VerifiedLawFirms editorial: Focus and practice areas — This is a full-service law firm based in Springfield, Missouri, with a second office in Branson.
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About Neale & Newman
Neale & Newman, L.L.P. is a full-service law firm based in Springfield, Missouri, with a second office in Branson. The firm represents individuals, families, and businesses across Southwest Missouri, including Greene, Stone, Taney, and Christian counties. Its practice areas include estate planning, elder law, probate and trust administration, family law, business support, banking and finance, bankruptcy, real estate and construction, personal injury, workers' compensation, employment law, education law, intellectual property, municipal government, insurance defense, mediation and arbitration, and appeals. The firm states that it has more than 15 attorneys.
The firm traces its origins to a partnership formed by Ben Neale and Charles Newman in Greenfield, Missouri, and states that it has served clients since 1903. Ben Neale opened a Springfield office in the 1920s, and the firm's name changed several times as partners joined over the following decades. On October 1, 2023, the Branson firm of Cantwell, Smith & Trokey, LLC became part of Neale & Newman and Kate Trokey-Harris joined as a partner, which the firm describes as its first expansion beyond Greene County.
Editor's Review
VerifiedLawFirms editorial
Focus and practice areas
This is a full-service law firm based in Springfield, Missouri, with a second office in Branson. It represents individuals, families, and businesses across the southwest of the state. The published practice list is broad, and it points to a firm that handles both personal and commercial work.
Personal and family matters
On the personal side, the firm lists estate planning, elder law, probate and trust administration, asset protection, family law, and personal injury. Clients planning ahead and clients dealing with a loss can find related services in one place. That matters when a single family issue touches more than one area at once.
Business and disputes
The business side is just as wide. It covers business support, banking and finance, bankruptcy, real estate and construction, employment law, and intellectual property. The firm also lists workers' compensation, education law, municipal government, insurance defense, and appeals. Mediation and arbitration are on the list too, which gives clients a route to settle matters outside a courtroom.
How the team is built
The firm states that it has more than 15 attorneys. Daniel Wooten serves as Managing Partner. In my opinion, a roster of that size gives a regional firm enough depth to staff varied matters without sending clients elsewhere.
Attorneys named on the site
The site names several partners: Brian K. Asberry, Melissa Bade, Michael J. DeArmon, C. Nathan Dunville, Bryan D. Fisher, and Anne Sallee Mason. Kate Trokey-Harris is also listed as a partner. Other attorneys named include Patrick J. Platter, Judson B. Poppen, W. Bradley Risby, Richard L. Schnake, and Paul G. White.
The firm publishes a full roster under its Our Attorneys section. Individual bios, law schools, and admission years were not part of the pages our research reviewed, so this listing does not speak to them. Readers who want those details can check the firm's own attorney pages.
Roots that reach back to 1903
The firm traces its origins to a partnership formed by Ben Neale and Charles Newman in Greenfield, Missouri. It states that it has served clients since 1903, which puts its founding well over a century ago. That makes the name one of the older continuing ones in the region.
Ben Neale opened a Springfield office in the 1920s. The firm's name changed several times over the following decades as partners joined. A record that long does not prove any single result, and as a reviewer I read it mainly as a sign of continuity.
Recent growth into Branson
On October 1, 2023, the Branson firm of Cantwell, Smith & Trokey, LLC became part of Neale & Newman. Kate Trokey-Harris joined as a partner at the same time. The firm describes this as its first expansion beyond Greene County.
The move gave the firm a second office and a wider reach into the Branson area. For clients in Taney County, a nearer office can shorten the trip. It also brought an established local practice and its people into the larger group.
Where the firm serves clients
The firm lists service across Greene, Stone, Taney, and Christian counties. Springfield sits in Greene County, and Branson sits in Taney County. Between the two offices, the firm covers a good part of Southwest Missouri.
That footprint fits the practice mix. Estate planning, real estate, and family matters are often local work, and offices in two of these counties keep the firm close to the people it serves.
What the listing shows
Taken together, the public information points to a settled regional firm with a broad civil practice and a recent step into a second market. In my opinion, the clearest strengths on paper are the range of practice areas and the depth of a named partnership. The 2023 addition of the Branson office suggests a firm still adding to its base.
Prospective clients can weigh that record against their own needs. Someone with an estate question, a business matter, or a family case in Southwest Missouri will find those services listed here. For specific outcomes and individual attorney backgrounds, the firm's own pages are the place to confirm the detail.
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ASAnne Sallee MasonPartner
Anne Sallee Mason is a partner at Neale & Newman, L.L.P. in Springfield, Missouri. She received a B.A.B.A. degree from William Woods College in 1984 and a J.D. from the University of Missouri-Kansas City in 1987. Her practice focuses on trusts, estate planning, and probate.
