Chris Koster (D)
JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (Legal Newsline)-Missouri Attorney General Chris Koster has named a St. Louis lawyer to head his office's Litigation Division, the Democrat said in a statement.
Attorney Joel Poole will serve as chief counsel of the Litigation Division.
Poole comes from the law firm Holloran White & Schwartz LLP, where he has practiced products liability and commercial law since 1999.
In a statement, Koster said Poole brings with him more than 20 years of civil and complex litigation experience.
"Joel's extensive experience in the courtroom as well as interviewing witnesses, handling negotiations and counseling clients makes him a perfect fit for this job and an ideal leader for both the veteran and young attorneys in the Litigation Division," Koster said.
The office's Litigation Division defends the state, its agencies and its employees against lawsuits.
In another appointment, Koster tapped Assistant Attorney General Jack McManus to serve as chief counsel of the Agriculture and Environment Division.
McManus worked in the Attorney General's Special Litigation Unit since 2007. Before that, he spent 19 years in the Ohio Attorney General's Office, handling environmental cases.
Koster was sworn in as Missouri attorney general Jan. 12, succeeding fellow Democrat Jay Nixon, who was elected governor.
The attorney general has said as the state's chief legal officer he would fight predatory lenders, aggressively enforce the state's environmental laws and crackdown on cybercrime.
From Legal Newsline: Reach reporter Chris Rizo at chrisrizo@legalnewsline.com.