Newsmakers in Law

Springfield attorney Paul King was named to the Missouri & Kansas Super Lawyers List in the field of labor and employment law by Law & Politics magazine. Only 5 percent of Missouri and Kansas lawyers qualify for the list each year. King's practice is focused on management clients.

Dee Wampler and Joseph Passanise were named Missouri 2009 Super Lawyers by Law & Politics magazine. They have earned that designation every year since 2006. They practice criminal defense at the federal, state and municipal levels.

Matthew D. Wilson joined Baird, Lightner, Millsap & Harpool PC as an associate attorney. He is a graduate of the University of Mississippi, where he earned a bachelor's degree in business administration, and he earned his juris doctor at the University of Missouri-Kansas City, graduating cum laude. He previously served as a law clerk to the Hon. Stephen N. Limbaugh, formerly of the Missouri Supreme Court, and in practice with Bryan Cave LLP in Kansas City.

Karen Johnson, an attorney and partner with Evans & Dixon LLC's Springfield office, was named an Up & Coming Lawyer by Missouri Lawyers Weekly. Johnson, 39, is a member of the firm's worker's compensation group, serving on its business development committee. She also educates employers and insurers on worker's compensation issues and volunteers in the community.

Four Springfield lawyers - William Clark Kelly, John R. Lewis, Richard K. Wilson and Robert A. Wulff - have been honored as senior counselors of The Missouri Bar. The title is given to attorneys who have reached the age of 75 or who have been admitted to The Missouri Bar for 50 years.

They were among 95 members of The Missouri Bar to receive the designation in September.