St. Louis firm Dowd Bennett announced James E. Crowe III joined the firm in June. Crowe served for the past five years as an assistant United States attorney for the Southern District of Illinois.
Firm News
- July 24, 2009
-
James E. Crowe III Joins Dowd Bennett
- June 26, 2008
-
Riverfront Times Names Bennett Best Lawyer of 2008
Jim Bennett has made a name for himself defending some of this town’s more notorious folk. In 2004 the attorney asked the Missouri Supreme Court to toss out drunk-driving charges against St. Louis Rams defensive end Leonard Little. (The court refused, but Little was eventually acquitted of the charges following a jury trial.) In 2006 Bennett represented former American Equity Mortgage cofounder Ray Vinson in his nasty divorce from his wife and business partner, Deanna Vinson. (Despite courtroom testimony about Vinson’s aberrant behavior, Bennett convinced the judge to award Vinson 32 percent of the couple’s multimillion-dollar estate and receive another $16 million to walk away from the company.) But Bennett’s biggest claim to fame ought to be that he single-handedly sent former Metro president Larry Salci packing with a one-way ticket out of town last fall.
- March 24, 2008
-
Comerford Named to Missouri Veterans’ Commission
Missouri Gov. Matt Blunt appointed several St. Louis area residents to positions on state boards, commissions and councils, the governor’s office announced Monday.
John Comerford, of St. Louis, was named to the Missouri Veterans’ Commission for a term ending Nov. 2, 2011. Comerford is an attorney at Dowd Bennett LLP and has served in the U.S. Navy.
- March 7, 2008
-
Taxpayers’ Costs Mount in Fight Over State E-mails
The continuing battle over how Gov. Matt Blunt’s office has handled government e-mails is going to be costly for Missouri taxpayers.
This week, the governor hired three members of a St. Louis law firm – at $210 to $370 per hour – to defend him against a lawsuit filed by a fired state lawyer, Scott Eckersley.
Public money also is paying for private lawyers hired by four current or former aides to Blunt who are defendants in the lawsuit, state records show.
- March 7, 2008
-
Blunt Hires Attorneys, Demands $540,000 to Turn Over E-mail Records
The continuing battle over how Gov. Matt Blunt’s office has handled government e-mails is going to be costly for Missouri taxpayers.
This week, the governor hired three members of a St. Louis law firm — at $210 to $370 per hour — to defend him against a lawsuit filed by a fired state lawyer, Scott Eckersley.
Public money also is paying for private lawyers hired by four current or former aides to Blunt who are defendants in the lawsuit, state records show.
- December 24, 2007
-
Bennett Named One of Ten Best Lawyers of 2007 by Missouri Lawyers Weekly (link opens a PDF)
Jim Bennett was an integral part of two of the biggest jury trials in St. Louis over a 12-month span ending in November.
In the first case, Bennett co-represented Structural Polymer Systems, Ltd., a British building material manufacturer. After a five-week jury trial in U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri, his client won a $36 million verdict in its breach of contract case against Zoltek Corp., a St. Louis-based carbon fiber manufacturer.
- August 6, 2007
-
Bennett Quoted in Article Regarding Unpublished Court Opinions
He had taken a legal malpractice case to the Missouri Court of Appeals Eastern District and received an order from a three-judge panel instead of a published opinion. Published opinions appear in caselaw books and on the court’s Web site and can be cited; memorandums such as the 10-page explanation that accompanied the order in Mass’ case don’t and can’t.
By using orders or unpublished opinions when it shouldn’t, “the Eastern District is creating an entire body of secret law, which is unknown to the general public or bar, is applied on an ad hoc basis, and risks losing the public trust and confidence in the judicial system,” Mass complained in a March 20 motion to publish.
- August 1, 2007
-
John Comerford Joins Firm
In August 2007, a new lawyer joined the firm, bringing the total number to six. John Comerford, a graduate of the U.S. Naval Academy and the Georgetown University Law Center, joins Dowd Bennett. Mr.Comerford previously served as an officer in the U.S. Navy for seven and a half years.
- September 18, 2006
-
Two Partners from St. Louis Office of Bryan Cave to Start their Own Practice
Two partners in the St. Louis office of Bryan Cave are leaving the silk stocking firm to start their own practice. On Monday, Sept. 18, Dowd Bennett LLP makes it debut. The lawyers are Edward L. Dowd, Jr., former United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Missouri and James Bennett, a former clerk for U.S. Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy. The practice will focus on complex litigation, white collar criminal defense and appellate litigation. The office will be located in Clayton.