Total Credits: 4.0 MCLE, 1.0 Ethics, 1.0 Elimination of Bias
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Moderator: Carrie L. Hermeling, Husch Blackwell, LLP, St. Louis
8:00 – 8:30 AM | Registration
8:30 – 9:20 AM | Title & Endorsement Underwriting | Construction Escrow and Disbursements
Speakers: Matthew Cermak and Brienne Berscheid, Chicago Title Insurance Company, Chicago, IL
9:20 – 10:10 AM | Purchase & Sell Agreements
Speaker: Daniel J. Burke, Jr., Armstrong Teasdale LLP, St. Louis
10:10 – 10:20 AM | Break
10:20 – 11:10 AM | Medical Marijuana
Speaker: Eric M. Walter, Partner, Armstrong Teasdale LLP, St. Louis
11:10 – 11:20 | Lunch is Served
11:20 AM – 12:10 PM | The Business Case for Diversity and Inclusion in the Law Firm, Your Practice, and the Profession
Speaker: Angela S. Quinn, Chief Client & Inclusion Officer, Husch Blackwell LLP, St. Louis
12:10 PM | Adjourn
Brienne Berscheid serves as Assistant Vice President and Construction Escrow Manager for Chicago Title’s Chicago National Commercial Services (NCS) operation. Brienne oversees the National Construction Disbursement Department to responsible for reviewing and administering construction escrow projects across the country. The National Construction Disbursing Department specializes in ground-up commercial developments, including stadiums, office towers, senior living facilities, and multi-family housing complexes. Brienne has a B.A. from the University of Minnesota and a J.D. from the University of Wisconsin Law School.
Matt Cermak serves as a Commercial Account Manager for Chicago Title’s Chicago National Commercial Services (NCS) operation. Matt’s primary role is to quarterback each transaction for his local and national client base. Matt has spent the last 5 years managing several high-profile national client accounts, including but not limited to national developers, law firms and corporations in complex multi-state, multi-site commercial real estate transactions. Matt has a B.S. from Missouri State University where he was also a member of the NCAA Division 1 Men’s Golf Team.
Carrie Hermeling leads the firm’s Real Estate, Development & Construction industry team. She is a member of the Urban Land Institute and Commercial Real Estate Women and frequently speaks on topics relevant to the real estate, development and construction industries.
Carrie has been lead litigation counsel in real estate, development and construction-related disputes, including claims involving construction projects, real estate sale contracts, commercial leases, broker agreements, easements and restrictive covenants; foreclosures (nonjudicial and judicial) and post-foreclosure other real-estate owned (OREO) title-related and land use-related claims; real estate tax sales and appeals; valuation litigation in the eminent domain context involving commercial and residential properties; development-related disputes involving land acquisition, rezoning, conditional-use permits, and mechanics’ liens; receiverships relating to restaurants and apartment complexes; and constitutional challenges to economic incentive financing and governmental actions.
Rita Holmes-Bobo, a Certified Diversity Executive, serves as a chief strategist and advisor to the firm on diversity, equity, inclusion, implicit bias and cultural competency.
She provides support for the Executive Board’s Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Committee and other internal diversity and inclusion group efforts. Her strategic action plans and initiatives help the firm achieve established goals.
Rita is committed to improving the recruitment, development, retention and promotion of diverse attorneys; integrating diversity and inclusion strategies across business stakeholders; and ensuring lawyers, clients and the marketplace understand the firm’s commitment to diversity.
Prior to joining Husch Blackwell, Rita was an executive vice president of a company that was a leader in behavioral healthcare and child welfare. She launched diversity and inclusion initiatives for the 1,500 employees across a five-state region.
Eric Walter is a partner at Armstrong Teasdale with extensive state and federal litigation experience in a wide range of complex commercial and business cases. A significant part of Eric’s practice involves representing businesses and individuals in the legalized marijuana and hemp industry. He has successfully represented companies applying for medical marijuana cultivation and dispensary licenses, and advises clients on state and federal regulations involving investors and other business partners. He serves as chair of the Marijuana Law Committee for the Bar Association of Metropolitan St. Louis and is general counsel to the Missouri Medical Cannabis Trade Association: MoCannTrade.
Jittaun Dill is a graduate of Saint Louis University School of Law where she also earned her certificate in Employment Law. While in law school she was the recipient of the SLU School of Law Everette Hullverson Award for Excellence in Trail Advocacy and alongside her law school partner, the 3rd Place Winner of the Regional Black Law Students Association's Frederick Douglass Moot Court Competition. She clerked for a mid-sized St. Louis law firm as a Summer Associate and upon graduation joined the firm. After several years of practice, Jittaun began working in Diversity and Inclusion at AmLaw 100 firms and today she calls Husch Blackwell home as its Diversity and Inclusion Manager. She serves on the Executive Board of Cultural Leadership and is the Past Chair of the Mound City Bar Association's Membership Committee.
With 15 years of experience as a transactional and finance attorney, James Neeld focuses his practice on real estate, purchases, sales, financings, public incentives, bonds and loans for developers and lenders. James represents national clients for all phases of real estate development, acquisitions and dispositions, many of which include various incentives including tax credit and tax increment financing structures. He also has significant experience in representing lenders, with a particular emphasis on complex financing structures for real estate financing involving bonds and other incentives.