Jane has been practicing law since 1985. Prior to opening her own office in 2002, she practiced with a medium and then a large firm. She has always focused her practice on general business matters, primarily involving small businesses including litigation with concentrations in franchise/dealer law and real estate/construction law. She regularly serves as an arbitrator or mediator in consumer, commercial, construction, employment, and securities disputes. She has served as a panel chair, panel member, and sole arbitrator on arbitration panels nationwide.
Jane has received an AV rating from her peers in Martindale Hubbell since inclusion (AV Preeminent for more than 5 years). She has also been selected by her peers for inclusion in The Best Lawyers in America since 1995 (named “Franchise Lawyer of the Year” in St. Louis in 2015). She was also listed in Missouri & Kansas Super Lawyers Magazine for ten (10) years (named one of the top 50 women lawyers in 2010). In 2023, Jane was inducted into the National Academy of Distinguished Neutrals.
Jane has the qualities one seeks in a lawyer. She is honest, a straight shooter, fiercely loyal, and a deal maker. She is constantly looking for ways to handle matters and resolve disputes as simply and quickly as feasible. After all – time is money. She is always cognizant of the client’s goal, giving due consideration to the long-term effect legal decisions may have on her client or her client’s business. An attorney once described Jane as “cordial but firm.” Friends send their family members to her. Lawyers hire her to handle personal matters for them and their companies.
Jane has been an active member of the American Bar Association Forum on Franchising since 1985. She has been published in both the Franchise Law Journal and The Franchise Lawyer. Jane is also a member of the Arbitration and Mediation Committees of the ABA Section of Dispute Resolution. She has been the Missouri Regional Chair of the Women in Dispute Resolution Committee (WIDR) since 2017. She is a member of the St. Louis affiliate of the Association of Attorney Mediators (AAM) for which she has served as Chapter Secretary since January 2013. She is also a member of the Association of Missouri Mediators (AMM), the Alternative Dispute Resolution committee of the Bar Association of Metropolitan St. Louis (BAMSL), and The Missouri Bar (MOBAR).
Jane has written on multiple occasions for the St. Louis Bar Journal. She has lectured on various business, franchise, real estate, and ADR topics for MOBAR and BAMSL, and has served on many of their committees.
Jane earned a BBA in finance from The University of Iowa and a JD from St. Louis University School of Law.