John M. Hessel to Receive Missouri Lawyers Media ICON Award

Lewis Rice member John M. Hessel will be honored as a recipient of the 2022 ICON Award from Missouri Lawyers Media, a group of business and legal publications that have been serving Missouri professionals for more than 100 years.

Launched in 2018, the ICON Award is given to attorneys who are 60 years of age and older in recognition of their exemplary careers and commitment to the Missouri legal community. Honorees must hold or have held a senior position with significant decision-making authority for their firm or organization. Hessel is among only 30 other recipients from across Missouri, including founding partners, firm leaders, current and retired judges and former public officials.

“John served on the Firm’s Management Committee for many years, and his incredible track record of success and his dedication to his clients, colleagues and community have made a lasting, positive impact on the legal profession throughout Missouri,” said Richard B. Walsh, Jr., firm chairman. “All of us at Lewis Rice are proud to see him recognized with this prestigious honor.”

John and his fellow award winners will be celebrated at the fifth annual ICON Awards luncheon June 29, 2022, at the Missouri Athletic Club in St. Louis. They will also be profiled in print and online in a special section of Missouri Lawyers Weekly.

Over his 44-year legal career, John has received numerous honors and awards, such as inclusion in The Best Lawyers in America® from 2009 to 2022 and Missouri & Kansas Super Lawyers® from 2009 to 2016. Best Lawyers® has named him “Lawyer of the Year” nine times over the past twelve years as "St. Louis Municipal Lawyer of the Year," "St. Louis Litigation-First Amendment Lawyer of the Year," and "St. Louis Litigation-Municipal Lawyer of the Year." He also obtained a proclamation of civic duty from the Bar Association of Metropolitan St. Louis, the Medal of Valor Award from Crusade Against Crime, the 2008 Citizen of the Year from the cities of Kirkwood and Des Peres, and the 2009 Distinguished Alumni Merit Award from Southeast Missouri State University.

John represents business clients in commercial transactions and litigation. His diverse client base spans a variety of industries, including service institutions, manufacturers, municipal corporations, financial organizations, publishing companies and local and national media entities. He is also the long-standing city attorney for Kirkwood and Florissant, Missouri.

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