Five Thompson Coburn attorneys were among the 100 selected by Missouri Lawyers Media for its Top 100 Power List 2025. Each year, the publication reviews hundreds of Power profiles published over the past 12 months to identify the most influential attorneys across Missouri and neighboring metro areas.
Below are the Thompson Coburn attorneys recognized, along with excerpts from their profiles:
Bill Bay,
Partner
Business Defense category: "Bill Bay is an
experienced trial lawyer who has represented major corporations in
high-stakes litigation for more than 30 years. He was elected
president of the American Bar Association for the 2024-2025 term
after more than 20 years in various roles in both the ABA and
Missouri legal organizations. Notably, he co-chaired statewide
commissions focused on increasing access and opportunities for
women attorneys, achieving equal access to justice for litigants,
and supporting the Supreme Court of Missouri's Commission on
Racial and Ethnic Fairness."
Evan Goldfarb, Partner
Healthcare Law category: "As a member of Thompson
Coburn's management and executive committees and co-chair of
the firm's corporate department, Even Raskas Goldfarb advises
hospitals, health systems and other institutions. Her many
accomplishments include serving as lead counsel to a large
nonprofit health system to acquire 22 traditional and specialty
retail pharmacies and as lead outside counsel to a regional acute
care not-for-profit hospital and its affiliates to develop a joint
venture involving an impatient rehabilitation hospital in
Illinois."
Steve Gorin, Partner
Tax & Estate Planning category: "Steve is a
certified public accountant and focuses his practice on trust and
estate planning, tax and business planning. Steve has developed
comprehensive expertise in the interaction between income tax and
estate planning for business owners. He led the strategy for
removing a company valued at $3 billion from the estate tax system,
which is now worth $20 billion. Steve serves as chair of the
Business Planning Committee for the American College of Trust &
Estate Counsel and previously held leadership roles with the ABA
Section on Real Property, Trust & Estate Law and the Bar
Association of Metropolitan St. Louis."
Michele Kloeppel, Partner
Mergers & Acquisitions category: "As
co-chair of Thompson Coburn's corporate and securities practice
group, Michele's work covers a broad spectrum of business
sectors, including a public company that acquired three information
technology businesses in the U.S. and South Asia, using cash and
corporate stock valued between $5 million to $35 million. She also
represented a digital consultancy in its acquisition of a
California-based health care software engineering firm with
offshore Romanian operations in a $52 million
transaction."
Booker T. Shaw, Partner
Appellate Law category: "A former judge on
the Missouri Court of Appeals Eastern District, Booker Shaw brings
his experience to bear on important cases including participating
on a task force in 2016 to reform the state's municipal courts.
This year, Booker received one of the Missouri Lawyers Media
Lawyers Awards for his contributions to defending client Stanley
Fastening Systems after a jury found the company liable for
injuries a worker incurred while using an industrial stapler. His
team won a new trial for his client after arguing before the
Eastern District panel of the Missouri Court of Appeals, saving
Stanley $7.7 million in damages."