Personal Quote
“Never, ‘for the sake of peace and quiet,’ deny your own experience or conviction.” -Dag Hammarskjold
Biography
Russell L. Makepeace joined Sandberg Phoenix & von Gontard in 2000 as a member of the Health Law Group and became a shareholder in 2006. He focuses his practice primarily on professional negligence litigation and health related regulatory issues.
Russell has more than fifteen years experience working in the health law field. He began his career as a lawyer defending physicians sued for malpractice. He was recruited by Sandberg Phoenix to handle complex litigation for hospitals, clinics and dialysis centers in Missouri and Illinois. His practice has gradually expanded to include ancillary health care entities, such as therapy providers, medical spas and companies providing senior services. Much of his current practice involves consulting on HIPAA and other regulatory issues.
In 2008, Russell received the honor of being named by Missouri Lawyers Weekly as one of the Up & Coming Lawyers in Missouri. In 2010, he was recognized as a Rising Star by Missouri & Kansas Super Lawyers in the area of "Personal Injury Defense: Medical Malpractice."
As a regular speaker to legal and medical groups, Russell serves as a resource on tort issues related to health law. In 2007 he authored the Tort Reform Primer for Health Law, distributed by the Missouri Bar in conjunction with its seminar on Legal Trends & Recent Developments in Hospital Litigation.
Russell’s appellate experience includes work before various Federal and State appellate courts in both Missouri and Illinois, including the United States Courts of Appeal for the Seventh and Eighth Circuits and the Missouri Supreme Court. He was the lead brief writer on behalf of all intervenors when Missouri's concealed weapons law was challenged in the Missouri Supreme Court in 2004. Reported cases include:
Bohac v. Walsh, 223 S.W.3d 858 (Mo. App. E.D. 2007)
Brooks v. State, 128 S.W.3d 844 (Mo. 2004)
Witters v. Hicks, 338 Ill. App. 3d 751, 790 N.E.2d 5 (Ill. App. 5 Dist. 2003)
Bella v. Turner, 30 S.W.3d 892 (Mo. App. S.D. 2000)
Practice Groups -
Business Litigation -
Health Law Industries/Areas of Practice - Physicians
- Hospitals
- Insurance Companies
- Business Professionals
Civic Activities Russell is involved in various activities with the Missouri Botanical Gardens, the St. Louis Art Museum, Laumeier Sculpture Park, the Washington University School of Law Alumni Association and the organization, St. Louis Metro Parents.
Professional Activities Russell is admitted to practice law in Missouri and Illinois. He is a member of the Missouri Bar Association, the Illinois State Bar Association, the Missouri Society of Health Care Attorneys and the Missouri Adult Day Services Association.
Recent Presentations and Publications Presenter: Medical Group Management Association,
Patient Privacy: an Overview of Medicare’s Red Flags Rule, HIPAA, and the HITECH Act. (2010).
Moderator: National Business Institute,
Anatomy and Physiology 101 for Attorneys, (2010).
Using Doctors to Sue Doctors, (NBI), April 2010.
The Battle Lines in Healthcare Reform: Dialysis and Death Panels, IN THE KNOW (MoADSA), October 2009.
The Battle Lines in Healthcare Reform, IN THE KNOW (MoADSA), May 2009.
Competence and Consent: Guardianship in the Health Care Setting, IN THE KNOW (MoADSA), January 2009.
What HIPAA Hath Wrought: the Future of Electronic Records, IN THE KNOW (MoADSA), October 2008.
Hospitals, Health Care and Market Share, IN THE KNOW (MoADSA), July 2008.
Presenter: Lorman Education Services, Balancing a Patient’s Right to Privacy with a Doctor’s Right to Defend: How HIPAA and other privacy constraints impact complex litigation. (2007).
Presenter: The Missouri Bar Seminar on Legal Trends & Recent Developments in Hospital Litigation,
The Impact of HB 393 on Hospital Litigation. (2007).
Presenter: Symposium for St. Louis Area Risk Managers,
Negligent Credentialing: The New Road to the Deep Pocket. (2007).
Moderator:
The Risks of Risk Management Seminar, (2007).
Moderator: Lorman Education Services,
Discovery Skills for Legal Staff Seminar, (2007).
Education Russell earned his Juris Doctor from Washington University School of Law in 1999, where he was a Scholar at Law and the recipient of the Ronald J. Foulis Memorial Scholarship. He served as Associate Editor of the Journal of Urban and Contemporary Law.
Prior to law school, Russell attended Southwest Missouri State University as a Presidential Scholar after being named a National Merit Scholarship finalist. He earned his B.A. in History,
summa cum laude, in 1996, with a minor in Religious Studies. In 1995 he worked for the Israeli Antiquities Department on the Banais archaeological expedition in northern Israel.