Daniel Clampett law firm to split

One of the city's oldest law firms 53-year-old Daniel Clampett Powell and Cunning-ham LLC will split with the ringing in of the new year.

The name of one of the new firms Daniel Powell and Kiefer will reflect its roots, said partner Bill Powell; the other new firm will be Cunning-ham Harpool and Cordonnier, according to partner Gary Cun-ningham.

Daniel Powell and Kiefer will continue the old firm's work in worker's compensation, medical malpractice defense and other insurance defense work, Powell said.

Powell said he will probably drop or reduce his domestic relations practice, and Paul Sherman, who is chairman of the Missouri Bar's real estate committee, will increase his real estate practice. Daniel Powell will remain essentially a civil litigation firm, with insurance defense at the core, Powell said.

Cunningham, Harpool and Cordonnier will offer specialty litigation services, such as products liability and medical malpractice defense, which has been Mike Cordonnier's exclusive area of practice.

Cunningham, who's been with the firm for 20 years, along with Doug Harpool and Cordonnier, left mainly because the three want to be able to do more plaintiff's work, he said.

"Doug (Harpool) has always been interested in plaintiff's work, has done plaintiff's work here with the firm. We're going to give (that) a try." In addition, there will be less chance of conflicts of interest between clients in a smaller firm, Cunningham said.

Cunningham said Daniel Clampett is "going to continue. It's not dissolving or any of that type of thing that would lead to an obliteration of the history ... (that) we're all so proud of."

Powell, who has been with the firm 31 years, said it's the only firm he's been with since he was sworn in as an attorney in 1970, and he's sorry to see the three leave, yet "every development becomes an opportunity."

Powell joined the firm when it was in the Woodruff Building as Daniel Clampett Ellis Rittershouse and Dalton.

Cunningham said, "It has happened at a time when we could do it and not cause much disruption." And, he added, "I'm 53. If I'm going to do something, I had better do it now."

Cunningham was just a year old in 1948 when Ray Daniel and William Collinson began practicing as law partners.

Collinson left in the early 50s when he was appointed to the circuit court bench. Then B.H. Clampett joined the firm which has since built a reputation defending insurance companies.

Two associate attorneys, Jennifer A. Headley and Lisa D. Shrock, who is also a registered nurse, and the newest associate, S. Shawn Whitney, will go with Cunningham, Harpool and Cordonnier, Cunningham said.

Besides Powell, Daniel Powell and Kiefer will include Charles Kiefer, former worker's compensation administrative judge James Wesley, Sherman and Brian Renfrow.

Associates Colby Smith-Hynes and Grace Johnson are going with Daniel Powell.

Some of the other attorneys will either go out on their own, with other firms or are undecided, Powell said.

Pat Platter is going with Neale & Newman; Penni Adams is joining Millington, Glass & Walters; Jeff Groves is going with Shughart Thomson & Kilroy; and Paul Wacker is going out on his own something he always wanted to do, Powell said.

At this point, attorney Mark Mc-Queary and associate Warford B. John-son III, are undecided, Powell added.

Cunningham's firm will move to other quarters, he said, but the lawyers haven't decided where yet. "The question is whether we buy or lease." He said he was surprised at all the retail and office space available in Springfield.

The Daniel Clampett firm will sell its building at 3171 E. Sunshine, which was once the Springfield Racquetball Club, Powell said.

He started out in practice in the Woodruff Building which used to be "lawyer central" because of its proximity to the Greene County Courthouse and the federal courthouse, which used to be in the Busch Building.

The federal courthouse is still in the downtown area at St. Louis and John Q. Hammons Parkway.

Powell said he thinks one of his partners has already been down to inspect potential quarters in the Woodruff Building, but nothing is decided other than that they want to be back downtown again.

"I started out there; Chuck (Kiefer) was with the Court of Appeals there and Jim Wesley was with Woolsey Fisher there."

Powell commended "the people who have hung in there and got the downtown regenerated."

Cunningham said there has been no animosity over the breakup. "These people are deep friends of mine who I care greatly about. The leaving is the most pleasant that you can possibly imagine." He added that the partnership split won't "interfere with our relationship. They are a great group of people and I look forward to working with them again in the future."

Powell said, "We want to continue the heritage of Ray Daniel, Bill Clampett, Andy Dalton, Max Lilley, Louis Cowan to provide the legal services they were so known for."