News

Thompson Coburn LLP’s Labor & Employment practice continues to build momentum nationwide, welcoming a series of experienced partners and attorneys across the firm’s offices. The recent additions reflect a sustained, strategic expansion that has strengthened the practice’s ability to advise and defend employers in complex workplace disputes, employment litigation, compliance and emerging areas of risk. They also bolster the team’s experience in more focused areas including biometric privacy and independent school law.

Recent growth builds on momentum from the 2025 launch of the firm’s Wage & Hour practice in Los Angeles, which brought three new partners to the firm. Since then, additions to the team across multiple offices have demonstrated the practice’s ability to attract talent through its growing client platform and collaborative culture.

“I started my career at Thompson Coburn, spent more than a decade on the other side of the table as in-house counsel, and then chose to come home,” said Hope Abramov, co-chair of the Labor & Employment practice group. “Having seen this firm as a young lawyer, as a client and now as a practice leader, I can say the things that matter most have never changed: a genuine commitment to clients, colleagues who invest in one another, and a culture people want to be part of.

“What has changed is our reach. The talented lawyers joining us today are choosing a firm whose values have endured and whose platform has never been stronger.”

The practice’s newest additions since September 1 include:

• Matthew B. Banocy, partner, St. Louis – complex employment and business litigation, including restrictive covenant and trade secret matters
• Mark W. Guest, partner, Chicago – labor and employment litigation, wage and hour class actions and biometric privacy claims
• Grace H. Lee, partner, Washington, D.C. – employment and independent school law; chair of the firm’s Independent Schools practice
• Janice P. Gregerson, partner, Washington, D.C. – employment and independent school law
• Elizabeth Lobaugh, counsel, Los Angeles – labor and employment litigation including wage and hour class actions and PAGA litigation
• Adam Kmett, associate, Los Angeles
• Fall associates Kennedy Coleman and Elizabeth Bohnstedt, Los Angeles; and Noel Cory, St. Louis.

Partner Matthew A. Brown also joined the team this summer in the New York office. Additions earlier in 2026 include associates Paul Tsenesidis and Cooper Binsky in New York, Devin Hayes in St. Louis, and Tanner Ary in Birmingham.

“When our team came to Thompson Coburn, we saw the chance to pair our wage and hour experience with the firm’s considerable bench strength to meet clients’ changing needs,” said Michael Kun, co-chair of the Labor & Employment practice group and leader of the firm’s Wage & Hour practice. “Uniting our capabilities with talented colleagues in Los Angeles and across the country has magnified what each of us brings to the table. Every new addition to our team continues to multiply that impact for employers nationwide.”

Becky Christensen, who joined Thompson Coburn’s St. Louis office as a lateral partner in 2024, is now vice chair of the Labor & Employment practice.

“This firm’s team strength in L&E is exactly what drew me here, and it has only gained speed since,” said Christensen. “Thompson Coburn gave me the platform to take my practice to the next level, and our newest colleagues are finding that same opportunity to hit the ground running for their clients from day one.”

With a growing national bench and complementary strengths across counseling, litigation and industry-specific advice, Thompson Coburn’s Labor & Employment team is positioned to help employers navigate an increasingly complex workplace landscape, regionally and nationwide.

Industry Coverage

Read more on the growth of Thompson Coburn’s Labor & Employment practice:

• Law360, “Venable Ed. Partners Move To Thompson Coburn In DC”
• POLITICO, “Jobs Report”
• St. Louis Business Journal, “Big Law Firm Adds Partners in St. Louis, Chicago”
• Corporate Counsel Business Journal, “Matthew Banocy and Mark Guest Join Thompson Coburn’s National Labor & Employment Practice”
• Global Legal Chronicle, “Thompson Coburn Adds Independent School Practice with Grace Lee and Janice Gregerson in D.C.”
• Global Legal Chronicle, “Thompson Coburn’s National Labor & Employment Practice Continues on Growth Path with New Partners in St. Louis and Chicago”
• Attorney at Law Magazine, “Thompson Coburn’s National Labor & Employment Practice Continues on Growth Path With New Partners in St. Louis and Chicago”
• Attorney at Law Magazine, “Thompson Coburn Adds Independent School Practice With Grace Lee and Janice Gregerson in D.C.”
• Reuters, “The Afternoon Docket”

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