Thomas E. Kennedy, III
Thomas E. Kennedy, III is an attorney in private practice with offices in St. Louis, Missouri and Alton, Illinois concentrating in Civil Litigation, School Law, Disability Rights, Fair Housing, and other Civil Rights Law.
Mr. Kennedy is a 1971 graduate of the University of Illinois College of Law, where he received the Outstanding Senior Award, a service award voted by the faculty. He obtained his undergraduate degree from Wesleyan University in Middletown, Connecticut.
Before entering private practice, Mr. Kennedy was employed for twenty-two years by Land of Lincoln Legal Assistance Foundation, Inc. He led a Land of Lincoln’s task force on disability rights law and directed a statewide legal services program to provide legal assistance in special education matters to children who are wards of the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services. Mr. Kennedy was formerly the Deputy Director of the Illinois Developmental Disabilities Law Project, an administrator for the Illinois Department of Mental Health, and a caseworker for the New York Department of Social Services.
Mr. Kennedy has been honored for his work on behalf of his clients. He received the Illinois Lawyers Trust Fund’s first annual award for public interest law and the Coalition of Citizens with Disabilities in Illinois’ Smithson Advocacy Award. Tom Kennedy received the 2004 Volunteer
Lawyer of the Year Award from Legal Services of Eastern Missouri. He also received the 2005 award for outstanding advocacy from The Midwest Foster Care and Adoption Association. In 2002, Tom received the 9th Annual Clarence Darrow Public Interest Advocate Award from the Public Interest Law Group of Saint Louis University School of Law. Tom Kennedy has also received the Lawyers TrustFund of Illinois’ first attorney recognition award in December 1989, the Smithson Advocacy Award from the Coalition of Citizens with Disabilities in Illinois in May 1989, and the Metropolitan St. Louis Equal Housing Opportunity Council’s Open Door Award in April 2003.
He is the author of several publications, including articles on special education law for MOCLE in 2008 and 2009 and a case law update in 2006 for the ISBA Education Law Section. He wrote an article in 2005 on “Proof of Damages in Fair Housing Cases” for MOCLE. He co-authored an article with Genevieve J. Nichols, Esq., entitled “New Standards and Decisions in School and Education Law,” published by Lorman Education Services (2000). He co-authored an article with Nancy Leonard, Esq., entitled “The Americans with Disabilities Act: A White Paper,” which was funded by a grant from the Illinois Planning Council on Developmental Disabilities (1990). He wrote a chapter on “School Law,” in Representing the Low Income Client, published by the Illinois Institute of Continuing Legal Education (1985).
Mr. Kennedy is active in many community and civic organizations. He is currently an adjunct professor at St. Louis University School of Law. He was formerly a member of the Civil Justice Reform Act Committee of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Illinois. He is a graduate of the National Institute for Trial Advocacy. Tom Kennedy has been selected by other attorneys as a Leading Lawyer who is among the top 5% of all lawyers in Illinois in Civil Rights and Constitutional Law, School Law, Elder Law, and Social Security Disability Law.
Tom Kennedy is a member of the Illinois and Missouri bars, the United States District Courts for the Central and Southern Districts of Illinois, the Eastern and Western Districts of Missouri, and the Circuit Courts of Appeal for the Seventh and Eighth Circuits. Tom Kennedy is a member of NOSSCR, COPAA, the National Organization of Social Security Claimant’s Representatives.
Mr. Kennedy is married to Linda Pilcher, the owner of Something Elegant Catering in St. Louis, Missouri. His son, Alec, now attends graduate school in New York City.
Heather B. Navarro
Heather represents clients in special education, disabilities rights, fair housing, environmental justice, guardianships and foster & adoptive care matters. She is familiar with the needs of non-profit corporations and is available to assist non-profit clients in corporate governance as well as other legal matters they face. She has a bachelor’s degree in Environmental Studies and practiced as a student lawyer in the Interdisciplinary Environmental Clinic at Washington University School of Law. She has authored two articles on special education for the Missouri Bar.
Before coming to the Law Offices of Thomas Kennedy, Heather spent three years in private practice as a contract attorney, an associate with a mid-size firm in St. Louis and as a student clerk. Prior to law school she was the Social Justice Coordinator at the Newman Center on the campus of Washington University. In addition to traveling with students on service trips to explore issues of hunger and homelessness, she spent three months in Guatemala working with indigenous children and developing a literacy program for women. Heather is engaged in a variety of community efforts focused on making St. Louis more sustainable. She is on the board of The Green Center in University City and is a member of the Sierra Club.
She is licensed to practice in Missouri and Illinois and is a member of BAMSL (Bar Assoc. of Metropolitan St. Louis), the American Bar Association and the Women Lawyers’ Association.
She is also a member of COPAA (Council of Parent Attorneys and Advocates) and Missouri TASH. She lives in the Central West End with her husband and two children.
Althea Respess
Althea joined the firm in 2009 as the firm’s office administrator. She obtained a Bachelor’s degree from the University of Central Florida in 1993, where she majored in Legal Studies. She was employed by the Office of the State Attorney of Florida from 1987 to 2008 when her family relocated to St. Louis, Missouri to pursue the career goals of her husband. While working at the Office of the State Attorney, Ms. Respess was instrumental in the formation and development of standard operating procedures for several divisions including the Career Criminal and Firearm Offender units. Althea served as supervisor of these divisions for 15 years. Ms. Respess was also a frequent guest speaker at the “Citizens Academy” where she lectured on basic understanding of the court system.
Althea served on several volunteer committees including “Volunteers in Action” a community action committee, sponsored by the Mayor of Cocoa, Florida. She has continued her volunteerism in St. Louis by participating in the Martin Luther King Day of Volunteerism sponsored by the University of Missouri St. Louis and looks forward to many more opportunities to serve.
Althea is a member of the Association of Legal Administrators and the St. Louis Paralegal Association. Althea lives in Clayton, Missouri with her husband and two daughters. She enjoys walks through Forest Park, reading, knitting and spending time with her family and friends.