Kit Bond returns to roots as attorney

Former U.S. Sen. Christopher "Kit" Bond retired this week from the U.S. Senate after serving four terms, but his career lives on. Bond has joined St. Louis-based law firm Thompson Coburn LLP as a partner.

"As a policymaker I worked to foster business growth and economic development, and I will continue that work as a lawyer at Thompson Coburn," Bond said in a news release. "I am thrilled to join a law firm that shares the same values and interests that I do and is as respected as Thompson Coburn.

“I look forward to continuing my commitment to the business community and the people of Missouri as an active member of the firm.”

With his new role at Thompson Coburn, Bond will advise clients on issues concerning international trade, biotechnology, agriculture, cyberlaw and transportation. He also will consult on client issues that aim to bring economic development and job opportunities to Missouri.

He will work from both the firm's St. Louis and Washington, D.C., offices.

“Sen. Bond has been a tremendous friend of the business community during his 40 years of public service and combines both legal and policymaking expertise with a deep understanding of the issues of importance to our clients,” Thompson Coburn Chairman Tom Minogue said in the release. "We are honored and privileged to have him join our firm."

Bond, who was born in St. Louis, received his law degree from the University of Virginia in 1963. Following graduation, he worked as a clerk to the chief judge of the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals in Atlanta and then practiced law in Washington, D.C., before returning to Missouri to become the state's assistant attorney general, according to a biography on his Web site.

Bond was elected as Missouri governor in 1973 and served two terms before being elected as a U.S. senator, a job which he worked from 1986 through 2010.[[In-content Ad]]