse News Service. Bates…

Nov 2, 2012 2:45 PM CDT

Mo. Lawyer Faces Federal Mail-Fraud Case, Accused of Keeping Clients’ Insurance Payments

A longtime Missouri lawyer has been federally indicted on mail fraud charges for allegedly misappropriating insurance money that should have gone to his clients. Stephen B. Evans, 45, had his law license suspended earlier this year, reports the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. He is accused in a three-count indictment announced Thursday…

Oct 19, 2012 4:05 PM CDT

Visually Impaired Lawyer Applies for Social Security Job, Takes Fraud Plea in Disability Income Case

A visually impaired attorney who reportedly failed to report his law practice income to the Social Security Administration in 2010 as he collected disability payments from the agency has taken a plea in a criminal fraud case. Robert Brauker, 37, pleaded guilty on Tuesday in federal court in St. Louis…

Oct 9, 2012 9:22 PM CDT

Lawyer Charged in Dad’s Murder Allegedly Used Forged Health Care Power of Attorney as Fatal Weapon

As more details have been reported about a first-degree murder case against a Missouri lawyer accused of killing her father, it has become clear that Susan Elizabeth “Liz” Van Note is facing a highly unusual prosecution. Her father, along with his longtime female companion, were shot to death at his…

Oct 2, 2012 2:37 PM CDT

Lawyer Couple’s Suit Accuses Former Law Partner in Bombing Outside Their Home

A civil suit filed Monday alleges a lawyer helped carry out a pipe bombing outside the St. Louis home of two of his former law partners. The suit filed by Beth and Thomas Darin Boggs claims their former law partner Mark Bates planned and carried out the 2010 bombing with…

Sep 18, 2012 12:38 PM CDT

Ex-Missouri Lawyer Gets Five-Year Sentence for Embezzling from Clients

A former St. Louis-area lawyer has been sentenced to five years in prison for embezzling nearly $500,000 from clients. Jonathan McKee was sentenced Monday after pleading guilty to one count of federal mail fraud in March, report the Associated Press, the St. Louis Business Journal and the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.…

Sep 11, 2012 2:37 PM CDT

Mo. Lawyer Charged in Dad’s Murder Accused of Using Forged Health Care POA to Deny Him Treatment

A Missouri lawyer charged with first-degree murder and forgery concerning the 2010 slaying of her father in his vacation home pleaded not guilty at her arraignment Monday in the Boone County case. Court documents say the forgery charge against Susan Elizabeth Van Note relates to a durable power of attorney…

Sep 10, 2012 11:18 PM CDT

Mo. Attorney Is Charged with 1st-Degree Murder After 2010 Slayings of Her Father and His Girlfriend

An attorney who operates her own law firm in Kansas City, Mo., has been indicted in Boone County for first-degree murder and forgery in a case that is reportedly related to the 2010 slaying of her father at his home. Susan Elizabeth Van Note was taken into custody Friday by…

Sep 7, 2012 10:51 PM CDT

Mo. Judge Who Had Clerks Handle Call While on Vacation in China Is Suspended with Pay From $109K Job

A Missouri judge whose clerk was known among lawyers as “Judge Whitney” because she performed so much work for her boss, including reportedly handling associate Circuit Judge Barbara Peebles’ call while she was on vacation in China last year, has been suspended with pay. Peebles has also been recommended for…

Sep 4, 2012 10:03 PM CDT

After Losing 19 of 29 Lawyers, Firm Files for Bankruptcy Protection

In an effort to stave off eviction from its offices in downtown St. Louis, Moser & Marsalek has filed for bankruptcy protection. The firm, founded in 1925, has lost 19 of its 29 attorneys over the past two years and was taking steps to reduce its office space, the St.…

Aug 17, 2012 3:50 PM CDT

Medical Photos May Be Posted Online with Patient Names, Says Lawyer for 8 Ex-Patients of Mo. Doctor

Ten women who reportedly agreed to let a St. Louis plastic surgeon put before-and-after photos of their augmented breasts on the Internet are now suing in federal court there, contending that Dr. Michele Koo violated their privacy by linking their names to the photos, which otherwise would not have been…

Aug 14, 2012 7:57 PM CDT

PI Attorney Plans to Do SLU Law Dean’s Job for a Year, Plus His Own Law Practice

Thomas Q. “Tom” Keefe Jr. was already hard at work running his his Belleville, Ill., personal injury and criminal defense law firm. But amidst a week of turmoil at Saint Louis University School of Law, where the law dean suddenly announced her resignation in an angry letter, came further surprising…

Aug 13, 2012 5:14 PM CDT

Turmoil at SLU: Law Dean Resigns, Cites Funding Issues, ‘Hostility,’ Prez Says She Was to Be Fired

Updated: The dean of St. Louis University’s law school has resigned after a year on the job and plans to return to teaching as a tenured faculty member. In a Wednesday resignation letter, Annette Clark stepped down from the job, effective immediately, and brings up multiple issues with the SLU’s…

Aug 8, 2012 7:47 PM CDT