BSCR Firm News/Blogs Feed

Baker Sterchi Welcomes Lloyd Raber in Kansas City

21 Apr 2026

Baker Sterchi welcomes Lloyd Raber as a Member in the firm’s Kansas City office. Raber represents insurers in complex first-party and third-party coverage disputes, including bad faith and extra-contractual liability matters, in state and federal courts in Missouri, Kansas and jurisdictions nationwide.

Raber earned his law degree from the University of Kansas School of Law and his undergraduate degree from The University of Utah. He is licensed to practice in Missouri and Kansas.

Nick Ruble Appointed Legislative Updates Vice Chair of DRI Employment & Labor Law Committee

21 Apr 2026

Baker Sterchi Member Nick Ruble has been appointed legislative updates vice chair of DRI’s Employment & Labor Law Committee.

Ruble focuses his practice on employment and labor law. He is vice chair of Baker Sterchi’s Employment & Labor Practice Group, serves on the steering committee of ALFA International’s Labor & Employment Practice Group and is chair of the Kansas City Metropolitan Bar Association’s Labor & Employment Law Committee. He is also a member of the Society for Human Resource Management, including its Greater Kansas City chapter.

DRI's Employment and Labor Law Committee provides education, shared expertise, professional development and networking opportunities to outside counsel, in-house counsel and human resource professionals and claims professionals from employment practices liability insurance carriers members.

Brian Maxey to Speak on First Amendment Issues at IACP Legal Officers Section Midyear Meeting

17 Apr 2026

On April 28, Baker Sterchi attorney Brian Maxey will serve as a panelist at the International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP) Legal Officers Section Spring Training & Midyear Meeting being held in Austin, Texas. The session, “The First Amendment & Campus Demonstrations,” will address crowd facilitation, management and intervention in the demonstration context.

Maxey has more than two decades of public-sector experience as a litigator, policing executive, consultant and member of federal monitoring teams. His practice focuses on risk management planning, crisis response and strategic litigation for public-sector clients. He has served as lead counsel in Section 1983 matters and previously held executive leadership roles overseeing policy, training, investigations and administrative operations for a major city police department.

He is active in several public-sector organizations, including the International Association of Chiefs of Police and the Police Executive Research Forum, and serves on the National Association of Professional Staff in Public Safety Board of Advisors. Maxey earned his law degree from Fordham University School of Law and an M.P.A. from the New York University Wagner Graduate School of Public Service. He is licensed to practice in Washington, California and New York, and before the Supreme Court of the United States.

The IACP Legal Officers Section supports the development of professional standards and promotes cooperation among attorneys who advise and represent law enforcement administrators.

Mark Budzinski to Present at WSHRM Spring Conference; Baker Sterchi Sponsors Event

16 Apr 2026

Baker Sterchi Member Mark Budzinski will present at the Wisconsin Society for Healthcare Risk Management (WSHRM) Spring Conference, which will be held virtually on April 24. The firm is also a conference sponsor.

Budzinski’s session, “Health Care Services Review: Exploring the Limitations of Confidentiality of Peer Review and Root Cause Analysis and Ways to Maximize Protection of These Essential Organizational Activities,” will address the scope and limits of protections for health care services reviews, challenges raised by the plaintiff bar seeking disclosure of peer review information, common scenarios risk managers encounter following adverse events and practical recommendations to help protect quality improvement activities.

Budzinski has litigated hundreds of cases in Wisconsin state and federal courts, including more than 70 jury trials. He represents individuals, small businesses and Fortune 500 companies in matters involving catastrophic injury, wrongful death and contract disputes. He is a member of the American College of Trial Lawyers’ Wisconsin State Committee, the American Board of Trial Advocates, the Federation of Defense & Corporate Counsel and the National Board of Trial Advocacy. He is licensed to practice in Wisconsin, Michigan and before the U.S. Court of Federal Claims.

WSHRM supports its members in addressing evolving health care risk management challenges by promoting ethical practices, encouraging professional development, providing educational resources and collaborating with national and state professional associations.

For more information or to register for the seminar click here.

Lori VanTroost Appointed ALA Jacksonville Chapter Communications Director

14 Apr 2026

Baker Sterchi electronic billing specialist Lori VanTroost has been appointed communications director of the Association of Legal Administrators Jacksonville Chapter Board of Directors for the 2026–27 term.

