Biography

Throughout my life I excelled at academic pursuits. After graduating first in my class at law school in 2005 I had the opportunity to clerk for William Ray Price Jr. at the Supreme Court of Missouri. At the Supreme Court, I drafted Opinions and dealt with a huge number of civil and criminal motions, writs, and appeals. It was during this time that I realized the practice of law at the appellate courts required a particular set of skills far different from litigation in trial courts. Appellate practice is much more academic and presents legal issues on a Record on Appeal, much like a law school exam.

Knowing immediately that appellate law was for me, I took a position as an appellate attorney at one of the largest law firms in the Midwest, after my clerkship. For seven years I handled a number of appeals in Missouri, Illinois, Kansas, and in Federal Court. I also became involved in a number of cases at the trial court level, gaining a greater understanding of trial litigation. These two aspects of my experience make me uniquely skilled to handle appellate issues: I understand the realities of litigation in a courtroom, because I have been there. Many appellate attorneys do not have this experience.

In 2012, I decided that I no longer wanted to pursue trial litigation as part of my practice. To devote my practice to appeals full time, I created Gillette Law Office, LLC. As part of this change, my wife and I moved to Kansas City, Missouri in 2013, where my primary office is now located. This return to the city where I attended college at Rockhurst University has given me the freedom to represent a wide range of clients.

At Rockhurst University, I studied Psychology. After graduation, I studied interview techniques for interviewing children at the National Institutes of Health, in Bethesda, Maryland. I am uniquely suited to understand the traumatic nature of litigation for clients — particularly if the result at trial was unsatisfactory — and help you through the process. I understand that it is important to work with clients and assure that you understand the appellate process. It is a daunting process even for attorneys and I have spent nearly 10 years working to make the process as painless as possible for clients.

Since leaving the Supreme Court at the end of my clerkship in 2006, I have represented Fortune 500 companies, small businesses, and individuals in a wide range of criminal and civil appeals. I can assist you or your business through the appellate process with any issue from a breach of contract, to a complex multi-state class action, to a divorce. If you or a loved one needs an appellate lawyer that can handle any aspect of a criminal appeal, Gillette Law Office can help.

Please take a few minutes to look at my credentials and experiences, but I think you will be most impressed with what I can do for you by giving me a call to discuss your issues. Contact me or call 314-330-4622 for a free consultation.

 

Education

Saint Louis University School of Law , Juris Doctor, 2005, Valedictorian, Summa Cum Laude, Woolsack Honor Society for Scholarship and Professional Standards, 1843 Scholars School of Law Scholarship — Merit-Based Full Tuition Scholarship for Academic Achievement, Academic Excellence Awards for Highest Grade in Fourteen Courses :

  • Constitutional Law
  • Civil Procedure
  • Property
  • Criminal Procedure
  • Evidence
  • Administrative Law
  • Trusts & Estates
  • Remedies
  • Commercial Transactions
  • Products Liability
  • Torts
  • Public Employment Law
  • Contracts
  • Criminal Law

Editor and Published in the Saint Louis University Law Journal

Rockhurst University, Bachelor of Arts, Psychology, 2000, Magna Cum Laude, President’s Academic Scholarship — Merit-Based Scholarship for Academic Achievement

Bar Admissions

State Courts:

Missouri, 2005

Kansas, 2014

Federal Appellate Courts:

United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit (Chicago, Illinois), 2013

United States Court of Appeals for the Eight Circuit (St.Louis, Missouri), 2009

United States Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit (Denver, Colorado), 2013

Federal District Courts:

United States District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri (St. Louis, Missouri), 2008

United States District Court for the Western District of Missouri (Kansas City, Missouri), 2013

States Appearing in Court pro hac vice: Illinois

Professional Affiliations:

Missouri Bar

American Bar Association

Bar Association of Metropolitan St. Louis

Lawyers Association of St. Louis, Missouri

Jackson County Law Library

Kansas Bar Association

Kansas City Metropolitan Bar Association

Publications

Appointing Special Masters to Evaluate the Suggestiveness of a Child-Witness Interview: A Simple Solution to a Complex Problem49 ST. LOUIS U.L.J. 499 (2005)

Where Did Aspen Go?: How Courts are Dealing with Refusals to Deal Since Trinko, 53 ST. LOUIS BAR J. 18 (2007)