FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
July 17, 2020
ST. LOUIS — Roman Wuller today assumes the role of Chair of Thompson Coburn, a national law firm with over 375 attorneys and six offices across the country. Roman takes over from Tom Minogue, who led the Firm for 20 years and will continue as a partner.
“I’m proud to serve in this role for a Firm where I have spent my entire professional career, and honored to follow the legacy of a great leader like Tom,” said Roman. “Since we announced this succession plan a year ago, Tom and I have worked together to prepare for this change. The onset of the pandemic actually enhanced the transition — we have been in nearly constant communication and worked in lockstep with our management team to build a remote working environment that has provided seamless service for our clients. Our team is strong, our Firm is financially stable and we have had no layoffs or furloughs. That’s a testament to Tom’s leadership and our total commitment to our clients, our people and our communities.”
“Thompson Coburn’s approach to the pandemic illustrates the culture of our Firm that will continue under Roman’s leadership,” said Tom. “We have delivered exceptional legal services to our clients, provided stability to our workforce and strengthened our connections with each other during a challenging time. Roman played a key role in all of these efforts, which benefited greatly from his incredible wealth of experience about our organization. Roman always thinks about what’s best for our clients, our communities and our Firm as a whole, and will be a fantastic leader for us.”
Roman previously served as chair of Thompson Coburn’s 190-attorney litigation department. He has represented major corporations as a trial attorney in high-stakes litigation across the country for more than three decades. He has served on the Firm’s Management Committee since 2003 and on its eight-member Executive Committee since 2012. Roman has also led Thompson Coburn’s Partner Compensation and Associate Review Committees, and is the founding chair of its Diversity Committee. He earned his law degree from the University of Illinois College of Law, and obtained a B.S. from Saint Louis University.
“I am absolutely thrilled that our first Diversity Committee Chair is the next Chair of the Firm,” said Tony Anderson, the current Co-Chair of Thompson Coburn’s Diversity Committee. “From the very start of our committee 15 years ago, Roman threw himself into learning everything possible about implicit bias, pipeline problems and the key role of mentorship in providing opportunities and access. He has been instrumental in building the framework that has propelled women and attorneys of color into leadership and positions of influence at our Firm.”
During Tom’s 20-year tenure as Chair, Thompson Coburn became the largest law firm in the St. Louis metropolitan area, expanded its presence in Washington, D.C., successfully entered the Chicago, Dallas and Los Angeles markets, and served as a leader on a wide range of civic, charitable and pro bono endeavors. As a legal advisor to a number of the St. Louis region's largest companies and civic and charitable organizations for more than 40 years, Tom has received the highest honor for a C-Suite executive from the St. Louis Business Journal (2019) and been named an ICON Award winner by Missouri Lawyers Media (2020).
“Tom’s track record as an attorney, advisor and law firm leader has been extraordinary,” said Evan Goldfarb, a member Thompson Coburn’s Executive and Management Committees. “He has demonstrated incredible focus and commitment throughout his leadership of our Firm. His sense of urgency for supporting the practices of our women attorneys and moving women into leadership positions at the Firm has been particularly remarkable.”
“Tom was also very deliberate about our plan for succession,” Evan said. “He had the maturity and the genuine care for our organization to step back and allow others to lead. We owe Tom a debt of gratitude for the Firm we are today: a coast-to-coast team of exceptional professionals, a law firm deeply committed to helping our communities and providing pro bono services and a business dedicated to diversity, inclusion and opportunities for everyone. Thank you, Tom, for that legacy.”
About Thompson Coburn
Thompson Coburn is a full-service law firm with more than 375 attorneys practicing in more than 50 areas of the law, with offices in Chicago, Dallas, Los Angeles, Southern Illinois, St. Louis and Washington, D.C. In 2019, the firm was recognized by the Association of Corporate Counsel as an ACC Value Champion, an international honor that recognizes “best-in-class” innovations that drive value and dramatically improve efficiencies within corporate law departments. Thompson Coburn also received the Minority Corporate Counsel Association’s 2019 George B. Vashon Innovator Award, a recognition for organizations that have made extraordinary strides to support diverse attorneys.