VanTroost works remotely from Jacksonville, Florida. She currently serves on the ALA Jacksonville Chapter Website Committee and is a member of the International Legal Technology Association. She also holds a Lean Six Sigma Yellow Belt and an AI for Work & Life certification.

Founded in 1971, the Association of Legal Administrators is a professional organization for individuals responsible for managing the business operations of law firms, corporate legal departments and government legal agencies.

Baker Sterchi Sponsors Autism Color Fun Run/Walk

14 Apr 2026

On behalf of the firm’s Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Committee, Baker Sterchi was proud to sponsor the Autism Color Fun Run/Walk event held on April 11 in Carterville, Illinois.

Hosted by the Autism Society of Southern Illinois, the event is a one-mile, untimed experience designed for all ages and all speeds. Participants start the race dressed in white and get showered in bright bursts of colored powder at stations along the route.

Member Greg Odom, based in the firm’s Belleville office, is on the Autism Society of Southern Illinois Board of Directors. He regularly volunteers with the organization, including helping plan sensory-friendly events.

The Autism Society of Southern Illinois creates connections to empower those in the autism community with resources to live fully.

Laura Beasley to Present on Alternative Business Structures and Litigation Funding at ADTA Annual Meeting

09 Apr 2026

Baker Sterchi Member Laura Beasley will speak at the 2026 Association of Defense Trial Attorneys (ADTA) Annual Meeting being held April 21-25 in Playa Herradura, Costa Rica. Her session, “ABS and TPLF Backed Plaintiff Mills: The New Tort Assembly Line,” will explore how alternative business structures and third-party litigation funding are transforming mass tort lawsuits into high-volume, process-driven models.

Based in the firm’s Belleville office, Beasley focuses her practice on civil defense litigation. She is a member of the ADTA Executive Council Class of 2027 and serves as a hearing board officer for the Illinois Attorney Registration and Disciplinary Commission. She also serves as Illinois state representative for DRI and is a board member of the East St. Louis Bar Association and the St. Clair County Bar Association. Beasley is licensed to practice in Illinois and Missouri.

The Association of Defense Trial Attorneys is a peer-selected, invitation-only organization that limits membership to one primary civil defense trial attorney per one million people in a given jurisdiction. The organization provides professional development, education and business referral opportunities for experienced civil defense trial attorneys.

Jeanne Loftis to Speak at American Board of Trial Advocates Women's Leadership Summit

08 Apr 2026

Baker Sterchi Member Jeanne Loftis will serve as a panelist at the 2026 American Board of Trial Advocates (ABOTA) National Women’s Leadership Summit, April 9–12 in Savannah, Georgia. Her session, “The Power to Lead: Women Who Stepped Up and Changed the Games,” will bring together ABOTA chapter leaders to explore their paths to leadership, what inspires them to lead and the obstacles they have overcome.

Loftis focuses her practice on complex mass tort, employment, civil rights defense, personal injury and product liability litigation. She currently serves as vice president of ABOTA’s Oregon chapter and is active in several peer-selected organizations, including the Association of Defense Trial Attorneys and the Federation of Defense and Corporate Counsel. She co-chairs Baker Sterchi’s Pharmaceutical and Medical Device Practice Group and earned her law degree from the University of the Pacific McGeorge School of Law. She is admitted to practice in Oregon, Washington and California.

The ABOTA National Women’s Leadership Summit brings together women trial lawyers from across the country for a weekend focused on leadership, connection and professional development. Since 1958, ABOTA has worked to preserve the civil jury trial and promote integrity, civility and professionalism in the legal profession.

Missouri Mechanic's Liens on New Residential Property: Navigating Conflicting Notice Requirements

07 Apr 2026

ABSTRACT: Missouri’s mechanic’s lien statute for new residential property contains conflicting notice provisions that can result in the loss of lien rights, even when an owner fails to record a required notice. Until courts provide guidance, contractors must take proactive steps to protect their rights.

On July 12, 2010, Missouri enacted changes to its Mechanic’s Lien statutes. Specifically, R.S.Mo. § 429.016 was created which changed notice and other requirements as it relates to mechanic’s liens filed against new residential property. However, certain requirements and subsections set forth in section 429.016 are at odds with one another and Missouri courts have not interpreted the statute to offer clarification and guidance.

