Tueth Keeney attorneys including shareholders Celynda Brasher, Tom Tueth, Melanie Keeney, Pete Yelkovac, Margaret Hesse and associates Michelle Basi, Kate Nash, and Laura Hemmer presented a variety of legal topics at the Missouri Annual Law Seminars held on July 22nd in Blue Springs, July 24th in Tantara, and July 28th in St. Louis. The attendees were in the hundreds at the three locations, which surpassed the previous year's attendance.
Tom Tueth and Celynda Brasher opened the seminars with “Student Residency and Homelessness Issues”. Michelle Basi presented “Teacher Non-Renewal and Termination”. Margaret Hesse presented “The ADA After the New Amendments”. Melanie Gurley Keeney and Kate Nash presented “BEWARE! Hot Constitutional and Discrimination Issues”. Laura Hemmer presented “Cyberbullying”. Pete Yelkovac presented “Title IX - Teacher Misconduct”, and Celynda Brasher closed with “News You Can Use: What's New with the IDEA?”.
Firm attorneys are often requested to participate in client education seminars, as well as business and other community organizations, with the purpose of preventing avoidable litigation. The topics presented at these seminars were “up to date” and relevant to the legal and practical situations faced by today’s educational institutions.
Thomas E. Tueth practices in the areas of education, higher education, labor and employment and civil litigation law. Tom’s experience includes representation of public school districts, colleges and universities, private schools and not-for-profit organizations throughout Missouri. He counsels and speaks to school officials on a wide variety of topics including employment discrimination, sexual harassment, contracts and tenure, rights of students, negligence and general liability, church and state, school finance and employee organizational matters. Tom provides ongoing advice to dozens of public school districts, private schools and institutions of higher education.
Celynda L. Brasher practices in the areas of education, labor and employment law. She represents school districts in employment and termination matters, student rights and discipline, special education, school finance, civil rights, contracts, church/state issues, and Hancock Amendment challenges. She represents public and private employers in discrimination defense, union organization, unemployment compensation, wage/hour compliance and terminations. Celynda has litigation experience in state and federal courts and administrative agencies.
Michelle H. Basi practices in the areas of education and immigration. Michelle previously served as a Summer Associate with the Firm. She represents public entities with respect to employment and termination matters, wage-hour compliance, student discipline and student rights, civil rights, and church/state issues.
Margaret 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, and the Equal Pay Act. She has represented employers in labor matters before the United States Department of Labor/Wage and Hour Division and the Illinois Commission of Human Rights.
Melanie 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 1997-2008, and in "Missouri & Kansas Super Lawyers," 2005-2008 editions as a top lawyer and one of the top 50 female lawyers in Missouri and Kansas and in Kansas City Magazine as one of the "Top Missouri Lawyers."
Laura E. Hemmer practices primarily in the areas of education law. She represents public entities with respect to employment and termination matters, special education issues, student discipline and student rights, civil rights and church/state issues. During law school, Laura served as a legal intern with the United States Attorney’s Office and the Missouri Attorney General’s Office.
Pete Yelkovac practices in the areas of education and employment law. Pete regularly counsels public school districts in all facets of education and employment law. Pete also regularly advises private employers on employment and labor issues. Pete has successfully defended numerous federal and state lawsuits on behalf of public school districts, universities and private employers. He has extensive experience litigating employment discrimination lawsuits and Section 1983 claims involving a variety of constitutional issues.
Missouri Education - The law firm of Tueth, Keeney, Cooper, Mohan & Jackstadt P.C. (the "Firm"), has one of the largest and most successful education law groups in the country. The Firm regularly serves the legal counsel needs of approximately 150 school districts throughout Missouri. The Firm also has one of the largest school law practices in Central and Southern Illinois.