Lathrop Gage partner switches to public sector

SBJ file photo

Dwayne Fulk

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A three-year partner at Lathrop Gage LLP’s Springfield office joined the public sector with a job switch to City Utilities of Springfield.

Dwayne Fulk started Dec. 4 as associate general manager and general counsel of CU. He succeeds John Black, who’s retiring after 10 years on the job. Fulk said Black, Missouri State University's former general counsel, will be on board at CU for one more case next month.

Fulk said he became involved in CU as a member of the city-owned utility company’s Citizens’ Advisory Council for three years.

“Through that process, I’ve gotten interested and excited about a lot of the things the utility is doing,” he said, noting when he heard Black was retiring, it made sense to apply. “I was ready for the next stage of my career anyway.”

As associate general manager and general counsel, Fulk leads a 12-employee department tasked with representing CU as its in-house attorneys.

“For the most part, we’re in an advisory role,” he said.

In January 2015, Fulk was among two other Polsinelli PC partners — James Meadows and Michael Textor — who were recruited to Lathrop Gage. Prior to joining Polsinelli, Fulk worked 17 years at Neale & Newman LLP, according to his LinkedIn profile. Fulk said other than internships in law school, he’s never worked in the public sector in his 25-year career.