Conflicting Notice Obligations Under Section 429.016

One such inconsistency involves a lien claimant’s notice requirements. Section 429.016 requires that a lien claimant on new residential property must first timely record a “Notice of Rights” in the office of the recorder of deeds for the county in which the property is located before a valid mechanic’s lien can be filed. Specifically, section 429.016.3 states that any claimant “who seeks to retain the right to assert a mechanic’s lien against residential real property, hereinafter referred to as property, shall record a notice of rights in the office of the recorder of deeds for the county in which the property is located, not less than five calendar days prior to the intended date of closing stated in a notice of intended sale as contemplated in this section.” Section 429.016.6 adds that “[a]ny claimant that fails to record such notice of rights shall be deemed to waive and forfeit any right to assert a mechanic’s lien against such property” Section 429.016.7 further states that “[n]otwithstanding any other provision of this section, a notice of rights recorded after the owner’s conveyance of the property to a bona fide purchaser for value shall not be effective to preserve the claimant’s mechanic’s lien rights to the property.”

Effect of Sale to a Bona Fide Purchaser

Both sections 429.016.3 and 429.016.11(1), which addresses the owner’s requirements to record a “Notice of Intended Sale,” suggest that a condition precedent to a lien claimant’s obligation to record a Notice of Rights is the owner’s requirement to record a Notice of Intended Sale. However, when these sections are read in combination with section 429.016.7, the statute reads that even if a Notice of Intended Sale is never recorded, the lien claimant still loses its mechanic’s lien rights if the lien claimant fails to record a Notice of Rights before the actual closing on the sale of the property as long as the purchaser is a bona fide purchaser for value. Under Missouri law, a bona fide purchaser is a person “who pays a valuable consideration, has no notice of outstanding rights of others, and who acts in good faith.” Will Invs., Inc. v. Young, 317 S.W.3d 157 (Mo. App. 2010). Unless a lien claimant’s Notice of Rights is recorded prior to the sale, it is easy to see a scenario where a purchaser would not have notice of a lien claimant’s outstanding rights at the time of the sale. Thus, under section 429.016.7, even if an owner fails to record the required Notice of Intended Sale, unless a lien claimant records a Notice of Rights prior to the sale, the lien claimant will lose its mechanic’s lien right at the time of the sale because the purchaser is likely to be considered a bona fide purchaser. This is one of the illogical inconsistencies in the statute.

Lack of Judicial Guidance

To date, no Missouri courts have addressed this illogical inconsistency and determined whether lien claimants may file mechanic’s liens after the purchase of new residential property if there is no recorded Notice of Intended Sale and no recorded Notice of Rights.

Practice Pointers

Contractors and lien claimants should not assume that an owner’s failure to record a Notice of Intended Sale preserves lien rights. Given the statute’s structure, lien rights may be lost upon sale to a bona fide purchaser if a Notice of Rights is not recorded in advance. Early action is critical when payment issues arise.

To combat this interpretation, lien claimants may attempt to rely on the general principle that mechanic’s lien laws are remedial and must be read liberally to protect mechanic’s lien claimants. River City Drywall, Inc. v. Raleigh Props. Inc., 341 S.W.3d 716, 721 (Mo. App. E.D. 2011). However, until the appellate courts address this illogical inconsistency, the best way for contractors to proceed and protect their mechanic’s lien rights on new residential property is to be vigilant and at the first sign of non-payment make sure that a Notice of Rights is recorded.

Brian Maxey Appointed to WADEPS Data Governance Advisory Committee

06 Apr 2026

Baker Sterchi attorney Brian Maxey of the Seattle office has been appointed to the Washington State Data Exchange for Public Safety (WADEPS) Data Governance Advisory Committee.

The committee includes regional and national experts in data analytics, criminal justice operations and research, public policy and law. It meets twice each year to review WADEPS progress, discuss industry data analytics standards and provide insight on potential improvements.

With more than two decades of public-sector experience as a litigator, policing executive, consultant and member of federal monitoring teams, Maxey focuses on risk management planning, crisis response and strategic litigation for public-sector clients. He has served as lead counsel in Section 1983 matters and previously held executive leadership roles overseeing policy, training, investigations and administrative operations for a major city police department.

Maxey is active in several public-sector organizations, including the International Association of Chiefs of Police and the Police Executive Research Forum, and serves on the Board of Advisors for the National Association of Professional Staff in Public Safety. He earned his law degree from Fordham University School of Law and an M.P.A. from the New York University Wagner Graduate School of Public Service. He is licensed to practice in Washington, California and New York and before the Supreme Court of the United States.

WADEPS serves as the state-appointed data custodian for statewide police use-of-force reporting requirements established by the legislature to improve transparency, support community trust and advance evidence-based decision-making.