BLITZ, BARDGETT & DEUTSCH, L.C - Key Persons
Job Titles:
- Adjunct Professor at the Washington University School of Law
- Lead Counsel
- Member - St. Louis
- Member and past President of the St. Louis Chapter of the Federal Bar Association
As lead counsel, Andrew successfully arbitrated a claim between two law firms where a dispute had arisen related to their business relationship. Andrew argued the case before a three-member arbitration panel. The case ultimately settled on confidential terms.
As lead counsel, Andrew successfully obtained a jury verdict in a business dispute where the opposing party was found to have fraudulently induced Andrew's client into a business deal and later tried to retain the profits from the venture. The jury returned verdicts in favor of Andrew's client on all counts - both on the claims submitted by the client, as well as defendant's counterclaims. As part of the judgment, the court awarded the client its attorney's fees.
Andrew is an experienced trial attorney who focuses his practice on complex commercial and employment disputes, as well as emerging issues related to digital assets. He has successfully tried cases to resolution in federal and state court, in arbitration, and before administrative bodies.
Prior to joining the firm, Andrew founded the first practice group dedicated exclusively to digital assets and blockchain technology in the Midwest and has represented businesses, developers, and investors across the country in matters related to digital assets and decentralized protocols.
Andrew is an Adjunct Professor at the Washington University School of Law where he teaches Trial Practice and Procedure.
Andrew is an active member and Past President of the St. Louis Chapter of the Federal Bar Association and The Theodore McMillian American Inn of Court.
Job Titles:
- Associate
- Associate - Columbia
- Senior Counsel for the Missouri Department of Economic Development
Angela Burke is an associate in the Columbia office whose practice focuses on Regulatory & Government Solutions, Real Estate and Public Finance.
Angela joined the firm after serving as Senior Counsel for the Missouri Department of Economic Development, providing legal counsel related to various tax credit and incentive programs, including the Historic Preservation Tax Credit and Brownfield Tax Credit, advised on all aspects of compliance with the Missouri Sunshine Law, and provided legal counsel on government contracts, employment and federal compliance issues.
Angela previously served as Deputy General Counsel in the Office of Governor Jeremiah ("Jay") Nixon and as an Assistant Attorney General in the Governmental Affairs Division of the Office of the Missouri Attorney General. Angela began her legal career as an associate in the Public Finance and Public Law practice group of a major St. Louis law firm.
During law school at the University of North Carolina School of Law, Angela served on the North Carolina Journal of Law and Technology.
Practice Areas
Education
Anthony "Tony" Bonuchi's litigation practice focuses on business disputes and appellate matters. He also leads the firm's Kansas City office, where business and community leaders, fellow lawyers, and individual clients turn to Tony's broad experience and talent for understanding the big picture when faced with complex and thorny problems.
Tony is recognized as one of the Kansas City region's leading appellate lawyers. He has briefed and argued a wide range of appeals at the state and federal levels. Both before and during trial, other lawyers often call on Tony for strategy advice or counsel about the law, procedures, and motion practice critical to their cases. And he is regularly retained to provide these services and more as embedded appellate counsel at trial in high stakes litigation.
Job Titles:
- Associate
- Associate - St. Louis
Brett Sayers is an associate in the St. Louis office providing advice to businesses and individuals in a variety of transactional and estate planning matters. Brett has experience assisting clients in all stages of the business life cycle, including entity selection, formation, ongoing operational matters, restructuring, acquisitions, divestitures, dissolution, and taxation. Brett assists clients in connection with the acquisition and sale of real property, commercial and residential leasing transactions, real estate financing and real estate development. Brett also assists individual clients in asset protection planning, joint spousal trusts, and business succession planning.
Before transitioning to private practice as a transactional and estate planning attorney, Brett worked at a "Big Four" accounting firm assisting multinational corporate clients in local, state, federal, and international taxation matters. Now, he provides sound tax planning and compliance advice to both businesses and individuals.
Brett attended law school at the University of Missouri, where he wrote for the Journal of Environmental and Sustainability Law and was a founding member of the Tax Law Society.