Practice focus
Trusts
Estate Planning
Probate
BKBrian K. AsberryPartner
Brian K. Asberry is a member (partner) at Neale & Newman, L.L.P. in Springfield, Missouri. He earned a Bachelor of Arts from School of the Ozarks in 1988 and a Juris Doctor from the University of Missouri School of Law in 1990. His practice focuses on business litigation, banking law, creditors' rights, commercial law, bankruptcy, and eminent domain, and he also handles mediation and arbitration.
Practice focus
Business Litigation
Litigation
Creditors' Rights
Commercial Law
Business Law
Banking Law
BDBryan D. FisherPartner
Bryan Fisher is an associate at Neale & Newman, LLP in Springfield, Missouri. He earned a juris doctor degree from the University of Arkansas School of Law (Fayetteville) in 2013. His practice covers education, family, commercial, real estate, and business and corporate matters.
Practice focus
Education
Family
Commercial
Real Estate
Business & Corporate
CNC. Nathan DunvillePartner
C. Nathan Dunville is an attorney with Neale & Newman, LLP in Springfield, Missouri. He earned his J.D. from the University of Missouri School of Law and holds an M.B.A. (2011) and a B.S. (2010) from Missouri State University. His practice includes general litigation, business and corporate matters, estate and trust litigation, real estate, employment and labor matters for employers, and estate planning and probate.
Practice focus
General Litigation
Business/Corporate
Estate & Trust Litigation
Real Estate: Business
Employment & Labor: Employer
Estate Planning & Probate
DKDaniel K. WootenManaging Partner
Managing Partner of Neale & Newman, L.L.P., a full-service law firm in Springfield, Missouri.
Practice focus
Business Law
Employment Law
Estate Planning
Education Law
Family Law
JBJudson B. Poppen
Judson B. Poppen is an attorney with Neale & Newman, LLP in Springfield, Missouri. He earned his law degree from The University of Iowa College of Law, graduating in 2001. His practice covers business litigation, family law, construction litigation, and estate and trust litigation. His profile also lists education law among his practice areas.
Practice focus
Business Litigation
Family Law
Construction Litigation
Estate & Trust Litigation
Education Law
KTKate Trokey-HarrisPartner
Joined Neale & Newman as a partner when the Branson firm of Cantwell, Smith & Trokey, LLC became part of the firm effective October 1, 2023.
Practice focus
Business Law
Corporate Law
Real Estate
Trusts and Estates
Probate
Litigation
L"Lillian "Lilly" Sweeney
MBMelissa BadePartner
Melissa E. Bade is an attorney at Neale & Newman, LLP in Springfield, Missouri. She graduated from the University of Arkansas School of Law (Fayetteville) in 2011. She represents clients in the Springfield area and handles Family Law matters.
Practice focus
Family Law
MJMichael J. DeArmonPartner
Michael Jackson DeArmon is an attorney based in Springfield, Missouri. He earned his JD from the University of Tulsa College of Law. His practice focuses on estate planning, business, and family law matters.
Practice focus
Estate Planning
Business
Family
NRNathan Rogers
PJPatrick J. Platter
Patrick Jay Platter is a member at Neale & Newman, L.L.P. in Springfield, Missouri. He received a B.A. from the University of Missouri in 1978 and a J.D. from the University of Missouri in 1981. His practice covers workers' compensation law, health insurance litigation, administrative law, land use and zoning, and family law.
Practice focus
Workers' Compensation
Health Insurance Litigation
Administrative Law
Land Use & Zoning
Family Law
Litigation
PGPaul G. White
RLRichard L. Schnake
Richard Lane Schnake received a B.A. cum laude from Southwest Missouri State University in 1979 and a J.D. from Washington University in 1982. He joined Neale & Newman, L.L.P. in Springfield, Missouri in 1983 and became a partner in 1988. His practice focuses on appeals, trademarks, and copyrights, and he has handled cases in state and federal appellate courts. He served on the Missouri Supreme Court Civil Rules Committees from 1989 to 2002 and is the author of "Civil Rules Practice," 17A Missouri Practice.
Practice focus
Appeals
Appellate Practice
Trademarks
Copyrights
Intellectual Property
Litigation
Tinika Bunch
WBW. Bradley Risby
William Bradley Risby is an associate at Neale & Newman, L.L.P. in Springfield, Missouri. He earned a B.S. from Missouri State University in 2003, a Master of Health Administration from A.T. Still University in 2009, and a J.D. from the University of Missouri-Columbia School of Law in 2011. His practice focuses on education, real estate, and estate planning.
Practice focus
Education
Real Estate
Estate Planning
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