Lewis Brisbois Bisgaard & Smith issued the following announcement on Jan. 25.
Lewis Brisbois is pleased to announce the addition of Christi L. Coleman and Michael P. McGinley to its Madison County, Illinois office as partners in the firm’s Labor & Employment Practice and Government Relations Practice, respectively.
“We are so excited to have both Christi and Mike join the Madison County office," said Madison County Managing Partner Jeffrey Bash. "Their reputations within the community for being leaders in Governmental Relations and Labor and Employment were very important to us as we continue to build Lewis Brisbois in the Metro St. Louis region.”
Christi Coleman
Ms. Coleman brings to Lewis Brisbois over two decades of experience in the labor and employment arena. She spent the first 15 years of her career representing and counseling school districts in labor and employment matters, and has been serving in general counsel roles for a variety of public entities since then. Most recently, Ms. Coleman has represented local health departments in legal disputes related to the COVID-19 pandemic, including matters involving vaccine mandates and isolation requirements.
In addition to working with public entities, Ms. Coleman has represented management of every size in a broad range of traditional labor and employment matters, including those related to the pandemic. She has extensive experience in state and federal courts, as well as with grievance arbitrations and unfair labor practice charges with public sector labor relations boards. Ms. Coleman is also a certified executive coach and helps clients prevent litigation through the creation of sound business strategies, policies, and training to manage the human resource.
"In the last 2 years, we’ve seen the world of employment law evolve at a break-neck speed. Advising clients on how to implement that kind of change requires all hands on deck – and Lewis Brisbois offers an impressive set of hands," said Ms. Coleman. "With such a large labor and employment group in so many jurisdictions, Lewis Brisbois’ bench strength in this area of the law was very attractive to me, both from the perspective of continuing to expand my own knowledge base, but also to be able to offer additional experts to my clients."
Outside of her practice, Ms. Coleman has delivered numerous presentations and has published several articles on a variety of labor and employment subjects. A graduate of Saint Louis University School of Law and the University of Missouri, Ms. Coleman is admitted to practice in Missouri and Illinois.
Michael McGinley
With more than a decade of legal experience, Mr. McGinley represents municipalities in Illinois. He works directly with politicians, city managers, city directors, and city staff to create and implement public policy and ordinances, facilitate business development, negotiate real estate transactions, and prosecute ordinance violations. Mr. McGinley also regularly advises these clients on various matters, including real estate contracts, general litigation, COVID-19 response efforts, as well as other general labor and employment issues.
Throughout his career, Mr. McGinley has defended clients in contentious asbestos litigation in Illinois and Missouri, and has maintained a consumer and commercial collection practice. With varied litigation experience throughout Illinois and Missouri, Mr. McGinley has handled matters in criminal court, small claims court, mediation, and arbitration.
“I am excited to join Lewis Brisbois as a partner in the Madison County, Illinois office, and look forward to contributing to the excellence and success of the firm’s Government Relations, Corporate, and Asbestos Litigation teams,” Mr. McGinley said.
Mr. McGinley earned his law degree from the Saint Louis University School of Law and his undergraduate degree from Washington University in St. Louis. He is admitted to practice in state and federal courts in Missouri and Illinois.
Original source can be found here.