Armstrong Teasdale Announces Nine New Equity, Income Partners

Armstrong Teasdale announces that eight lawyers – Patricia Beckerle, Shelby Drury, Alexandra Martinez, John Moore, Daniel O’Brien, Mark Ohlms, Abigail Twenter and Marlon Weiss – have been named income partners of the firm, effective Jan. 1, 2024. In addition, Partner John Willard has been elected to the firm’s equity partnership. The group is comprised of lawyers across three of the firm’s four core practice groups and offices in St. Louis, Chicago and Miami.

“Promotion to equity and income partner is a significant accomplishment– one that many lawyers work tirelessly to earn,” said newly elected Managing Partner Richard Engel. “I am incredibly proud of our lawyers as they reach this pivotal stage in their careers, and I am humbled by their dedication to our clients, our colleagues and the firm. It’s often said that the company you keep is a direct reflection of who you are, and I can say with certainty that I’m proud to be in their company.”

Willard (St. Louis) is a debt finance and restructuring lawyer and leader of the firm’s Debt Finance practice in the U.S. and Europe. He has extensive experience steering lender and borrower clients through complex domestic and cross-border financings and restructurings. Willard’s professional background in finance, entertainment, creditors’ rights and international transactions has made him a versatile counselor for an array of clients and other organizations, including premier financial institutions and private equity firms, Academy Award-winning artists, the world’s largest neurosurgical society and the historical trust of a former U.S. President.

Beckerle (St. Louis) represents developers, investors, financial institutions, utilities, governmental bodies and other public and private entities in all aspects of commercial real estate transactions. She routinely handles acquisition, sale, leasing, financing, development and construction projects, including sale-leaseback, rezoning and subdivision, public incentives and multi-party developments. She also advises clients on commercial foreclosures, landlord-tenant disputes and the commercial real estate impacts of bankruptcy law. 

Drury (Chicago) has extensive experience litigating major matters and resolving disputes for clients ranging from Fortune 500 companies to closely held businesses. She has successfully represented both plaintiffs and defendants in a variety of complex commercial litigation matters, including shareholder and partnership disputes, real estate matters, legal malpractice, breach of fiduciary duty, consumer and common law fraud, breach of contract, embezzlement, Uniform Commercial Code and tort claims.

Martinez (St. Louis) is experienced in patentability analysis as well as preparation and prosecution of U.S. and international patent applications in multiple technical disciplines, including mechanical and electrical systems. In particular, she handles patent applications related to medical devices (e.g., implantable, non-implantable devices, MRI machines, etc.) and computer systems in the medical, insurance and financial fields, including sensors, computer network architecture, payment networks, autonomous and semi-autonomous vehicles, and drones.

Moore (St. Louis) primarily focuses on mergers and acquisitions and real estate transactions. He regularly assists clients of all sizes with commercial, finance and real estate transactions, mergers, acquisitions and restructurings, and general corporate governance and compliance. Moore’s clients include private companies; family offices, private equity firms and their portfolio companies; and small and medium-sized business owners.

O’Brien (St. Louis) focuses on commercial litigation and complex commercial litigation matters, including contract disputes, business torts, consumer fraud and consumer protection matters, sales and commercial transaction disputes, and corporate litigation. He represents a wide range of clients, including banks and other financial institutions, manufacturers, real estate developers and brokers, insurance companies, holding companies, court-appointed receivers, high-net-worth individuals and families, and a multitude of service providers.

Ohlms (St. Louis) has experience in all aspects of trial preparation, including preparing and responding to discovery, and drafting legal memoranda, petitions and motions. In addition, he has experience researching and drafting preliminary opinions on various procedural and substantive legal issues involving civil, criminal and administrative appeals.

Twenter (St. Louis) has experience working on cases at all stages of litigation, including trial preparation, arbitrations, motions practice, and appeals. She has advised clients on appellate procedure and has briefed appeals in both state and federal court. Twenter also has experience litigating complex commercial cases, including contract disputes and tort claims.

Weiss (Miami) is a commercial litigator and board-certified appellate lawyer who represents clients in a range of complex disputes involving matters of business tort, contract, fiduciary relationships, and unfair and deceptive trade practices. He has experience counseling government and private clients in all stages of litigation and has personally argued 35 appeals in state and federal court.