After a series of mergers, Kansas City-based law firm Polsinelli Shughart PC changed its name to Polsinelli PC. What prompted the change and what does the new name mean for the firm? We think, and we hope, it means increased name recognition for the firm locally, statewide and even nationally. For some background, I joined Shughart, Thompson & Kilroy in 1997. That firm name was well known among attorneys across Missouri, but it wasn’t at all known in Springfield. We had a real problem getting name recognition and even getting people who could pronounce the name. Shughart was pronounced all kinds of ways. In 2009, we merged with the Polsinelli firm and became Polsinelli Shughart. During the last four years, this firm has grown tremendously. When we merged, we had about 480 attorneys and now we have 640. We have offices from Los Angeles to New York City, 16 in total. We found the trend among national law firms was to shorten the name and, second, our clients were already doing just that. It’s a little easier to pronounce than Shughart, so the clients were shortening it. The firm thought the shortening would increase the name awareness for what is now a national law firm.
You have served as a panel trustee for the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Western District of Missouri for more than 23 years. What has the experience taught you? First of all, in Springfield, right now, there are three panel trustees appointed on a rotating basis to serve as the trustees in Chapter 7 bankruptcies. A Chapter 7 bankruptcy is a liquidation bankruptcy, [where] somebody says, “I owe much more than I have in assets” or “I have no assets and I still owe money.” As trustees, we’re appointed to review the case and see if there are any assets for the benefit of the creditors and if there are, distribute those assets. Each of us handles 40 to 60 cases a month, which is about 80 to 90 people.
I learned that our system of credit is a great convenience, but you have to be careful and wise in how you use it. It’s nice to have a credit card and be able to go in and buy something or rent a hotel room. I can recall, not too long ago, when you had to carry a considerable amount of cash on you. If people are not careful with their finances, they can incur a lot of debt. People have some real financial problems when they start living off credit cards.
On April 1, Greene County started using the state eFiling portal to accept new cases and documents. How will this process change the way local lawyers work? It will benefit attorneys, their clients and the public in general. We’ve had electronic case filing in the federal courts since about 1996 or ’97, and it’s just great. You can file a pleading 24/7, [and] you can look at a case filing anywhere in the nation from anywhere in the world. You could practice law in Rome, Italy, if you wanted to from an electronic standpoint, because of the ability to access the court system. It’s a great convenience to us. You don’t have to drive to the courthouse or wake the circuit clerk up on the weekend to file something that needs to be filed because you can now do it from your desk. Most of us still maintain hard copy files, but in 10 or 20 years, that maybe a thing of the past, too.
You’ve practiced law for more than 45 years. What memorable cases stand out to you during that time? One case of public record that stands out was the Graven bankruptcy case. If I recall correctly, it started in 1988 and ended in 2002. It was very involved. Mr. Graven was a farmer and real estate salesman with a lot of holdings. In the face of a foreclosure, he filed Chapter 12 bankruptcy. The trustee, Richard Fink, employed me to investigate some transfers of property Mr. Graven had made. I filed a report with the court and in the face of that, Mr. Graven moved to dismiss his bankruptcy and the trustee moved to convert it to a Chapter 7 liquidation bankruptcy for fraud in connection with the filing. At that time, there were no reported decisions in the nation on the issue. Chapter 12 was a relatively new chapter and traditionally the law has always been you can’t force a farmer into Chapter 7 liquidation, but the judge ruled we could convert it. It was appealed up to the Eighth District and affirmed. That started a whole string of cases and reported decisions, I think eight or nine, related to the Graven case. We were successful throughout.
This installment of Springfield Business Journal’s Architects & Engineers Project Report showcases 26 endeavors by area design and engineering professionals.