Practice Areas
Education
Bridget Nave is a member in the St. Louis office who represents individuals in a wide range of estate planning techniques. She also represents business entities and individuals in taxation and general corporate matters. Bridget's estate planning practice includes sophisticated estate planning techniques such as grantor retained annuity trusts, insurance trusts, intentionally defective grantor trusts, asset protection planning and joint spousal trusts. Bridget's taxation practice includes representation of individuals and entities before the Internal Revenue Service as well as tax-exempt entity formation and classification, and tax planning in business and individual transactions. Bridget's practice also includes general corporate representation, handling day-to-day legal matters for business clients, such as negotiating and drafting agreements, entity formation matters, and corporate governance issues.
Prior to joining the firm in June 2007, Bridget spent over 5 years as an estate planning and taxation lawyer with a large Clayton law firm after obtaining her LLM in taxation from Washington University School of Law.
Bridget is active in charitable and religious activities in the St. Louis area, including Sts. Joachim and Ann Catholic Church and School.
Job Titles:
- Managing Member / St. Louis
- Member of the St. Louis Office
Chris Bauman is a member of the St. Louis Office who joined the firm in 2003 after serving as Deputy Chief Legal Counsel and Interim Chief Legal Counsel in the office of Missouri Governor Bob Holden. Chris has represented a number of closely-held businesses and local businesses in connection with their complex commercial litigation, including lender disputes, construction matters, and litigation concerning operational control of business entities.
Chris's practice is centered on trials and appeals, including litigation and appeals concerning securities class actions, tax increment financing and other public financing mechanisms, employment covenants, wrongful death, and a wide variety of contractual disputes.
Chris has acted as first chair in several cases tried to judgment as well as numerous evidentiary hearings on temporary restraining orders and preliminary injunctions. He has also argued appeals before the Missouri Supreme Court and the Court of Appeals, Eastern and Western Districts.
Job Titles:
- Advisor
- Counsel
- Managing Member - Columbia
Chris Pieper is a trusted advisor and counsel, skilled in developing and executing effective strategies for highly complex legal, policy, and public relations challenges and opportunities. As a member of the firm, Chris's practice is focused on regulatory & government solutions, real estate, public finance and incentives, local government, environmental, tax advice and controversies, energy and utilities, international business, administrative law, and appellate litigation. Chris recently returned to private practice following service at the highest levels of state government, including directing the Missouri Department of Economic Development and as Chief of Staff to the Governor.
Chris began his legal career at a large St. Louis law firm before being recruited to the incoming administration of Missouri Governor Jay Nixon, where he served in various roles, including Legislative Director for the Missouri Department of Revenue, Special Assistant Attorney General, Deputy General Counsel for the Missouri Department of Natural Resources, and Trustee for the Petroleum Storage Tank Insurance Fund (PSTIF), one of the largest insurers of storage tank liability in the country.
Job Titles:
- Counsel With the Firm
- of Counsel - St. Louis
Glenn A. Norton is Of Counsel with the Firm. His practice focuses on the areas of mediation, arbitration and special master appointments. He has extensive experience in the courtroom, with hundreds of jury and non-jury trials, and has been assigned by The Supreme Court to cases involving complex litigation and felony matters. As a retired judge, Glenn Norton is particularly well-suited to preside over arbitration hearings on any type of matter. Judge Norton is certified by the University of Missouri School of Law as a mediator.
Judge Norton was appointed Judge for the Missouri Court of Appeals in 2002. He served as Chief Judge of the Court and presided over the settlement docket until he left the Court in 2015. He has also previously served as Chief Legal Counsel to Governor Bob Holden, where he oversaw the legal departments for all 15 state agencies and reviewed judicial appointments, death penalty cases, budget issues, clemency applications and legislation.
Judge Norton practiced law in the former Briscoe and Norton Law firm in 1985, where he was responsible for murder trials and other high-profile felonies, and he was elected to serve as Associate Circuit Judge for Ralls County. He was re-elected to this position in 1998. Within the Judicial Branch, Judge Norton served on the Executive Council, the Legislative Steering Committee and as Chair of the Associate Circuit Judge Section.
