Spencer Fane is pleased to welcome 18 summer associates to the firm. The firm continues to prioritize hiring a diverse group of law students from across the country and providing a meaningful work experience across a range of legal practices while facilitating informal social interaction and networking with our attorneys and staff.
This year’s class includes: Kate Daus (St. Louis), Ursula K. Davy (Denver), Alexis Denny (Kansas City), Ivana Easley (Kansas City), J.B. Fishman (Plano), Marcus Gould (Denver), Jackson Hasty (Nashville), Henry Hong (Kansas City), Andrew Hua (Denver), LeeAnn Littlejohn (Oklahoma City), Victoria Narezo (Houston), Kate Pearce (Nashville), Hunter Quinn (Dallas), Doug Reynolds (Springfield), Lexie Rook (Springfield), Mykaela Delgado Schluter (Denver), Matthew Swords (Kansas City) and Grace C. Taskinsoy (Phoenix).
“In keeping with the deliberate and sustainable growth strategy, Spencer Fane intentionally maintains relatively small summer associate classes,” Spencer Fane Chair Patrick J. Whalen said. “This allows each student the chance to take on substantial responsibilities, directly and informally work with partners, and enjoy the satisfaction of our collaborative and responsive client service model at an early stage in their development. In addition to extensive practical experience, our summer associates enjoy opportunities to interact with our attorneys in social settings, as we believe it is important to foster real relationships in an effort to better prepare the next generation of legal professionals to pursue their desired career path.”
The summer associate program begins in late May and concludes the first week of August. Learn more about each member of the class below.
Kate Daus (St. Louis)
A Division I soccer player while completing undergraduate studies at Southeast Missouri State in Cape Girardeau, Kate is a 1L at the Washington University School of Law. She previously spent more than three years as an office services clerk in the Cape Girardeau office at Spencer Fane, where she developed a system of organization to ensure accessibility and confidentiality of case-related documents and improved organization through construction and implementation of online folders and spreadsheets in addition to directly observing court hearings and mediations.
Ursula K. Davy (Denver)
A 1L at the University of Colorado Law School, Ursula has worked as an application screener at the Korey Wise Innocence Project in Boulder since October 2022. She researched trial history, evidence, and documents for applicants beginning at initial arrest and drafted memos regarding applicants’ strength and eligibility for wrongful conviction representation. A native Spanish speaker, Ursula completed her undergraduate studies in English at Florida State University and served on the Kudzu Review literary magazine staff.
Alexis Denny (Kansas City)
Alexis most recently completed an internship with the Hon. Stephen R. Bough of the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Missouri in the latter part of 2022. Her responsibilities included research and drafting and editing orders. A 3L at the UMKC School of Law, she completed her undergraduate studies at Missouri State University and later earned a Master of Public Administration at the UMKC Bloch School of Business before returning to law school. This marks her second year as a summer associate at Spencer Fane.
Ivana Easley (Kansas City)
A 1L at the UMKC School of Law, where she is an active member of the Black Law Students Association, Ivana completed her undergraduate studies in human services with a minor in sociology at Columbia College in Columbia, Missouri. Her previous legal experience includes working as a Juvenile Expungement Intern with Legal Aid in Chicago, where she provided complete case management for 15 clients. The specific work included initial consultations and onboarding, research on expungement eligibility, and drafting associate legal documents.
J.B. Fishman (Plano)
A recently completed judicial externship with a federal magistrate judge in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas further bolstered J.B.’s legal experience and education. A 2L at SMU’s Dedman School of Law, he has also served as an intern for the Hon. Tonya Parker in the 116th Civil District Court of Texas and a law clerk in the Texas Office of the Attorney General. J.B. completed his undergraduate studies at the University of Texas after a year at American Jewish University.
Marcus Gould (Denver)
A 2L currently in the top 12% of his class at the University of Denver’s Sturm College of Law, Marcus has spent time as a research assistant to an associate professor of law and as a student attorney for the school’s Environmental Law Clinic, where he successfully briefed motions for summary judgment on complex administrative law issues in addition to other practical experiences. He completed his undergraduate studies in economics at Trinity College in Hartford, Connecticut.
Jackson Hasty (Nashville)
Jackson completed his undergraduate studies in political science at Columbia College of Columbia University in New York and is now a 1L at Belmont University College of Law in Nashville. He previously worked as a research assistant in the office of Senator Heidi Campbell, which allowed him to draft and introduce legislation into the Tennessee Senate on key environmental issues. Jackson also currently works as an academic specialist at the Carraway Center for Teaching and Learning and a teaching assistant at Vanderbilt Programs for Talented Youth.
