Spencer Fane Welcomes Rita D’Agostino to its Governmental Affairs and Real Estate Practice Groups

Spencer Fane Welcomes Rita D’Agostino to its Governmental Affairs and Real Estate Practice Groups

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – June 4, 2015 – (RealEstateRama) — Spencer Fane is pleased to announce that Rita D’Agostino has joined the firm in its Kansas City office as Of Counsel in the Governmental Affairs and Real Estate practice groups.

“Rita’s leadership, creativity and commitment to the client’s vision are fundamental to her ability to successfully collaborate with development professionals and governmental entities to align the varied interests of the parties and bring the client’s vision to reality, no matter the size of the project,” said Pat Whalen, Spencer Fane chairman. “Rita will be a great asset to our practice. Her skills and experience are a true complement to the firm’s business model and commitment to client service.”

D’Agostino’s unique business and legal acumen, which gives her the ability to understand the broader legal, business and governmental context in which clients must operate in order to be successful, was developed and sharpened while serving as general counsel to a large real estate development company. While there she managed all aspects of commercial development projects from financing and oversight of design and construction, to due diligence and risk management.

In addition to her work as general counsel, D’Agostino’s operation of her own firm, and her service as counsel in a large local law firm, further strengthened her business insight and enriched her deep understanding of the legal intricacies in the real estate business. Those experiences, as well as her unique skillset, position her as a highly valued member of clients’ strategy and leadership teams.

D’Agostino enhances the firm’s already robust Governmental Affairs practice group, which includes Joe Bednar, who served as Chief Counsel to two Missouri Governors and Special Counsel to another, as well former service as the Chief Assistant Prosecuting Attorney in Jackson County, Missouri; Jane Dueker, former Assistant Attorney General, Chief Legal Counsel and Chief of Staff to the Governor of Missouri; Keith Wenzel as former Director of the Missouri Department of Insurance; as well as Tom Grimshaw and Frank McNulty, both former Speakers of the Colorado House of Representatives in the firm’s Denver office.

Outside of the office, D’Agostino is deeply embedded in the Kansas City community holding numerous positions of leadership for philanthropic organizations including The Children’s Place, Impact KC and SafeHome. She is also a member of KC Crew, an organization made up of commercial real estate professionals, which provides members opportunities for networking, continuing education and leadership development.

D’Agostino earned both her juris doctor and bachelor’s degree from Creighton University.

About Spencer Fane

Spencer Fane is a full-service business law firm with offices in Colorado Springs (Colorado), Denver, Jefferson City (Missouri), Kansas City (Missouri), Omaha (Nebraska), Overland Park (Kansas), Springfield (Missouri), and St. Louis (Missouri). Spencer Fane has practice areas that include corporate, dispute resolution and litigation, employee benefits, environmental, financial services, government relations, health care, intellectual property, labor and employment, municipal and local government, real estate, and tax and estate planning. For more information, visit SpencerFane.com or follow @spencerfane on Twitter.