He is also a Past-President of the Missouri Association of Probate and Associate Circuit Judges. He has been active in many areas of judicial education, including serving on the faculty of The National Judicial College, and is a frequent presenter on various topics regarding the law in Missouri and in other states. He was the Chairman of the Supreme Court's Trial Judge Education Committee until 2014.
Judge Norton served on the Disproportionate Minority Confinement Governing Board, the Missouri Statewide Legal Services Commission for Low Income Missourians, and on the Board of Directors of the Missouri Municipal and Associate Circuit Judges Association. He serves as Chairman of the Board of Directors of Action for Autism, and is on the Executive Committee of Howard Park School for developmentally challenged children.
Job Titles:
- President Elect of the Bar Association of Metropolitan St. Louis
Job Titles:
- Founding Member of the Firm and Member of the Jefferson City
- Member / Jefferson City
James Deutsch is a founding Member of the Firm and Member of the Jefferson City office with over 30 years of experience representing businesses and individuals in disputes with the state, federal and local governments. His focus is on legislative and rulemaking practice, challenging agency regulatory action, issues of state and federal constitutional law, litigation and appellate practice, on all areas of administrative law with an emphasis on gaming and wagering law.
Jim has been listed for ten years in "Best Lawyers in America" in the field of gaming law and he has appeared and argued before the United States Supreme Court.
Prior to that he was a partner in a major Saint Louis, Missouri law firm practicing in Jefferson City. He spent 12 years working in government, including as: Deputy Director and General Counsel of the Missouri Department of Revenue; Commissioner, Missouri Administrative Hearing Commission; and Chief Deputy Attorney General for Missouri.
Jim has acquired a number of awards and honors over his career. He is rated A/V by Martindale-Hubbell. He has been listed in "Missouri and Kansas Super Lawyers" in the field of administrative law. He is a founding member and officer of the International Masters of Gaming Law and is a graduate of the National Judicial College. He has written and lectured frequently on the subject of professional responsibility and ethics in the practice of licensed professions as a result of having been named by the Engineering News Record as "Man of the Year" and made an Honorary Fellow of the American Society of Civil Engineers for his work in deciding the 1981 collapse of walkways at the Hyatt Regency Hotel in Kansas City, Missouri. He is a former United States Marine and Vietnam Veteran. He is active in working with military veterans and veterans' issues.
Jim Ferrick is a seasoned litigator who represents clients in high stakes litigation throughout the country. He works to understand your business and how your goals drive strategy. Mr. Ferrick is experienced in handling all phases of litigation, from the temporary restraining order/injunction phase through trial and appeal. He has tried numerous cases to verdict, including in both bench and jury trials. He has argued before the Missouri and Illinois Appellate Courts and the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals.
Mr. Ferrick has brought and/or defended claims of virtually every type in the commercial and employment law contexts, including having handled claims for breach of contract, breach of fiduciary duty, fraud, unfair competition (including in relation to trade secrets and restrictive covenants), commercial torts, violation of wage payment obligations, discrimination and retaliation, defamation, and many others. He also has substantial experience in products liability litigation.
Mr. Ferrick is at the forefront of counseling and litigation involving restrictive covenants and trade secrets in both the employment and sale-of-business contexts. He has represented clients across multiple industries and in various forums, including state and federal courts throughout the country as well as in arbitrations before FINRA and the AAA. He has particular expertise in disputes and counseling related to financial advisor transitions. In his day-to-day role counseling clients on risk management and other issues, Mr. Ferrick frequently drafts non-solicitation, non-compete and non-disclosure agreements.
Mr. Ferrick's securities litigation experience involves defending brokerage firms in class actions and arbitrations alleging state and federal securities law violations, unsuitability and fraud in courts and tribunals throughout the country. In addition, he has represented broker-dealers, registered representatives, and investment advisors in matters involving non-solicitation agreements, trade secrets, and breach of loyalty or fiduciary duty throughout the country. Jim regularly appears on clients' behalf in the FINRA arbitration forum as well as state and federal court. Mr. Ferrick also provides pre-employment counseling to effectively avoid litigation.
Mr. Ferrick has litigated trust and estate disputes on behalf of both beneficiaries and fiduciaries. He has handed a variety of different cases including disputes over trust distributions, will contests, fiduciary duty claims, and cases involving a promise to make a gift and the Deadman's Act.
