Former Missouri Supreme Court Chief Justice Ronnie White said Monday that he is joining the law firm of Holloran, White & Schwartz LLP as a partner.

The Missouri Supreme Court announced in May that White planned to retire from the bench July 6.

White served from 2003 to 2005 as the state's first African-American chief justice. He was appointed to the court in October 1995. He previously served as a judge on the Missouri Court of Appeals, Eastern District.

Partner Thomas Schwartz said in a statement, "Judge White will focus his practice on civil trials, appeals, and business litigation representing investors, shareholders and small business owners. As a former judge on both the Missouri Court of Appeals and the Missouri Supreme Court, his experience will make him a formidable advocate on the appellate level."

In addition to White, the firm is said it hired Justin Guerra as an associate. Guerra is a graduate of Saint Louis University School of Law and will focus on personal injury cases, including toxic tort, medical malpractice, workplace injuries and serious traffic accidents.

The firm also announced its recently moved to a new location at 2000 S. 8th in the Soulard neighborhood of St. Louis.

Former U.S. Rep. Melissa Hart has rejoined Pittsburgh law firm Keevican Weiss Bauerle & Hirsch LLC as a member.

Hart was defeated by Jason Altmire last November after serving three terms as the Republican representative from McCandless.

Keevican Weiss Bauerle & Hirsch launched in 1988 and has offices in Cleveland and Harrisburg. In 2003, the firm, then ranked as Pittsburgh's ninth largest and known as DKW Law Group PC, filed for protection from creditors under Chapter 11 of the federal bankruptcy code, emerging successfully later that year. It adopted the current name in early 2006.

Hart said in a statement that she was "happy to be back in a professional capacity at a first-rate organization among long-term friends and colleagues."

During his time at Glankler Brown, and in addition to his civil litigation practice, he represented local government and private business entities as well as home health agencies and medical provider groups.

Mr. Pajak authored Not for the Faint of Heart, Additional Personal Injury Protection (APIP) Benefits, published in the New York State Bar Association, JOURNAL, March/April 2006. He is a member of the Erie County and New York State Bar Association, the Women’s Bar Association of Erie County and the Buffalo Claims Association. He is a past Treasurer of the Western New York Trial Lawyers Association and was the President-elect of the Defense Trial Lawyers Association of Western New York.

About The Barnes Firm

The Barnes Firm is a nationally recognized personal injury law firm, with headquarters in Buffalo, New York.

The Barnes Firm focuses on auto accident, medical malpractice, premises liability and product defect cases. In 2006 alone, The Barnes Firm obtained settlements and verdicts in excess of $100,000,000 for their clients.

For more information about The Barnes Firm visit www.TheBarnesFirm.com or contact us 1-800-483-2050.

Lerach's imminent departure comes amid a seven-year investigation by federal prosecutors in Los Angeles into his former law firm.

That firm, Milberg Weiss Bershad & Schulman, was indicted in May 2006 by a federal grand jury in Los Angeles. Prosecutors allege the firm secretly paid more than $11 million in kickbacks to get people to take part in shareholder lawsuits, allowing its lawyers to be among the first to file lawsuits on behalf of shareholders and secure the lucrative position as lead plaintiffs' counsel.

Attorneys Steven Schulman and David J. Bershad, former partners in the firm, were also indicted. They and the law firm have pleaded not guilty.

Lerach, 61, has not been charged in the case.

Lerach remains actively involved in only a handful of cases, Coughlin said. They include some of the firm's highest-profile work, including its case against Enron Corp. Lerach and his partners recouped about $7 billion for Enron shareholders.

The law firm of Kious & Rodgers announced that David “Brock” East has joined the firm as an associate attorney. East is a 2002 graduate of the University of Tennessee where he majored in biochemistry and was a University Honors Scholar. He received his law degree from the University of Memphis School of Law in 2005.

He comes to Kious & Rodgers from the Memphis law firm of Glassman, Edwards, Wade & Wyatt, P.C. East is licensed to practice law in both Tennessee and Arkansas. His areas of practice include personal injury, wrongful death, product liability, insurance, corporate, commercial and professional malpractice litigation, wills and contracts.

He is a member of the Tennessee Bar Association as well as the Tennessee Trial Lawyers Association. He is married to Jenny Peterson East.

Kious & Rodgers is a full service law firm representing both individual and business clients throughout Middle Tennessee and is located in the historic Spence House located at 503 North Maple Street in the heart of downtown Murfreesboro. Information about the firm is available at ww.kiousandrodgers.com.

In February, McNulty testified before the Senate Judiciary Committee that thirteen or more federal prosecutors who have been removed over the past two years were not victims of political retaliation, as some Democrats have alleged. McNulty specifically denied that the removal of former US Attorney Carol Lam, who prosecuted former Republican congressman Randy "Duke" Cunningham, was motivated by political considerations. McNulty did admit, however, that one of the firings was conducted to allow Tom Griffin, former aide to Karl Rove, to assume the position. Gonzales has denied such allegations, maintaining the firings were necessary to replace US attorneys performing poorly on the job.