The Mentors Project: David Agee

MENTEE
Amanda Tummons, partner at Husch Blackwell

OBJECTIVE
To be an advocate and confidential resource, and listen and provide guidance and support with respect to individual professional growth and career advancement.

HOW
Frequent interaction at lunch and ad hoc or regular meetings, in which questions, concerns or other issues may be freely discussed. This may include a lot of listening or two-way discussion (on) professional, client or other office conflicts, workload demands and scheduling conflicts.

RESULTS
Amanda was elected to partnership in 2016. She has assumed direct contact and relationships with significant firm clients and has been on the front lines of developing areas of practice, such as drones and startups. She has been named an SBJ 40 Under 40 and has received recognition by Missouri Lawyers Weekly as an Up and Coming Lawyer. She also has been selected for Leadership Springfield Class 32.

CHALLENGES
Learning to really listen (not just hear) and understand as if you were in the other person’s shoes. Sometimes it is too easy just to see the world through our own eyes.

YOUR MENTOR
Easy, my father, Bent Agee, who was a longtime businessman in Springfield (Heer’s Department Store). Within the legal profession, my mentors include then senior partners from my prior law firm, Jerry Redfern, Thom Field and Paul Bradshaw.