Mr. Ferrick has handled class actions throughout the country involving wireless telephone service, the securities industry, consumer products, insurance coverage and tax issues. He has handled all stages of class action defense, including class certification, dispositive motions, expert discovery, and settlement administration.
Practice Areas
Litigation
Education
University of Notre Dame Law School, J.D., 1994
University of Notre Dame, B.B.A. Finance, 1991
Job Titles:
- Associate
- Attorney
- Associate - St. Louis
Julie Chambers is an associate attorney in the St Louis office and represents clients in civil litigation.
Julie joined the law firm after serving as Lead Counsel for ReubenLaw LLC, providing legal counsel related to regulatory matters, employment contracts, family law litigation, and landlord-tenant disputes while supervising legal staff and managing a volume of 350+ traffic and criminal cases for clients in Missouri and Illinois.
Julie previously served as a judicial law clerk for The Honorable Mary Barzee Flores in Florida's Eleventh Judicial Circuit Court.
Julie attended the University of Missouri School of Law where she served as the Note and Comment Editor for the Journal of Dispute Resolution and the President of the Women's Law Association.
Practice Areas
Education
Kelley Farrell is a member in the St. Louis office, concentrating her practice in real estate, employment, trust and estates and commercial litigation.
Kelley's extensive real estate practice includes representing condemning authorities, developers, and property owners in eminent domain cases involving total and partial takings of commercial, residential, and industrial properties, landlord-tenant actions, and neighboring property disputes.
Her employment practice focuses on the defense of employment disputes in federal courts, state courts and administrative agencies. She also advises many retail, manufacturing, bank and service-oriented clients on a wide variety of issues, including hiring, wrongful termination, sexual harassment, discrimination laws, wage and hour laws, employee leave rights and workers' compensation, among others. Her most recent jury trial victory was representing a large insurance company accused of race discrimination and retaliation in Jackson County in August 2023. After six days of trial, the jury rendered unanimous defense verdicts in favor of Kelley's client.
Kelley has also litigated a wide variety of matters in the trust and estate area, including trust and will contests, claims for tortious interference with inheritance or expectancies, trust and will constructions, trust reformations and actions against Trustees for breach of fiduciary duties. In 2015, Kelley was a key member of the BBD trial team that secured a defense judgment in a multi-million dollar trust case in the Circuit Court of St. Louis County. That win was identified by Missouri Lawyer's Weekly as one of the top five defense verdicts of that year.
Kelley's commercial litigation experience includes serving as trial counsel in lawsuits for Fortune 500 companies and other corporations, privately held companies and individuals. Kelley prosecutes and defends a variety of commercial, business torts, contract and insurance-related litigation.
Kelley received her Bachelor of Arts degree magna cum laude from the University of Missouri in 1991. She earned her law degree from Washington University School of Law in St. Louis in 1994, where she was a member of the Order of the Coif. Kelley currently serves as Adjunct Professor for Trial Practice for Washington University School of Law (2011-present). She is also a Master Member in the Theodore McMillian Inn of Court, the St. Louis Chapter of the American Inns of Court.
Job Titles:
- Managing Member / St. Louis
Kevin Fleming is a member in the St. Louis office, representing corporate entities, public governmental bodies, and private individuals in a wide range of sophisticated and complex transactions and general representation. Kevin is also recognized as one of the St. Louis region's prominent real estate attorneys, who prides himself on facilitating successful deals for his clients. There is no "typical" deal for Kevin, as he regularly handles transactions ranging in size from less than $1 million to over $100 million.
Kevin Fleming is a member in the St. Louis office, representing corporate entities, public governmental bodies, and private individuals in a wide range of sophisticated and complex transactions and general representation.
Kevin's private entity practice includes representing private entities and individuals in real estate, financing, and general corporate matters, including handling day-to-day legal matters for corporate clients such as negotiating contracts and advising on entity formation and corporate governance issues.
Kevin's public entity practice includes representing governmental bodies in project finance and real estate development transactions. As counsel to the St. Louis Regional Convention and Sports Complex Authority, Kevin worked for over 18 months between 2014 and 2016 handling every aspect of the $1.1 billion riverfront stadium complex proposed to the National Football League in an effort to retain an NFL team in St. Louis. Kevin has served as outside counsel to the St. Louis County Port Authority in connection with the development and financing of new recreational sports facilities to be located in St. Louis County.
