“In the struggle
for justice, the only reward is the opportunity to be in the struggle.”
Frederick Douglass
We are only one of a few private law firms in the
country dedicated solely to plaintiff’s civil rights, disability rights,
family issues, representation of not-for-profits, and public interest
representation. The firm was founded by Tom Kennedy in 1994, following a
20 year career in several legal services programs. Debbie Greider joined
the firm in 1999 and Amy Sanders joined in 2006. Our secretary is Terri
Clark. Our offices are located next door to IMPACT, Inc., a center for
independent living in Alton, Illinois, and we serve clients throughout
Illinois and Missouri.
We have handled many cases in both Illinois and
Missouri and have obtained outstanding results both in civil rights
actions and for persons with disabilities and their families. For
example, in McNeil-Terry v. Roling and Fisher v. Roling, we
obtained continued Medicaid adult dental and eyeglasses benefits to
400,000 Missouri adults. In Barbour v. Weeks, we recently obtained
a settlement of $1.2 million dollars from a housing authority and a
landlord for a child who suffered lead poisoning in a Section 8 housing
unit. In Oxford House v. City of Granite City, we obtained
a summary judgment order against a city for intentional discrimination
against recovering substance abusers, and we received a financial
settlement of $267,500 on behalf of our clients.
Currently we are working with several other attorneys
on two cases of national significance: Lankford v. Sherman,
seeking restoration of Medicaid durable medical equipment for poor adults
in Missouri, and E.C. v. Blunt, where we successfully prevented the
cut-off of adoption assistance benefits for thousands of Missouri
children.
Tom Kennedy and Debbie Greider received the 2004
Volunteer Lawyer of the Year Award from Legal Services of Eastern
Missouri. Both also received the 2005 award for outstanding advocacy from
The Midwest Foster Care and Adoption Association. In 2002, Tom Kennedy
received the 9th Annual Clarence Darrow Public Interest
Advocate Award from the Public Interest Law Group of Saint Louis
University School of Law. Tom Kennedy has also received the Lawyers Trust
Fund of Illinois’ first attorney recognition award in December 1989, the
Smithson Advocacy Award from the Coalition of Citizens with Disabilities
in Illinois in May 1989, and the Metropolitan St. Louis Equal Housing
Opportunity Council’s Open Door Award in April 2003. Upon graduating from
law school, Amy Sanders received the David Grant Clinic Student Award and
the School of Law Public Service Award. In 2003, Amy received the
Extraordinary Service Award from St. Louis City CASA (now, Voices for
Children). During law school, in 2001 and again in 2002, Amy received
the Herbert A. Eastman Public Interest Fellowship.
Tom Kennedy and Debbie Greider both serve as Adjunct
Professors at Saint Louis University School of Law. Amy was an Assistant
Clinical Professor at Saint Louis University School of Law. Debbie was
judicial law clerk to Harlington Wood, Jr., (now retired, Seventh Circuit
Court of Appeals) and J. Waldo Ackerman (deceased, U.S. District Court,
Central District, Illinois).
Tom Kennedy has been selected by other attorneys as a
Leading Lawyer who is among the top 5% of all lawyers in Illinois in Civil
Rights and Constitutional Law, School Law, Elder Law, and Social Security
Disability Law.
Tom Kennedy and Debbie Greider are members of the
Illinois and Missouri bars, the United States District Courts for the
Central and Southern Districts of Illinois, the Eastern and Western
Districts of Missouri, and the Circuit Courts of Appeal for the Seventh
and Eighth Circuits. Amy Sanders is admitted to the Missouri bar and the
United States District Court for the Western District of Missouri and for
the Southern District of Illinois; she expects to be admitted to the bar
in Illinois in November 2006.
Tom, Debbie and Amy frequently speak to educational,
professional and legal audiences on topics related to civil rights and
disability rights law, as well as on topics related to representation of
children and orders of protection. Recent presentations include:
Changes in IDEA 2004, Judevine Center, St. Louis,
MO, March 2006
Being a Guardian ad Litem – The Basics of
Representing Children
Saint Louis University School of Law, Juvenile Law
Class, March 2006
A Practitioner’s Perspective on NIMBY, American Bar
Association Forum on Affordable Housing, Saint Louis University School
of Law, February 2006
Legal Planning for Life after High School –
Guardianship for Disabled Adults, Edwardsville High School, February
2006
Orders of Protection, Missouri Continuing Legal
Education Program
Legal Service of the Eastern District of Missouri,
January 2006
Legal Issues in Assistive Technology, Assistive
Technology and Transition Fair, Lewis and Clark Community College,
October 2005
Damages in Fair Housing Matters, Governors’
Conference on Housing, St. Louis, MO October 2005
Planning for End of Life Issues and Social
Security, Midwest Otolaryngectomee Conference, St. Louis, MO October
2005
Proof of Damages in Fair Housing Cases, MoBarCLE,
Clayton, MO, July 2005
Reauthorization of the Individuals with
Disabilities Education Improvement Act, Family Matters conferences in
Alton and Belleville, Illinois April 2005
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