Three exit Gallop to form Illinois firm
by Rick Desloge

A former partner and two associates from Gallop, Johnson & Neumann have left the Clayton law firm to form a new practice in Edwardsville, Ill.

The move will allow Christopher Byron, the former Gallop partner, to practice with one of his life-long friends, David Gerber, who is city attorney for Edwardsville.
"I've known David my whole life," said Byron, who like Gerber grew up in Edwardsville. Byron is the son of Nicholas Byron, a circuit judge in Madison County.

The new law firm, Byron Gerber Petri & Kalb, opened July 12 at 241 N. Main St. near the Madison County Courthouse.

The other partners, Christopher Petri and Brian Kalb, both were associates at Gallop, the region's ninth-largest law firm with 82 attorneys. The new firm has five attorneys, including an associate, Danielle LaChance-Yates, who had practiced with Gerber.

Byron had concentrated his legal work for Gallop in Madison County, primarily handling commercial litigation, some insurance defense work and class-action lawsuits. He said he intends to keep his practice focused in those areas and retain some of his current clients, but declined to identify those clients. Gerber, who is also an assistant attorney for Highland, Ill., focuses his practice on municipal law, estate planning, real estate and banking.

Sanford Neumann, the managing partner at Gallop Johnson, said he expects the two firms to have opportunities to work together in the future. Gallop Johnson is leasing space in the same Edwardsville building as the Byron Gerber firm, and Gallop Johnson is making space available in its Clayton offices for Byron Gerber's attorneys, Neumann said.

(Originally published in the July 23-29, 2004 issue of the St. Louis Business Journal)