Springfield's attorney retires after 32 years

The Wright stuff
The selection committee sought input from outside City Hall, as well.
“We met with the employees in the department to find out from their perspective; what they would like to see in their new boss – characteristics, personality traits and so forth,” said Bob Cumley, deputy city manager and a selection committee member. “We met with a group of local attorneys that have dealings with the law department (and) got their feedback.”
High on the list of requests, said City Manager Tom Finnie, was an attorney with experience in public and private law and familiarity of a growing community and economic development issues. Good communication skills and high ethical standards also were sought.
“Howard certainly met all of those criteria, and I think a lot of people set the criteria based on what a good job Howard had done,” Finnie said.
Wright began his career as city attorney in August 1972 and has served as top legal adviser and counsel for City Council and the city manager. Prior to joining the city of Springfield, Wright was city attorney in Cape Girardeau and worked for the Missouri Department of Transportation.
There were 50 applicants and seven finalists for the position Wright will leave behind. Wichmer will oversee a staff of 12 in the city attorney’s office and six in the prosecutor’s office.
“He had both public and private sector experience, which was a big plus. He had supervised and managed law offices before and had a good understand of municipal law, which is what our current city attorney has an extremely good grasp of,” Cumley said.

Big city draw
Wichmer has been Branson’s city attorney since May 2003. He said accepting the job offer in Springfield wasn’t easy.
“It was very difficult because I really enjoy the people down here,” he said. “This is a very busy town with a lot to do, in terms of (the) city attorney (job).”
But the chance to go to a bigger city without having to move away from Springfield, where he has lived for 13 years, was appealing.
Jerry Adams, public information director for the city of Branson, said that although the position has been advertised in legal publications and applications are starting to arrive, the job might not be filled before Wichmer’s exit.
“Even though he’s going to Springfield, he’s agreed to still assist the city until someone is in place,” Adams said. “He’s got the experience and the intellect to handle both positions because he’s so knowledgeable about the projects down here.”
Adams said that the starting salary for the Branson position will range from $71,000 to $90,000 per year, based on experience. He declined to disclose Wichmer’s final pay level. As city attorney for Springfield, Wichmer will start at $92,518 per year. Wright’s current salary is $109,324 per year. Wright said that he will probably keep practicing law in some fashion, but no decisions have been made.
Prior to joining the city of Branson, Wichmer worked for the Springfield office of Lathrop & Gage LC, practicing in the areas of construction law, commercial litigation and municipal law. He also assisted the city of Springfield as outside counsel on several occasions.
Wichmer is a 1991 graduate of the University of Missouri-Columbia School of Law and holds a Bachelor of Arts in political science from Northeast Missouri State University.
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