Kevin's real estate practice includes purchase and sale transactions, commercial leasing, various types of public financings, construction and development matters, and real estate secured lending. Kevin has a robust multifamily residential development practice, including representing buyers, sellers and developers of apartment complexes in multiple states.
Kevin's banking and commercial finance practice includes representing both borrowers and lenders in negotiating credit facilities and debt issuances, as well as handling work-outs and various types of debt restructuring and debt-related litigation disputes.
Prior to joining the firm in December 2008, Kevin spent over 5 years practicing real estate, commercial finance, and bankruptcy law with a large St. Louis law firm and 2 years practicing corporate and securities law in Menlo Park and San Francisco, California. In addition to his law degree, Kevin received an MBA from Northwestern University.
Kevin is active in a variety of civic, charitable, and religious activities in the St. Louis area, including the Dartmouth Alumni Club of St. Louis (in which he serves as Co-District Enrollment Director), the Kellogg Alumni Club of St. Louis, the St. Louis Sports Commission, Special Olympics Missouri, and Central Presbyterian Church.
Originally from Moberly, Missouri, Kevin lives in St. Louis with his wife and three young children.
Job Titles:
- Member - St. Louis
- Member of the St. Louis Office
Mark Sanders is a member of the St. Louis Office who concentrates his practice in commercial, real estate, and fiduciary litigation. His diverse experience extends to a broad range of matters including probate and fiduciary litigation, the uniform commercial code, business torts, contract disputes, shareholder disputes, non-compete litigation, trade secrets, and real estate disputes.
Mark works tirelessly, efficiently, and creatively to fully understand his clients and their goals in each case. He crafts strategies and solutions designed to meet the unique challenges of each matter.
Mark represents clients throughout the region in both state and federal courts. He has extensive experience at both the trial and appellate levels, as well as with mediation and arbitration. Mark represents closely held and family owned businesses, Fortune 500 companies, government agencies, and individuals alike.
Mark received his B.S. from Central Missouri State, Cum Laude, in 1994 and his J.D., Magna Cum Laude, Order of the Woolsack, from Saint Louis University School of Law in 1997. He received the AV Preeminent Rating from Martindale Hubbell and is licensed to practice in Missouri, Illinois, and multiple federal jurisdictions. Mark served as a law clerk to the Honorable Judge Duane Benton, Missouri Supreme Court, prior to entering private practice.
Mark is also a certified mediator.
Job Titles:
- Associate
- Attorney
- Associate Attorney - St. Louis
Patrick (Pat) Archer is an associate attorney in our St. Louis office and advises clients in a wide range of matters relating to contract negotiations, business entity formation, corporate finance, estate planning, and commercial real estate. Prior to joining the firm, Pat was based in Phoenix, Arizona, first as an auditor with Deloitte & Touche, […]
Practice Areas
Tax & Estate Planning
Education
J.D., Arizona State University, 2021
Master of Accounting, Ohio State University, 2015
B.A., University of Dallas, 2014
Job Titles:
- Founding Member
- Founding Member of the Clayton
- Member - St. Louis
Richard B. Rothman is a founding Member of the Clayton-based Blitz, Bardgett & Deutsch law firm and a Managing Member for his first 19 years at the firm.
Throughout his career, Richard has keenly focused on Business Law - Mergers and Acquisitions - Securities Compliance - Real Estate and Estate and Tax Planning.
A sought-after legal lecturer, Richard speaks on various tax and estate planning matters for the Missouri Bar Association, Missouri Society of Certified Public Accountants, and the Bar Association of Metropolitan St. Louis. He is also a past chairman of the Probate and Trust Section of the Bar Association of Metropolitan St. Louis.
Richard's road to becoming an attorney was an interesting one, including first earning an undergraduate degree in aerospace engineering from Princeton University. But his sights were set on the legal industry. Although he was already accepted into Stanford University, he elected to attend Georgetown University Law School, taking evening and Saturday morning classes, while working as a Patent Agent for the Office of Naval Research in Washington, D.C., and a Patent Examiner in the United States Patent Office.
