Baker Sterchi Cowden & Rice is proud to be a sponsor the 14th Annual Leadership Council on Legal Diversity (LCLD) Alumni Leadership Symposium, taking place June 26–27, 2025, in Minneapolis, Minnesota.
Hosted annually, the LCLD Alumni Leadership Symposium brings together attorneys who have completed either the LCLD Fellows or Pathfinder programs. The event offers a range of professional development opportunities, including educational sessions, career advancement resources and peer networking designed to strengthen leadership in the legal field.
Baker Sterchi Member Gregorio Silva will represent the firm at this year’s event. Silva serves on the Alumni Leadership Symposium Committee, acts as
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Megan Coluccio Serves as Editor of FDCC's June Civil Writes Newsletter
Baker Sterchi Member Megan Coluccio served as editor of the June 2025 edition of the Federation of Defense & Corporate Counsel’s (FDCC) Civil Rights and Public Entity Committee newsletter, Civil Writes. This edition of the newsletter highlights the recent U.S. Supreme Court decision Barnes v. Felix, reaffirming the “totality of the circumstances” test for evaluating excessive force claims under the Fourth Amendment.
Coluccio is vice chair of the FDCC’s Civil Rights & Public Entity Liability Committee and a member of its FedLife Committee. She is also a member of several other peer-selected defense organizations, including the Association of…
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CPSC Changes Rules for Amazon
ABSTRACT: The CPSC has ruled Amazon a “distributor” under the Consumer Product Safety Act, expanding its liability for product safety in its Fulfilled by Amazon Program. Amazon is challenging the decision in federal court, citing the Supreme Court’s recent Loper Bright ruling limiting agency deference.
On July 29, 2024 the Consumer Product Safety Commission issued a unanimous decision and order categorizing Amazon as a “distributor” under the Consumer Product Safety Act. This ruling grew out of an ongoing dispute originating with an administrative complaint against Amazon regarding its Fulfilled by Amazon (“FBA”) Program in 2021. Nearly 400,000 products sought to…
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Lindsey Freihoff Selected as Social Chair of KBA Young Lawyers Section
Baker Sterchi attorney Lindsey Freihoff has been selected to serve as social chair of the Kansas Bar Association’s (KBA) Young Lawyers Section. In this role, she will lead the planning and coordination of the section’s social events. Freihoff also serves on the KBA’s Board of Editors for the Kansas Bar Journal.
Based in the firm’s Kansas City office, Freihoff focuses her practice insurance defense, personal injury, premises liability, product liability, municipal liability and employment law. She is also a member of the Johnson County Bar Association Young Lawyers Division. Freihoff earned her law degree from Loyola University New Orleans…
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Heather Shore Serving as Marketing Liaison for ABA Forum on Construction Law
Baker Sterchi Member Heather Shore is serving as the marketing liaison for the Kansas City location of the American Bar Association (ABA) Forum on Construction Law 2025 Regional Program, taking place Nov. 13–14 in cities across the United States. In this role, she coordinates the organization’s marketing efforts for the Kansas City session of the program, titled “Construction Law Foundations: Fundamentals of Construction Law PLUS Sticks & Bricks.”
Based in Kansas City, Shore has nearly 30 years of experience in construction, surety and commercial litigation. She serves on the American Arbitration Association’s Panel of Construction, Commercial and Consumer Arbitrators, is…
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Consumer Credit Industry can Breathe Easier as CFPB's Medical Debt Rule Likely to be Discharged
ABSTRACT: The Eastern District of Texas has set a hearing that will likely result in an order and final judgment vacating the Consumer Financial Services Protection Bureau Rule prohibiting collection and reporting of consumer medical debt information.
The litigation, which has been pending since the beginning of the year filed by Cornerstone Credit Union League (“Cornerstone”) and the Consumer Data Industry Association (“CDIA”) against the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (“CFPB”) and former Director Rohit Chopra regarding the CFPB’s Rule prohibiting collection and reporting of consumer medical debt information will likely reach its conclusion in the coming weeks.
The Rule…
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Baker Sterchi and Attorneys Recognized by Chambers USA 2025
Baker Sterchi Cowden & Rice, along with three attorneys, has been recognized as a leader in insurance and general commercial litigation in Missouri and the Kansas City metropolitan region, according to the 2025 edition of Chambers USA.
Firm Recognitions
- Band 2: Insurance, Missouri
- Band 3: General Commercial Litigation, Kansas City & Surrounding Areas
Individual Attorney Recognitions
- Clay Crawford and Scott Hofer – Band 1: Insurance, Missouri
- Scott Kreamer – Band 3: General Commercial Litigation, Kansas City & Surrounding Areas
Chambers USA is a respected guide evaluating top law firms and attorneys across the United States. Its rankings are based on…
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Megan Coluccio Named Chair of ADTA National Membership Committee
Baker Sterchi Member Megan Coluccio has been named chair of the Association of Defense Trial Attorneys (ADTA) National Membership Committee. The committee works with regional and state chairs to retain current members and recruit new qualified prime and associate members. Coluccio also chairs the ADTA’s “We Prefer to Refer” Committee.
