W. DUDLEY McCARTER

Dudley is a founding member of Behr, McCarter, Neely & Gabris, P.C. He served as President of both The Missouri Bar (’92-’93) and the St. Louis County Bar Association (’86-’87). In addition, Dudley is a Fellow of the American Bar Foundation, the recipient of the Purcell Professionalism Award from The Missouri Bar (acknowledging outstanding professionalism by a Missouri lawyer who consistently demonstrates an exceptional degree of competency, integrity and civility in both their professional and civic activities, 2001) and the Spurgeon Smithson Award from The Missouri Bar (recognizing contributions to legal education and the judicial system, 2018). He received the Geyer Award from the University of Missouri-Columbia for his services to higher education in Missouri in 2004, the Distinguished Service Award from the Mizzou Alumni Association in 2009 and the Foundation Award from the Fellows of the St. Louis Bar Foundation for his outstanding contributions to the St. Louis community and legal profession in 2008.  

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In 2019, Dudley was presented with Missouri Lawyers Media's prestigious ICON award in recognition of his exemplary career and longstanding commitment to the Missouri legal community. This award recognizes distinguished men and women 60 or older who have demonstrated notable, sustained success and strong leadership within and outside the field of law. 

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He is also a multi-year recipient of The Missouri Bar Foundation’s W. Oliver Rasch Award, given annually to the author of the most outstanding substantive article published in the Journal of The Missouri Bar (1985, 1989, 2006). Having tried cases in United States District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri and in the Missouri Circuit Courts, Dudley is rated “AV” (the highest rating possible) by Martindale-Hubbell®, and has been selected by his peers for inclusion in The Best Lawyers in America®in the categories of Commercial Litigation, Construction Law, and Litigation-Construction.  Dudley has been selected for The Best Lawyers in America®every year since 2001.  He is admitted to practice before the United States Supreme Court and has argued cases before the Supreme Court of Missouri, The Missouri Court of Appeals, and the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eight Circuit.  He has authored The Flag Column in the Journal of the Missouri Bar for over 25 years.

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Dudley received his B.A. degree, cum laude, from Knox College in 1972, and in 2013 received the Alumni Achievement Award from Knox College.  Dudley received his J. D. degree in 1975 from the University of Missouri–Columbia where he was a member of The Law Review. He served as President of the Mizzou Alumni Association 2014-2015, and as one of the Tri-Chairs of The Missouri 100 from 2010-2020.  His practice is concentrated in the areas of civil litigation and construction litigation. He has authored 25 articles published in The Journal of the Missouri Bar. Dudley is active in many charitable and civic organizations. He served on the Board (and as Chair) of the Children’s Trust Fund of Missouri and on the Board of the Parkway School District. He is currently serving on the Board of Governors for Cardinal Glennon Children's Foundation. He is also on the Coordinating Board of Higher Education for the State of Missouri. He has been on the faculty of the Missouri Trial Judges College every year from 1997-2020.

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Dudley and his wife Beth, who is also an attorney, have three children: Katherine Wright, Dr. Libby Noonan, and Emily McCarter.

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You may contact Dudley at (314) 862-3800 at Ext. 226 or at dmccarter@bmnglaw.com.  Dudley's Paralegal/Legal Assistant is Laura Persons at Ext. 241 or at lpersons@bmnglaw.com.