No stranger to business entrepreneurship, from 1985 through 1995, Richard was a principal owner and executive in several successful companies involved in real estate investment and development, and manufacturing of finished retail goods sold throughout the United States.
Richard has three grown children, one an actor who occasionally plays off-Broadway, and five very busy grandkids that belong to his two daughters. Family is his top priority. He enjoys reading non-fiction, history, biographies, but also explores the world of science fiction, spy and detective stories.
Richard B. Rothman is a founding Member of the firm and has been a Member of the firm since its formation in 2000. Richard's practice focuses on the areas of business law, mergers and acquisitions, securities compliance, real estate and estate and tax planning. Richard has lectured in the past regarding various tax and estate planning matters for the Missouri Bar Association, Missouri Society of Certified Public Accountants, and the Bar Association of Metropolitan St. Louis. He is also a past chairman of the Probate and Trust Section, of the Bar Association of Metropolitan St. Louis. Richard has served as a Patent Agent for the Office of Naval Research in Washington, D.C., and as a Patent Examiner in the United States Patent Office. From approximately 1985 through 1995, Richard was a principal owner and executive in several companies successfully involved in real estate investment and development and manufacturing of finished goods for sale at retail throughout the United States.
Job Titles:
- Founding Member
- Chairman of Newly Created Mizzou Intercollegiate Athletics Special Committee
- Member - St. Louis
- Receives BAMSL 's Distinguished Lawyer Award
- Special Master in Monsanto Cases
Robert Blitz is a founding member of the firm. His practice focuses on the areas of trials and appeals. Bob's continued success across the nation has earned him his reputation as a well-known and respected member of the trial bar. He has had great success in both defending and prosecuting business and commercial disputes, with his verdict and settlement numbers exceeding $300,000,000, including breaches of contracts, real estate, securities, first amendment, entertainment, employment and other business-related cases.
Bob has also successfully represented clients, individual and corporate, in construction, restrictive covenants, and Title VII cases and contract, discrimination, trade secrets, business torts, land use, entertainment, and other complex civil business litigation. He has represented more than 100 cases, which he has tried to verdict or judgment and many more in which favorable settlements were received for clients.
Bob holds many awards including Best Lawyers in America, Super Lawyers, Best Lawyers in St. Louis, Attorney of the Year by Lawyers Weekly and Largest Verdicts and Settlements in the State of Missouri.
Job Titles:
- Member - St. Louis
- Selected As 2021 "Best Attorney" in St. Louis
Robert Brandt's practice focuses in the areas of business law, mergers and acquisitions, private securities offerings, commercial practice, technology licensing, banking and finance, real estate, franchising and employment. Rob serves as outside general counsel for several mid-size, privately held businesses and outside corporate counsel to several public companies, in industries such as manufacturing, technology, real estate development, construction, medical supply distribution, equipment leasing, pharmaceuticals, software development, internet marketing, health and dental care, insurance, physician practice groups, banking and mortgage lending.
Prior to becoming an attorney, Rob held various positions within the business management and finance organizations at The Boeing Company over a ten year period. He was a member of the St. Louis University Public Law Review and an Articles Editor.
Rob counsels corporate clients that are in all phases of the business life cycle: from start-up companies to mature companies to companies that are in the process of winding up and liquidating their assets. Rob has extensive experience in: entity selection, structuring and formation of businesses, mergers and acquisitions, private securities offerings, corporate restructurings, private equity and debt financing, business succession planning, franchising, commercial practice, international compliance coordination, intellectual property licensing, real estate development, sale and leaseback transactions, employment and dispute resolution.
Rob is the recipient of Academic Excellence Awards in Corporations and Business Entities, Secured Transactions and Consumer Lending. Rob is a Member of the Leadership Counsel for The Donald Danforth Plant & Science Center and a youth soccer coach.
Thomas (Tom) Limbrick is an associate attorney in our St. Louis office and represents clients in a wide range of civil litigation, including business torts, class actions, employment disputes, and personal injury. Prior to joining the firm, Tom served as a law clerk to Judge Ronnie L. White of the U.S. District Court for the