St. Louis County Bar Association announces recipients of 2019 awards

CLAYTON, Mo. – The St. Louis County Bar Association announced the recipients of the Dudley C. Dunlop Distinguished Service Award and the Roy F. Essen Memorial Award for Outstanding Work as a Young Lawyer on Wednesday.

The Dudley C. Dunlop Distinguished Service Award is an honor conferred on an attorney who has provided distinguished and unselfish service to the organized bar and the community. The recipient must also show constant devotion to the highest principles and practices of the legal profession and symbolize the highest standards of integrity, honor and unselfish service.

St. Louis County Bar Association selected attorney Marie Kenyon as the recipient for the 2019 Dudley C. Dunlop Distinguished Service Award.

Kenyon graduated from Saint Louis University School of Law in 1986. She has devoted her career to providing legal services to the poor and underserved. She is the Director of the Peace and Justice Commission for the Archdiocese of St. Louis, a position she has served in since 2015.

Prior to her current position, Kenyon was the managing attorney of the Catholic Legal Assistance Ministry, an organization which she founded in 1987. She also served as a member of the Peace Corps, where she volunteered her time and talents in West Africa.

The Roy F. Essen Memorial Award for Outstanding Work as a Young Lawyer is an honor conferred on an attorney in recognition of excellence and distinguished work as a lawyer, distinguished service to the organized bar and outstanding service to the community. The recipient must be under the age of 36.

St. Louis County Bar Association selected attorney Joel Christensen as the recipient for the 2019 Roy F. Essen Memorial Award for Outstanding Work as a Young Lawyer.

Christensen graduated from Washington University School of Law in 2010. He is a partner at Behr, McCarter & Potter, P.C. where he counsels corporate, individual and municipal clients on a variety of legal issues. He is also an Eagle Scout and an adjunct professor at Washington University School of Law.

Christensen has been a member of the Executive Committee of the St. Louis County Bar Association and a member of the Board of Directors of the Lupus Foundation of America, America-Heartland Chapter. He has also been recognized as a Rising Star by Missouri Lawyers Weekly.

“Marie and Joel are deserving of their honors,” Matt Reh, president of the St. Louis County Bar Association and partner at Armstrong Teasdale said. “Their contributions to the legal profession and the broader community are legion. We are proud to recognize such distinguished members of the bar with our awards.”

Reh will present Kenyon and Christensen with their awards at a dinner reception on February 2, 2019.

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