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Firm News
March 18, 2025
Holtsclaw Joins Friel, McCord & Smiley, LLC as Of Counsel
Friel, McCord & Smiley, LLC is pleased to announce that Charice Holtsclaw has joined the firm's Kansas City office as Of Counsel. With an extensive background in business, bankruptcy law, and general practice, Holtsclaw brings a wealth of experience to the firm’s practice.
Holtsclaw earned her Bachelor’s Degree in Business Management from Northwest Missouri State University in 1998, followed by an MBA from Park University in 1999. She began her career as an Analyst with the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City and later served as a Program Manager and Contract Negotiator for Sprint/Nextel (now T-Mobile). Driven by a passion for the law and its intersection with business, she pursued her Juris Doctor at Washburn School of Law, graduating in 2005.
Licensed to practice in federal and state courts in Missouri, Kansas, and Washington, Holtsclaw has represented hundreds of consumer clients in Chapter 7 and Chapter 13 bankruptcy cases. She has also managed the Kansas City office for a national law firm and served as a staff attorney for the United Auto Workers (UAW). Her legal experience extends to family law, landlord-tenant disputes, and personal injury cases.
In addition to her legal practice, Holtsclaw has been an adjunct professor at Park University since 2006, teaching primarily Business Law and Ethics and Human Resource Management. She is also a dedicated mother to two active boys and embraces urban homesteading in her spare time. As a military widow, she honors the service and sacrifice of her late husband, remaining deeply committed to the values of justice and service.
Friel, McCord & Smiley, LLC is excited to welcome Holtsclaw to the firm and looks forward to the contributions she will make in serving clients with excellence and dedication.
Firm News
January 25, 2023
McCord Wins First Test Case for Rural Electric Cooperative Under New Territorial Law
Through the hard work of the statewide association, AMEC, Missouri’s rural electric cooperatives (RECs) were able to get a law passed in 2021 that allowed them to compete with investor-owned utilities (IOUs) in newly annexed non-rural-areas for the first time in history. Co-Mo Electric Cooperative had the first test case under this new law, RSMO 386.800, and hired Attorney Megan McCord to assist them in navigating this new law more than 14 months ago. The original case involved a subdivision newly annexed into the City of Boonville, Fox Hollow. The developer of Fox Hollow chose to have the development served by Co-Mo and followed the notice requirements in RSMO 386.800 notifying Ameren, Co-Mo and the City of Boonville of his choice of electric provider. When negotiations between the two electric utilities proved unsuccessful, Attorney McCord filed a request with the Public Service Commission (PSC) to issue an Order allowing Co-Mo to serve Fox Hollow pursuant to the new law. Ameren Missouri initially argued that Co-Mo could not serve Fox Hollow because the new law only applied to areas of the state where Ameren did not presently have a certificate of convenience and necessity (CCN). Once it became apparent that this argument was not persuasive to the PSC and that Co-Mo was likely to win the initial case (Case No. EO-2022-0190), Ameren Missouri sought to negotiate a settlement through a stipulation and agreement of the original case and a territorial agreement covering which utility would serve Fox Hollow and an additional nearly 20,000 acres (Case No. EO-2022-0332). The intent of the new law was to encourage IOUs to come to the bargaining table and negotiate territorial agreements with RECs. Despite several hurdles including obtaining a metes and bounds survey on nearly 20,000 acres, a public hearing, and an amendment to satisfy the City of Boonville regarding the city airport, Co-Mo obtained approval from the Commission today, January 25, 2023 for both the original Fox Hollow case and the subsequent territorial agreement case. When asked about the double wins, Attorney McCord stated “this will forever be the most important case of my career. Very few attorneys will ever get to take on a test case on a brand-new law. I am grateful to the Board of Directors of Co-Mo Electric Cooperative and CEO Bradshaw for trusting me with this important case and staying the course over the last 14 months. The developer of Fox Hollow, Troy Thurman and his wife Kristy were instrumental in bringing this case about and sticking with us when things were tough and tense. I am so thankful for the sage guidance of Brent Stewart and Dan Beck throughout these cases. Their PSC historical knowledge and expertise was crucial. Most of all, I am delighted at the favorable outcome we were able to obtain for Co-Mo and its member-owners and hope this case paves the way for more RECs to follow suit and to obtain territory that has previously been out of reach for them.”