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W.H. "Bert" Bates Honored by Missouri Lawyers Weekly with Inaugural ICON Award

5/30/2018

Kansas City, MO (May 30, 2018) – W.H. (Bert) Bates is one of 25 attorneys from Missouri honored in the inaugural 2018 ICON Awards, sponsored by Missouri Lawyers Weekly. Bates is Senior Counsel in Lathrop Gage’s Kansas City office and has spent 65 years at the firm.

The ICON award recognizes distinguished attorneys age 60 and older for their exemplary careers and longstanding commitment to the Missouri legal community and beyond the field of law.

Bates has been a member of or general counsel to numerous public or quasi-public bodies and has extensive experience in their general operation and related borrowing and financial matters. He also has extensive experience in drafting and lobbying statutes regarding the laws of the State of Missouri.

He has mentored countless attorneys over the years, and as a top-notch outside legal counsel, has guided numerous companies that helped change and form the state of Missouri.

Outside of the legal community, Bates has left an indelible footprint on the Kansas City civic and charitable community with his involvement in dozens of organizations. He is a former Chairman of the Board of the Missouri State Chamber of Commerce, former Chairman of the Board for the Greater Kansas City Chamber of Commerce, former member of the Civic Council of Kansas City, former Chair of the Mayors Corps of Progress for a Greater Kansas City, and Secretary of Board of Directors for the Kansas City International Exposition, Inc. (World’s Fair Project).

Most recently Bates received an honorary degree from the University of Missouri in 2016 for his longstanding record of civic, philanthropic and legal service, joining past honorees that include President Harry S. Truman, author Samuel Clemens (Mark Twain) and newsman Walter Cronkite.

About Lathrop Gage

Lathrop Gage is a law firm whose clients form the backbone of our economy.  Our attorneys provide strategic guidance in litigation, business and intellectual property law, with deep knowledge and experience in the industries we serve.  We work as one integrated team from offices across the country to help our clients see beyond immediate challenges to achieve their most important objectives.  For more information, visit www.lathropgage.com