Amanda Bowling816.691.3478e-mail|vCard
11/29/2010
Stinson Morrison Hecker LLP attorney Tom Smallwood has been named to the St. Louis Business Journal's 2011 40 Under 40 class. The honorees, chosen by a panel of Business Journal editors and former winners, were selected based on career achievements and community work. A record number of people - more than 450 - were nominated for the honor this year.
Smallwood is a real estate attorney with extensive experience representing commercial and residential real estate developers, owners, tenants and lenders. He was the principal author and advocate for the new Illinois STAR Bonds Financing Act signed into law by Governor Pat Quinn, which is expected to finance a "destination retail and entertainment" project in southern Illinois. Smallwood, along with another Stinson attorney, drafted the new Illinois law and helped gain state government approval of the statute, which creates a sales tax and revenue (STAR) bond program. It will be first used to finance a 400-acre, $378 million retail and entertainment complex in the southern Illinois city of Marion, about two hours southeast of St. Louis.
He also frequently represents Angelica Corporation and its subsidiaries, and played a key role in its sale and leaseback of 14 industrial properties in eight states for a purchase price of $55 million. In addition, Smallwood regularly represents Entertainment Properties Trust. Recent notable transactions include a $209 million acquisition of 15 movie theater properties in eight states and a separate acquisition of 12 movie theaters in four states for $124 million.
On the community side, Smallwood sits on the Junior Board of Directors for Angels’ Arms, which is dedicated to providing and supporting loving homes for foster children by keeping brothers and sisters together. He also was a top 10 “Corporate Achiever” for the National Multiple Sclerosis Society’s 2009 fundraising campaign in St. Louis. In addition, he has devoted many hours of pro bono legal assistance to Loyola Academy of St. Louis and Volunteer Lawyers and Accountants for the Arts over the past several years. On the professional side, Tom is active with the Urban Land Institute, which works to provide responsible leadership in land use.
The 2011 class will be profiled in the Jan. 28 issue of the St. Louis Business Journal and will be honored at an awards dinner on Feb. 17 at the Renaissance Grand Hotel.
Stinson Morrison Hecker LLP is one of the country’s largest law firms with more than 300 attorneys representing clients nationwide in a full range of corporate, transaction and litigation matters. The firm has experience in more than 45 industry-focused areas, with attorneys located in eight key markets, including Kansas City, Mo., St. Louis and Jefferson City, Mo., Overland Park and Wichita, Kan., Omaha, Neb., Phoenix, Ariz. and Washington, D.C. For more information, visit us online at www.stinson.com.