Recognized three times as Missouri Lawyer of the Year for his achievements as a top government relations litigator, Chuck offers clients seasoned insight from decades of high-profile litigation experience.

Overview

Clients engage Chuck when a dispute presents outsized risk, demands sophisticated legal strategy, and is likely to be decided on the strength of legal argument as much as the facts.

Having served as Chief of Staff and Counsel to the Missouri Attorney General prior to joining Stinson nearly 25 years ago, Chuck developed legislative policies and coordinated multi-state litigation on behalf of the Attorney General's office. He is well acquainted with the people, policies and politics at the highest levels of the state government, and he leverages this knowledge and experience for the benefit of his clients. He regularly litigates in both state and federal court and has personally handled more than a dozen major cases before the Missouri Supreme Court.

Chuck is a highly-rated commercial and class action litigator and appellate lawyer. He is recognized for his work on complex high-stakes litigation, including class actions involving regulated industries such as securities, insurance and merchandising practices. Missouri Lawyers Media named him Missouri Lawyer of the Year three times, and he is consistently included in their Top 100 POWER List and their Appellate Law POWER List. In addition, Best Lawyers in America® named him Lawyer of the Year twice, he is ranked by Chambers USA (Litigation: General Commercial) and he was selected for inclusion on the Lawdragon 500 Global Leaders in Crisis Management List.

Chuck understands the importance of providing great legal service and value to his clients. As an attorney certified in Legal Project Management (LPM), he has been trained in matter budgeting and management in order to provide pricing transparency and efficiency to his clients.

Experience

Government-related matters

  • Successfully defended litigation alleging hundreds of millions in damages against a financial adviser for a state pension fund.
  • Obtained a verdict in excess of $30 million for a state software vendor.
  • Successfully overturned a Department of Revenue decision about deductibility of Missouri-based corporate dividends, resulting in millions in tax adjustments for his clients.

Commercial Litigation

  • Chuck regularly counsels clients in investigations and litigation involving the Missouri Merchandising Practices Act (MMPA).
  • He has handled multiple class action lawsuits at both the state and federal level.
  • He regularly represents clients in breach of contract actions.
  • Successfully defended and anti-trust lawsuit in federal court concerning waste haulers.

Election and Political Law

  • Chuck served as lead counsel before the Missouri Supreme Court in a lawsuit to successfully force Missouri officials to provide expanded Medicaid coverage under the Affordable Care Act.
  • Convinced the Missouri Supreme Court to strike several pieces of legislation for violating Missouri's legislative procedural rules, including seminal cases on the "original purpose" standard.
  • He brought a successful First Amendment challenge to a Missouri Constitutional amendment, prevailing both in the Federal District Court and at the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals.
  • He has represented dozens of clients in Missouri's initiative petition process, writing proposed changes to Missouri law and litigating initiative petition and signature challenges.

News & Insights

News

Publications

"Missouri OA Removes Public Access to Procurement Materials, Complicating Bid Protest Analysis," Stinson Alert, September 2022

"New Missouri Law Requires LLCs to Register Before Making Political Contributions," Stinson Alert, August 2022

"Missouri Revenue Officials Disallow REIT Dividend Deductions," Stinson Alert, July 2022

"Raise Your Hand if You are Contributing – FEC Dismissal of Charges Offers Insight about Coercing Contributions to your PAC" – Stinson Leonard Street Insight, July, 2016

"Protestors at Your Door—First Amendment Law Insight," Stinson Leonard Street Insight, November 2015

Speaking Engagements

"A Cleaner Missouri? Redistricting: What We Can Expect," 2021 Federalist Society Missouri State Conference, March 8, 2021

"Dealing With Government Investigations," ACC St Louis Chapter, 2018 Corporate Counsel Institute, May 16, 2018

Recognitions

Recognitions

Selected to the Lawdragon 500 Global Leaders in Crisis Management list, 2025

Missouri Lawyers Media Top 100 POWER List, 2022 – Present

Selected as "Lawyer of the Year" by Best Lawyers in America®, 2023, 2026

Listed in the 2021-2025 editions of Chambers USA: America's Leading Lawyers for Business for Litigation: General Commercial

Selected to Missouri Lawyers Media Appellate Law POWER List, 2021 – present

Lawyer of the Year by Missouri Lawyers Weekly 

Selected to The Best Lawyers in America® list – Commercial Litigation, Government Relations and Non-Profit/Charities Law 

Martindale-Hubbell A/V rated 

Professional & Civic Activities

Professional & Civic Activities

Missouri Supreme Court Historic Preservation Committee

Missouri Society of Health Care Attorneys

The Missouri Bar

Admissions

  • Missouri, 1993
  • Kansas, 2007
  • U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri
  • U.S. District Court for the Western District of Missouri
  • U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit
  • U.S. Supreme Court
  • U.S. District Court for the District of Kansas

Education

University of Missouri-Columbia, J.D., 1993

  • Journal of Dispute Resolution

University of Missouri-Columbia, B.A., cum laude, 1989

  • Phi Beta Kappa
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