[caption id="attachment_14672" align="alignright" width="150" caption="Patrick Chavez"][/caption] Williams Venker & Sanders partner, Patrick Chavez (pchavez@wvslaw.com) was recently presented with the Commitment to Diversity Award at the 3rd Annual St. Louis Diversity Job Fair, held Aug. 23.  Patrick gave the event’s keynote address, “Increasing Diversity in the Bar by Emphasizing Professionalism” to an audience comprised of law students and individuals from law firms, corporations and government agencies. As a Co-chair of the Bar Association of Metropolitan St. Louis’ Minorities in the Legal Profession Committee, Patrick has demonstrated a commitment to educate St. Louis-area law firms on the importance of increasing diversity within their ranks. He regularly lectures to law students and lawyers and is a member of the Hispanic National Bar Association and the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce of Metropolitan St. Louis. Located in St. Louis, Williams Venker & Sanders LLC is one of the Midwest’s leading trial law firms. For more information, visit www.wvslaw.com.

[caption id="attachment_14344" align="alignright" width="150" caption="Andrew Mitchell"][/caption] The law firm of Greensfelder, Hemker & Gale, P.C. is pleased to announce Andrew M. Mitchell has joined the Firm’s Trusts and Estates Practice Group as an Associate. Mitchell represents clients in a broad range of estate planning matters. In particular, he assists clients with estate and trust planning, focusing on protecting family wealth and advising clients on prudently transferring wealth to younger generations or charities. He is also experienced in the administration of trusts and estates. A significant portion of his practice is devoted to addressing the income, estate, generation-skipping transfer and gift tax issues relative to the estate planning, probate and trust administration projects in which he is involved. Mitchell received his Juris Doctorate from University of Kentucky College of Law in 2006.  He received his Bachelor’s degree from Washington University in St.

[caption id="attachment_13816" align="alignright" width="150" caption="Cheryl Niro"][/caption] Cheryl Niro, long a leader of Illinois’ legal community, today became a member of the American Bar Association Board of Governors. Niro is a principal in the law firm of RobinsonNiro, LLC, which provides advice, expert witness services and training on issues involving legal ethics. Just beginning a 3-year term as one of only 38 members of the Board of Governors, Niro will help oversee administration and management of the ABA.  She represents the association’s Seventh District, comprising Illinois and Ohio.  The association represents lawyers from every corner of the country, practicing in every field of law and working in every professional capacity. Niro has worked in legal circles in Illinois since 1981, with her career alternating the private practice of law with public service.  She was executive director of the Illinois Supreme Court Commission on Professionalism during 2006-09; a special counsel to the Attorney General of Illinois in 1996-99; and the executive director of the Illinois Commission on the Bicentennial of the U.S. Constitution, a project of the state supreme court, in 1985-88.  While practicing in a law firm under her own name, she also founded the National Center for Conflict Resolution Education, which is funded by the U.S. Department of Justice and the U.S. Department of Education. Niro is a past president of the Illinois State Bar Association, and has chaired or been a member of state bar entities devoted to a range of issues, from meeting the legal needs and interests of children in the state to the impact of international trade agreements on the practice of law.  As a hands-on leader, she worked with the state bar’s participation in national high school mock trial competitions and supported a project to revise and update the Illinois Revised Statutes.  She worked on issues of internal bar significance, but also those affecting the public, such as developing alternatives to litigation for resolving legal disputes.  She also is as past president of the Cook County Legal Assistance Foundation, which works to meet the legal needs of the county’s indigent, and of the Illinois Supreme Court Legal Historical Society.

[caption id="attachment_13679" align="alignright" width="150" caption="Robert J. Bassett"][/caption] Williams Venker & Sanders LLC in St. Louis is pleased to announce that Robert J. Bassett (rbassett@wvslaw.com) has joined the firm as its newest Partner. Bob, a respected trial attorney in, most notably, St. Clair and Madison counties in Illinois, has spent 20+ years defending well-known companies, including trucking firms and pharmacies, among others. At Williams Venker & Sanders, he will continue to focus on product liability and transportation defense, bringing his decades of experience to these practice groups already established within the firm. In addition to his practice, Bob is an active member of the St. Clair County Bar Association in Illinois.  He served on the group’s Board of Directors from 1998-2004 and is currently First Vice President of the Association. Located in St. Louis, Williams Venker & Sanders LLC is one of the Midwest’s leading trial law firms. For more information, visit www.wvslaw.com.