Chairman Tom Minogue will compete in St. Louis Dancing with the Stars

Thompson Coburn Chairman Tom Minogue will take to the dance floor in the 2014 edition of St. Louis Dancing with the Stars, to be held Jan. 25 at the Four Seasons.

Minogue is the first attorney to ever compete in the event, which raises funds for Independence Center, a St. Louis community-based psychiatric rehabilitation program that provides comprehensive services to adults living with mental illness.

Since its inception in 2007, Dancing with the St. Louis Stars has raised more than $850,000 for Independence Center. Dancers prepare their routines with professional dancers for several weeks and campaign for monetary “votes,” which are combined with judges’ scores on the night of the competition. Past dance competitors include Steve Lipstein, president and CEO of BJC HealthCare, Craig Schnuck of Schnucks Markets, and Ron Kruszewski, CEO of Stifel Financial Corp.

“I’m light years away from being a professional dancer,” said Minogue. “In fact, I’ve barely touched a dance floor in my life, other than my wedding and a few father-daughter student dances. I feel this gives me a distinct advantage; my instructor doesn’t have to break me of any bad habits."

“I’ll also admit that one of my primary goals with this endeavor, besides helping out a great cause, is to secure the continued affection of my wife and three daughters. They are rabid fans of ‘Dancing with the Stars’ and never would have forgiven me if I had turned down this truly unique opportunity.”

Minogue’s dance partner and choreographer will be Angie Brooks, a professional dancer who has competed around the world. Brooks leads dance instruction at Just Dancing Ballroom Dance Studio in Ballwin and also serves as a Teaching Artist for St. Louis Dancing Classrooms, which offers ballroom instruction in St. Louis schools.

As chairman of the 350-attorney law firm Thompson Coburn, Tom has more than 30 years of experience advising business leaders across the country on all aspects of corporate law and governance. The Best Lawyers of America® (by BL Rankings) named Tom as its St. Louis Corporate Lawyer of the Year for 2011, its St. Louis Corporate Compliance Lawyer of the Year for 2013, and its St. Louis Mergers and Acquisitions Lawyer of the Year for 2014. 

A graduate of Harvard Law School and the University of Missouri-St. Louis, Tom is a member of UMSL’s Chancellor’s Council and recently gave the keynote speech at the university’s 50th anniversary celebration. He also holds leadership positions on the boards of the Boy Scouts of America, COCA, the Navy League of St. Louis, the Ranken Jordan Pediatric Rehabilitation Center, the St. Louis Regional Chamber, and the United Way of Greater St. Louis.

Voting for the competition opens Nov. 1.