Henry Hong (Kansas City)
A veteran of the U.S. Navy who is fluent in Mandarin, Henry completed his undergraduate studies in health services management at the University of Maryland’s Global Campus and is now a 1L at the University of Missouri School of Law, where he serves as chair of the Missouri Law Veterans Society. While enlisted in the armed forces as a Hospital Corpsman Second Class in Okinawa, Japan, he spent time as the command legal clerk and co-chaired the command Diversity and Inclusion team for the 3d Dental Battalion.
Andrew Hua (Denver)
Returning for a second year in the Spencer Fane summer associate program, Andrew is a 2L at the University of Colorado Law School, where he is part of the Sustainable Community Development Clinic while focusing on tax and employment law. He completed his undergraduate studies in public policy at Duke University before deciding to pursue law school. His previous work at Spencer Fane included drafting legal documents and performing statutory and case law research for the firm’s attorneys.
LeeAnn Littlejohn (Oklahoma City)
A 2L at the University of Oklahoma College of Law, LeeAnn is an active member of the Black Law Students Association, American Constitution Society (where she serves as treasurer), and the American Indian Law Review. She completed her undergraduate studies in both business administration finance and legal studies with a minor in real estate before completing a judicial internship with the Hon. Anthony Bonner, Jr. in the Oklahoma County District Court and a legal externship with in-house counsel at a state-chartered bank based in Oklahoma.
Victoria Narezo (Houston)
After participating in the Spencer Fane summer associate program in Denver last year, Victoria returns for a second year looking to build on her experience performing extensive research and drafting a variety of legal documents while preparing case files for discovery and trial. She completed her undergraduate studies in social work with a minor in psychology at the University of Mississippi before pursuing an advanced standing Master of Science in social work at Columbia University. Currently, Victoria is a 2L at South Texas College of Law in Houston.
Kate Pearce (Nashville)
With a strong background in government and public service, Kate completed her undergraduate degree in environmental studies with a concentration in sustainability at Elon University in North Carolina. She is currently a 1L at the University of Tennessee College of Law. Her past experience includes internships in the Nashville Mayor’s Office of Transportation and Sustainability and Elon University’s Office of Sustainability. Kate has also volunteered time as a youth education specialist at the Martha O’Bryan Center in Nashville.
Hunter Quinn (Dallas)
A 2L at SMU’s Dedman School of Law, Hunter completed his undergraduate studies in philosophy at San Diego State University. His prior experience includes a stint as an in-house legal clerk for a Pennsylvania common law trust and “Qualified Settlement Fund” for a former industrial operation. While there, Hunter reviewed, updated, and drafted memoranda detailing relevant statute of limitations, statute of repose, and certain other requirements pertaining to asbestos-related causes of action and assisted in streamlining the claim review process.
Doug Reynolds (Springfield)
Doug is a 2L at the University of Mississippi School of Law where he is heavily involved as associate cases editor with the Mississippi Law Journal, Volume 92. In addition, Doug participated in a study abroad program focused on international organizations and security that allowed him to visit organizations in multiple countries to study the impact of treaty enforcement and its relationship to international law. He completed his undergraduate studies in business administration at the University of Missouri.
Lexie Rook (Springfield)
After completing a recent externship with the Hon. Mark Lindsay in the 4th Judicial District Court of Arkansas, Lexie returns to the Spencer Fane summer associate program for a second year. Last year, she researched and drafted legal documents, including those related to a $13 million construction loan, and prepared an oral argument for the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals. She is currently a 2L at the University of Arkansas School of Law after completing her undergraduate studies in finance at the University of Arkansas.
Mykaela Delgado Schluter (Denver)
Mykaela brings experience as an intern for Justice Maria E. Berkenkotter in the 20th Judicial Circuit of Colorado and the Metro Volunteer Lawyers in Colorado, along with a summer clerkship in the U.S. Attorney’s Office in the U.S. District Court for the District of Colorado. She completed her undergraduate studies in international security and development at Westmont College in Santa Barbara, California, before earning admission to the University of Colorado Law School, where she is currently a 2L.
Matthew Swords (Kansas City)
A 1L at the University of Missouri School of Law, Matthew recently completed a judicial internship in Missouri’s 16th Circuit Court of Jackson County. He obtained undergraduate degrees in business administration (accounting) and modern languages (French) and later spent time as a finance intern in the treasury department of a major tax preparation company. While pursuing his Juris Doctor, Matthew is working as a career development office assistant in the law school and is a member of the Tax and Transactional Law Society.
Grace C. Taskinsoy (Phoenix)
After completing undergraduate studies in law at the University of Arizona, Grace is currently a 2L at Arizona State University’s Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law. She will be the incoming editor-in-chief of the Corporate and Business Law Journal in addition to being an active member of the Women Law Students Association. Grace previously spent time in marketing and communications with the American Bankruptcy Institute and completed a judicial clerkship with the Hon. Katherine Cooper in the Superior Court of Arizona in Maricopa County.
