Ian P. Cooper
Kate L. Nash
Melanie Gurley KeeneyMelanie Gurley Keeney, Ian P. Cooper, Katherine L. Nash and Kameron W. Murphy spoke at the Association of Corporate Council Continuing Legal Education program in St. Louis, Missouri. Their presentation, “What Are the Implications for Employers When Same-Sex Employees Say “I Do”? and “Litigation Update: New Direction in Failure to Hire MHRA Cases,” focused on the implications same-sex marriages have for employers with respect to employee health benefits, FMLA, COBRA, immigration issues and other areas, as well as recent cases from Missouri Courts signaling potential new claims under the MHRA in the failure to hire context.
Melanie Gurley Keeney practices in the areas of Employment, Immigration, and Education law. Melanie represents institutions of higher education, corporations and individuals in immigration law matters, including obtaining nonimmigrant and immigrant visas and handling employer sanctions issues, I-9 compliance, E-Verify issues, consular processing and naturalization. She frequently speaks on immigration, labor and education issues. Melanie has been listed in St. Louis Magazine’s “St. Louis”™ Best Lawyers” and “The Best Lawyers in America,” from 1997 to present, and in “Missouri & Kansas Super Lawyers,” 2005-2012 editions as a top lawyer and has been listed as one of the top 50 female lawyers in Missouri and Kansas and in Kansas City Magazine as one of the “Top Missouri Lawyers.” Best Lawyers has named Melanie Gurley Keeney as the “St. Louis Best Lawyers Immigration Law Lawyer of the Year” for 2012 and 2015, and she has been selected for inclusion in the Martindale-Hubbell © Bar Register of Preeminent Women Lawyers™.
Melanie also represents public and private employers regarding employment discrimination charges and lawsuits, wage-hour compliance, disability issues, constitutional matters, and student issues, and provides preventive employment law services, including supervisor training programs and employment compliance audits. Melanie handles discrimination and retaliation claims asserted under Title VII, the ADA, ADEA, FMLA, Section 1983, the MHRA, sexual harassment, and other federal and state employment claims.
Melanie is a founding Shareholder of the Firm and serves on the Firm’s Management Committee.
Ian P. Cooper practices in the areas of employment, higher education, commercial, and tort litigation. Ian has been named a Fellow in the College of Labor and Employment Lawyers “” a “fellowship of the most accomplished members of the labor and employment law community” in the United States. The College recognizes attorneys who “by long and outstanding service, have distinguished themselves as leaders in the field.” Ian has also been named a Best Lawyer in America ® in both employment and commercial litigation, and has been recognized as a Missouri & Kansas Super Lawyer ® since 2009 in the field of employment litigation. Ian is also a member of the National Association of College and University Attorneys.
Ian has tried numerous jury and bench trials in federal and state courts in Missouri and Illinois. Ian regularly serves as lead counsel in significant employment, higher education, tort, and commercial cases, including class actions and other complex litigation. Ian has also argued cases before the Missouri Supreme Court, the Illinois Supreme Court, the Missouri Court of Appeals, the Illinois Appellate Court, and the United States Courts of Appeal for the Seventh and Eighth Circuits. Ian has also briefed important employment issues before the Supreme Court of the United States. Ian also frequently counsels clients on a wide range of employment issues, including compliance, training, and litigation avoidance.
Ian is Chairman of the Firm. Prior to founding the Firm, Ian was a partner at Blackwell Sanders Peper Martin (now Husch Blackwell, LLP) in its St. Louis office. Before entering private practice, Ian served as Law Clerk to the Hon. James F. Warren of the Texas Court of Appeals, First Supreme Judicial District, in Houston, Texas.
Katherine L. Nash practices primarily in the areas of education, non-profit, litigation, labor and employment law. Kate has extensive experience representing and advising private and public employers in all areas of employment law. She practices primarily in Missouri and Illinois state and federal courts. She has also represented clients in matters before the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, the Missouri Human Rights Commission and the Illinois Department of Human Rights.
Kameron W. Murphy joined Tueth Keeney in June 2013 and is a member of the firm’s Education Law and Labor & Employment practice areas. Kameron previously practiced in commercial litigation for a well-respected mid-sized St. Louis firm and has extensive experiences in all phases of litigation in Illinois and Missouri state and federal courts. While in law school, Kameron was a student law clerk to then-Chief Justice Ronnie L. White of the Missouri Supreme Court. Prior to beginning his legal career, Kameron was a newspaper reporter covering public safety for the Burlington (Iowa) Hawk Eye and municipal government and education for the Kansas City Star.