Harmison and Pearman law firm emphasizes work comp

Citing a desire to be part of a smaller, locally owned firm, Jerry Harmison and Greg Pearman have left Lathrop & Gage to form their own company.

Harmison & Pearman PC will primarily work with employers and insurers with an emphasis in workers' compensation cases. The firm was established April 25.

Harmison & Pearman already represents several clients in southern Missouri, including Wal-Mart, Penmac, Elite Logistics, Hartford Insurance and Assemblies of God International Headquarters.

Harmison, a former partner with Lathrop & Gage, has 16 years of experience as an attorney. Pearman has eight years of experience.

"We have worked together successfully for eight years, and we have trained for and completed five marathons together," Harmison said. "We can handle any issue cooperatively."

Both attorneys started with Miller & Sanford, a locally owned firm with about 12 attorneys, which merged with Lathrop & Gage in 2000. According to the 2003 SBJ Book of Lists, Kansas City-based Lathrop & Gage had 15 local attorneys, 219 attorneys total.

"We decided for us, bigger isn't always better," Harmison said. "We wanted to be back in the locally owned and operated setting."

The firm's 2,200-square-foot office is at 1650 E. Battlefield Road, Ste. 110. The company currently has two legal assistants Judy Caselman and Jeannie James and is in the process of hiring a receptionist. Both legal assistants also worked at Lathrop & Gage.

Both Harmison and Pearman are involved in the community. Harmison is president of the Springfield School Board, and past-president of Sunrise Rotary and Big Brothers Big Sisters. Pearman is president of Sunrise Rotary and a board member for Big Brothers Big Sisters and Leadership Springfield.

"It's very important to both of us being actively involved in community organizations," Pearman said. "It's important to us, and we intend to continue doing so."

Harmison added: "We have received significant benefit from this community both professionally and personally and being active gives us the opportunity to give something back."

Harmison said it's hard to gauge what the future will hold.

"It's too early to tell. We want to start out conservative and we anticipate growth," Pearman said. "But we want to maintain a family environment for the entire staff, while offering professional service to clients."