Tueth Keeney Attorneys Named 2014 Missouri & Kansas Super Lawyers

Nov 30, 2013

Tueth Keeney is pleased to announce that five of its attorneys are 2014 Missouri & Kansas Super Lawyers.   Celynda L. Brasher, Ian P. Cooper, Margaret A. Hesse, Melanie Gurley Keeney and Katherine L. Nash have all been selected as 2014 Super Lawyers.   Celynda, Ian, and Melanie are all founding shareholders of the firm.

Only up to five percent of attorneys in a state are named Super Lawyers. Selecting the attorneys involves an in-depth, measurable process. Peer nominations by seasoned attorneys followed by detailed evaluations are matched against third-party research. Each candidate is evaluated on 12 indicators of peer recognition and professional achievement. Selections are made on a state-by-state basis annually.

Celynda L. Brasher is a founding Shareholder of Tueth, Keeney, Cooper, Mohan & Jackstadt, P.C. She practices in the areas of education, litigation and labor and employment law. Celynda represents numerous school districts throughout Missouri. She regularly advises boards of education and administrators on matters involving employee hiring, evaluation, remediation, and termination; student rights and discipline; special education; Section 504; school finance; civil rights; employment and business contracts; the Open Meetings Act; church/state issues; and other constitutional matters. Celynda also represents public, private, and non-profit employers in discrimination defense, collective bargaining, union organization, unemployment compensation, wage/hour compliance and terminations, as well as a variety of other employment law areas.   Celynda has extensive litigation experience in federal and state courts and before federal and state administrative agenc

Ian Cooper is a founding Shareholder of Tueth, Keeney, Cooper, Mohan & Jackstadt, P.C.   Ian practices in the areas of employment, higher education, commercial and tort litigation. Ian regularly serves   as lead trial and appellate counsel in significant employment, tort and commercial cases, including class actions and other complex litigation in Missouri and Illinois.

Margaret A. Hesse primarily practices in the areas of education law, employment law, and litigation. She has represented school districts in employment matters, including Title VII, the Safe Schools Act, Title IX, the Americans with Disabilities Act, the Age Discrimination in Employment Act, and the Equal Pay Act. She has represented employers in labor matters before the United States Department of Labor/Wage and Hour Division, the Illinois Commission on Human Rights and the Illinois Educational Labor Relations board. Margaret has also represented employers in workers”™ compensation matters before the Department of Labor and Industrial Relations and has handled numerous appeals before the Labor and Industrial Relations Commission and the Missouri Court of Appeals.   Margaret also has practiced in the fields of medical malpractice and legal malpractice.

Melanie Gurley Keeney, a founding Shareholder of Tueth, Keeney, Cooper, Mohan & Jackstadt, P.C. , 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.   Her experience in education law includes representing numerous Missouri school districts and institutions of higher education regarding a wide range of personnel and student matters. Melanie also specializes in First Amendment issues, ranging from free speech to religion in the schools, and she regularly advises school districts on these issues. She is also a popular speaker on the local and national level.   Melanie has extensive experience litigating both federal and state cases. Melanie is a past board member of the National School Board Association’s Council of School Attorneys and is past Chairman of the Missouri Council of School Attorneys.

Kate 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 has experience advising employers as to all matters of human resource policy issues, specifically ensuring that employers are in compliance with state and federal labor and employment laws. 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. She also regularly represents schools districts, colleges, and universities in a general counsel capacity.