Attorneys take new leadership posts

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One of Springfield's legal eagles has a new roost. |ret||ret||tab|

David C. Agee, formerly managing partner of locally owned Neale & Newman LLP, is now heading the corporate business practice group at Blackwell Sanders Peper Martin LLP. |ret||ret||tab|

Paul G. White, Agee's colleague at Neale & Newman, has assumed the position of managing partner at that firm.|ret||ret||tab|

It was Blackwell Sanders' interest in increasing its community involvement that led it to Agee, according to Dick Dorr, a Blackwell Sanders managing partner and judicial nominee to the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Missouri. |ret||ret||tab|

"For us, his business law experience and his involvement in civic activities make him ideal for the type of partner we're looking for here," Dorr said.|ret||ret||tab|

Agee's involvement in Springfield's civic organizations is extensive. He is chairman of the board of the Greater Springfield Area Chamber of Commerce and also a member of the Springfield Business & Development Corporation and the Partnership Industrial Center Administrative Council.|ret||ret||tab|

He also serves as a member of the Springfield's Best Founda-tion Board of Directors, the Springfield Public School Leadership Think Tank and the Springfield Good Community Committee.|ret||ret||tab|

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Agee background|ret||ret||tab|

Agee's experience ranges from corporate, aviation and real estate law to employment law, international transactions, and mergers and acquisitions.|ret||ret||tab|

Agee started working at Blackwell Sanders on June 10. The position offers expanded opportunities to develop the skills he's practiced in business and corporate law, he said. He added that his primary task is "to build their presence and improve upon their recognition as a business-oriented firm in this community."|ret||ret||tab|

Among the considerations that drew Agee to Blackwell Sanders were its 40-plus practice areas, its 600-plus staff, its technological resources, and the assistance available from its seven other offices, Agee said. The Springfield office employs 31 people, including seven associate lawyers and seven partners.|ret||ret||tab|

It was at Neale & Newman, however, where Agee honed his skills in the courtroom and developed a diverse client list. "That law firm trained me as a lawyer. It exposed me to every aspect of business and corporate practice you can imagine." |ret||ret||tab|

His clients include professional firms, manufacturing operations, Internet and technology companies and major airlines like TWA, American Airlines and Aerovias de Mexico. |ret||ret||tab|

White background|ret||ret||tab|

White said his new responsibilities at Neale & Newman will reduce his own practice time on account of attending to the "direct supervision and administration of the business affairs of the law firm." He will oversee an office staff of 42, including four associates, 11 partners and four of-counsel lawyers. He took over the top slot on June 4.|ret||ret||tab|

Neale & Newman is a "full-service civil practice firm," White said. His own practice has focused on civil litigation, including commercial, personal injury and domestic relations.|ret||ret||tab|

In addition to legal matters, somewhere near the top of White's to-do list is helping coordinate an event next year to honor the 100-year anniversary of Neale & Newman's 1903 founding in Greenfield. |ret||ret||tab|

Parallel paths|ret||ret||tab|

Agee and White began practicing law under the same Springfield roof 22 years ago when the firm was called Neale, Newman, Bradshaw & Freeman. Both joined that firm as associate lawyers in 1980 after graduating from the law program at the University of Missouri-Columbia, and both became full partners in 1985. |ret||ret||tab|

In 1997 the firm changed its name to Neale & Newman LLP.|ret||ret||tab|

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