ALTON, Ill. – Simmons Hanly Conroy is pleased to announce Shareholder Amy E. Garrett has received a 2019 Women’s Justice Award from Missouri Lawyers Weekly. Garrett was honored in the Pro Bono category at the awards ceremony on April 25, 2019, at the Four Seasons Hotel St. Louis.
“We congratulate Amy on being selected for the Women’s Justice Award, particularly for her pro bono efforts, which she’s led at our firm,” said Simmons Hanly Conroy Chairman John Simmons. “Her strong commitment to her clients and the community deserves every accolade and we are proud to have her on our side.”
Since 1999, the Women’s Justice Awards have honored women who demonstrate leadership, integrity, service, sacrifice and accomplishment while improving the quality of justice and exemplifying the highest ideals of the legal profession. This year’s recipients include judges, in-house counsel, legal scholars and private practitioners. In addition to the awards reception, honorees will be profiled in a special edition of Missouri Lawyers Weekly on April 29.
Garrett, a Shareholder on the asbestos management team, joined Simmons Hanly Conroy’s asbestos team in 2003 and became the firm’s first female Shareholder in 2009. She has since mentored several other women to partnership. A senior Shareholder, she oversees the Madison County and St. Louis dockets, helps manage the firm’s intake process and coordinates efforts between satellite offices. Her litigation work has resulted in millions of dollars for the firm’s clients affected by asbestos.
Going beyond her professional accomplishments, Garrett initiated the firm’s pro bono program, which provides free representation and legal services. In particular, she has focused on helping domestic-violence victims obtain orders of protection by connecting them with paralegals, free of charge. Within the firm, she has also served as director of the Simmons Employee Foundation, which has donated more than $1 million to St. Louis-area charities and taken a leadership role in diversity and inclusion efforts.
Garrett has also committed her litigation skills to helping people clear their records in order to have better access to housing and jobs. She was instrumental in coordinating Amnesty Day for homeless veterans in St. Louis. Similarly, she helped develop Simmons Hanly Conroy’s Second Chance Saturday program, in which Madison County citizens with criminal records are invited to consult with attorneys for free to have their records expunged.
Garrett received her J.D. from Washington University School of Law and her Bachelor of Arts from University of Illinois-Champaign-Urbana.
