As we exit the first full year of the COVID-19 disaster, we all are looking forward to “getting back to business as usual.” 

Despite the difficulties felt the world over, Swiecicki & Muskett had a strong year helping clients with a variety of legal issues. While COVID-19 restrictions resulted in no jury trials in 2020, we did enjoy a number of other highlights:

Litigation

• Filed two Writs of Certiorari with the United States Supreme Court.
• Retained to litigate a matter in the United States District Court for Delaware regarding a Stock Purchase Agreement; matter is pending.
• Retained by a bankruptcy trustee to pursue a professional negligence case for the bankruptcy estate.
• Favorably settled several personal injury cases and even though it is not a particular focus of the firm, it’s still fun to tackle.

Corporate Matters

• Successfully completed multiple rounds of additional financing from venture capital firms to corporate (technology) clients.
• Finalized the purchase of a New York LLC for a corporate client. Interestingly, the seller was converted to a Delaware C Corp, prior to consummation of the deal to take advantage of the tax-free reorganization rules. Bottom line, the deal has been finalized.
• Successfully negotiated the termination of a line of credit and exiting a financing arrangement, avoiding substantial penalties for a corporate client.
• For a client (doing business for over 150 years), negotiated a private label agreement, a 12-country West African business relationship, revised many of their third-party contracts, and favorably resolved a matter with the California Air Resources Board (CARB). I love to represent long-term businesses.

Real Estate Matters

• In January 2021 immediately prior to the COVID-19 work from home mandates, represented a commercial building tenant in subletting their office space, lowering annual office rent from $750,000 year to $200,000 (saved $2.2 million over the life of the lease) in January 2020. As Whitey Herzog famously said, “Sometimes it is better to be lucky than good.”

Employment

• Negotiated a multi-year executive compensation package for an in-coming president; first non-family member to serve as president of the company.

Fiduciary/Estate Matters

• Successfully defended a beneficiary of a trust, achieving victory by declaring a certain trust amendment void; thus, the beneficiary was deemed 100% owner of a long-established company…post-matriarch’s death. The victory resulted in millions of dollars in gain to the client. This was great moment for both the client and the firm.

Professional Accomplishments – Christopher Swiecicki

• Appointed to – and honored with – the Chair of the Washington University Law Eliot Society for a two-year tenure. I am honored by the selection.
• Named as a “Super Lawyer 100” for 2020. You can read the full article here.
• In the past year admitted to additional courts/jurisdictions to serve our clients. 
  • Current List of Admissions
    • State of Missouri, all courts
    • United States Supreme Court
    • United States Tax Court
    • United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit
      • Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and Delaware
    • United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit
      • Louisiana, Texas, and Mississippi
    • United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit
      • Arkansas, Iowa, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, and South Dakota
    • United States Court of Appeals for the Nineth Circuit
      • California, Arizona, Hawaii, Alaska, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, Oregon, Washington, Guam, and Northern Mariana Islands
    • United States Court of Appeals for the Ten Circuit
      • Colorado, Oklahoma, Kansas, New Mexico, Wyoming, and Utah
    • United States District Court for Eastern District of Missouri
    • United States District Court for Western District of Missouri
    • United States District Court for Western District of Arkansas

Education

• Continued service as an adjunct professor at Washington University School of Law…teaching Mergers & Acquisitions, Corporations, and Estate and Gift Tax Law. I am delighted to be selected to teach again in 2021.

Lastly, we moved to a new larger suite in our building. The new suite number is 368.

The past year saw many successes for Swiecicki & Muskett, but we would trade it all to ensure everyone is healthy and ready to exit this COVID-19 environment.