2023 Expanded remote public access to court records and redaction requirements

Hon. Jeffrey Bates Related seminars and products

Mo. Court Of Appeals

Judge Jeffrey W. Bates was appointed to the Missouri Court of Appeals, Southern District, on Nov. 14, 2003, for a term beginning on Dec. 1. He was retained in the November 2018 general election for a 12-year term expiring Dec. 31, 2030.

Judge Bates received his Juris Doctor in 1984 from the University of Missouri-Columbia School of Law. He received his B.S. in 1979 from Missouri State University (formerly Southwest Missouri State University).

From 1984 to 2003, Judge Bates was engaged in private civil trial practice in Springfield.

Judge Bates was born in 1958 in Petersburg, Virginia. He is married to Harriet, and they have three sons and three daughters.

Melinda J. Bentley Related seminars and products

Legal Ethics Counsel

Melinda J. Bentley serves as Legal Ethics Counsel, and she provides oral and written informal advisory opinions to attorneys on issues related to the Missouri Rules of Professional Conduct. In that position, she also serves as administrator and counsel to the Advisory Committee of the Supreme Court of Missouri. She began serving in that position in 2012. Prior to that she worked for the Illinois State Bar Association. She is a frequent speaker and author on professional responsibility matters. Ms. Bentley currently serves as a member of the American Bar Association Standing Committee on Ethics and Professional Responsibility. She also currently serves on the Planning Committee for The Missouri Bar Solo and Small Firm Conference, and is a member of The Missouri Bar, Illinois State Bar Association, American Bar Association, National Organization of Bar Counsel, Bar Association of Metropolitan St. Louis, and Cole County Bar Association. She was a board member and officer of the National Organization of Bar Counsel from 2015-2020, including a term as President from 2018-2019, and formerly served as a member (2015-2016) and Chair (2016-2018) of the Editorial Board of the ABA/BNA Lawyers’ Manual on Professional Conduct.

David Ransin Related seminars and products

Ransin Injury Law

David W. Ransin, trial lawyer, founded his firm Ransin Injury Law in 1990 as a solo attorney in Springfield, Missouri, and exclusively represents people and their families in catastrophic injury and death litigation from car, bicycle, pedestrian, motorcycle and tractor trailer crashes. In the spring of 2017, C.J. Moeller joined his litigation team. David received his law degree from the University of Missouri-Columbia in 1982. His expertise has been gained from many jury trials and appeals, including representing clients in six cases before the Supreme Court of Missouri.

Among his many professional accomplishments, David has been recognized by his peers as the Best Solo Practitioner in Missouri in 2007 and 2008, as a Top Attorney in Missouri & Kansas for many years, and was honored with the Solo and Small Firm Committee Distinguished Service Award for his several decades-long support of those in small firm and solo law practice.

In addition to being invited to present legal seminars locally, statewide, and nationwide, David is an active member of The Missouri Bar Solo and Small Firm Committee, The American Association for Justice, the Missouri Association of Trial Attorneys, and several civic and community organizations.

Away from work, David enjoys spending time with his wife and two adult children traveling and doing anything outdoors, particularly working and relaxing at his farm, golf, canoeing, fly fishing, sailing, mountain and dirt biking, hiking, and back packing.

Catherine Zacharias Related seminars and products

Office of State Courts Administrator

Cathy Zacharias is legal counsel for the Office of State Courts Administrator. She staffs several Supreme Court of Missouri committees, and she is a member of the project team for the electronic filing project. 

Cathy received her Juris Doctor from Saint Louis University School of Law and her A.B. in economics from the University of Missouri-Columbia.