Holden names new chief legal counsel

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- Gov. Bob Holden has chosen a St. Louis area lawyer as his new chief legal counsel.

Jane Dueker, 36, of Chesterfield would be the first woman to serve as the top attorney for a Missouri governor, Holden said Friday while announcing her hiring. Dueker said she expects to start work in the next couple of weeks.

She replaces Glenn Norton, whom Holden appointed to the Eastern District of the Missouri Court of Appeals in April.

Holden described Dueker as "an exceptional lawyer with broad experience in both private practice and public service."

Dueker has been in private practice since 1995, most recently as a partner in the St. Louis office of Stinson Morrison Hecker. She served as an assistant attorney general from 1992 to 1995, where her duties included representing the state treasurer's office then occupied by Holden.

Her previous work with the state gave her experience reviewing and writing legislation -- one of the responsibilities of the governor's chief legal counsel, Dueker said. In private practice, Dueker said, she specialized in administrative law.

Dueker said she will earn $95,000 annually as Holden's chief legal counsel, just slightly less than Norton made.