Based in the firm’s Seattle office, Coluccio focuses her practice on complex civil rights, professional negligence and municipal liability cases. She is also a member of several additional peer-selected defense organizations, including the Federation of Defense and Corporate Counsel – where she serves as vice chair of the Civil Rights…
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Litigation Support Specialist, St. Louis
Our St. Louis office is seeking a highly motivated and skilled litigation support specialist. View the job description here.
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Alena Johnston Article Published in Criminal Law Practitioner on COVID-Era Fraud Scheme
Baker Sterchi associate Alena Johnston’s article, “Fraud in Feeding Our Future: An Analysis of ‘The Largest Pandemic Relief Fraud Scheme Yet,’” appears in the Spring 2025 edition of Criminal Law Practitioner, a publication of American University Washington College of Law. The article examines a series of Minnesota cases involving a pandemic relief fraud scheme tied to a federally funded child nutrition program.
Based in the firm’s St. Louis office, Johnston focuses her practice on personal injury, commercial litigation, trucking and insurance coverage. She is an associate of The Theodore McMillian American Inn of Court and serves as social media…
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Bob Christie Appointed Chair of IADC Trial Techniques and Tactics Committee
Baker Sterchi Member Bob Christie has been appointed chair of the International Association of Defense Counsel (IADC) Trial Techniques and Tactics Committee for the 2025–2026 term. In this role, he will oversee committee operations and lead its programming and initiatives.
Christie, based in the firm’s Seattle office, focuses his practice on the defense of professionals, businesses, governmental entities, law enforcement officers and individuals in high exposure matters. He is a member of several peer-selected organizations, including the Association of Defense Trial Attorneys and Lawyers for Civil Justice, where he serves on the board of directors. He is also a member…
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Missouri lawmakers overturn Proposition A's paid sick leave and partially overturn its minimum wage increases.
ABSTRACT: On May 14, 2025, the Missouri Senate overturned the minimum wage increases and paid sick leave passed by Missouri voters last November included in Proposition A, by applying the seldom used Previous Question rule. The repeal of those provisions is expected to go into effect on August 28, 2025.
On May 14, 2025, the Missouri Senate forced a vote on HB 567, to remove the paid sick time provisions and partially remove the wage increase provisions of Proposition A that were passed by Missouri voters in last November’s election.
We previously wrote about Proposition A following its passage in …
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Nick Ruble to Serve as Moderator at ALFA Labor & Employment Seminar
On June 13, Baker Sterchi Member Nick Ruble will moderate a panel at ALFA International’s Labor & Employment Seminar in Manalapan, Florida. The session, “Flying Cars and Sentient Robotic Assistants – A World Once Imagined in The Jetsons is Now Here (Well, Sorta),” will explore emerging technologies and their impact on current employment law issues.
Ruble focuses his practice on employment and labor law. He is a steering committee member of ALFA’s Labor & Employment Practice Group, vice chair of Baker Sterchi’s Employment & Labor Practice Group, and a member of the Society for Human Resource Management, including its Greater…
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Evasive Jurisdiction: Site Unseen
ABSTRACT: The District Court of Kansas reminded practitioners that the plaintiff’s prima facie burden to establish personal jurisdiction cannot be met by inadequate allegations and a Motion for Jurisdictional Discovery.
A plaintiff filed suit after suffering personal injury from allegedly defective eye drops that she purchased from a Target store in Kansas City, Kansas. Specifically, she claimed that defendants committed alleged omissions pertaining to the manufacturing, marketing, advertising, labeling, distribution and sale of the product, and noted the FDA recalled the eyedrops in October 2023.
The Amended Complaint combined each of the defendants, alleging the presence of personal jurisdiction because…
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Angela Probasco Selected to Join Federation of Defense & Corporate Counsel
Angela Probasco, a Member in Baker Sterchi’s Kansas City office, has accepted an invitation to join the esteemed Federation of Defense & Corporate Counsel (FDCC), an exclusive, invitation-only global legal organization.
Established in 1936, the FDCC is an international organization of defense attorneys and corporate counsel. It focuses on issues related to civil justice and legal professionalism and has nearly 1,500 members. Membership involves a rigorous vetting process, including nomination review by the Membership Committee, consultation with local members, and final approval by the Board of Directors.
At Baker Sterchi, Probasco focuses on insurance coverage, extra-contractual and bad faith litigation.
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Hayley Hollis to Speak at DRI Young Lawyers Seminar
On June 13, Baker Sterchi attorney Hayley Hollis will present at the DRI Young Lawyers Seminar in New Orleans, Louisiana. Her session, “Finding Your Niche and Advancing Your Legal Career,” will focus on identifying emerging practice areas, aligning personal strengths with market opportunities and building a reputation as a trusted resource in the legal community.
Based in the firm’s Portland office, Hollis represents clients in the construction and insurance industries. Her practice spans class actions, multidistrict litigation, complex commercial matters, employment law and professional liability defense. She serves on the steering committee of DRI’s Young Lawyers Committee and acts as…
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