ST. LOUIS — Missouri Gov. Mike Parson has appointed Gabe Gore, a partner from a high-powered, politically connected law firm, as St. Louis’s Circuit Attorney.
Parson made the announcement Friday in front of a crowd of about 100 people crammed together outside the Circuit Attorney's Office in the Carnahan courthouse.
Gore is a member of the Dowd Bennett law firm, which describes him as “an experienced trial lawyer who concentrates on complex civil litigation and white-collar defense. He has tried over twenty cases, including cases involving breach of contract, product liability, misappropriation of trade secrets, securities fraud, breach of trust, employment and property damage claims. His clients include Fortune 500 corporations, corporate executives and high-ranking government officials.”
Gore was one of 18 people who submitted applications for the appointment to the governor’s office after Kim Gardner announced she would be resigning on June 1. Instead, she resigned unexpectedly Tuesday.
Gore thanked Parson Friday for "giving me this historic opportunity to serve the city I love."
"As I accept this appointment, my sole focus is to begin the process of building a circuit attorney's office that is high performing and can provide the level of justice and public safety that the citizens of St. Louis deserve," Gore said. "The City of St. Louis is where me and my wife have chosen to live and where we raised our children. And the same level of public safety that we enjoyed raising our family here is what we seek for all citizens."
He said his first priorities were building a strong staff and collaborative relationships with the governor, the mayor's office, and police.
Gore has never tried a case in a state court but has as a former Assistant U.S. Attorney. His expansive resume is rooted in promoting diversity and equity in various roles.
He’s also a Detroit native. His father worked for Chrysler, and the family moved to St. Louis when Gore was 14. He graduated from Parkway South High School, according to a Missouri State University biography. At the University of Chicago, future President Barack Obama was among his professors, according to the profile.
Before joining Dowd Bennett, Gore clerked for Eastern Circuit Court of Appeals Judge John Gibson; served as an assistant U.S. Attorney, as an assistant special counsel for the Waco investigation and as an associate at Williams & Connolly law firm and a partner at Bryan Cave law firm, according to his online profile.
Gore has been tapped by the governor’s office for an appointment in the past. Following the unrest in Ferguson, then Gov. Jay Nixon appointed him to serve on the Ferguson Commission.
He currently serves on the Missouri State University Board of Governors and the Forest Park Forever Board. He was also a founding board member of KIPP St. Louis Public Charter Schools.
It is a national network of free, open-enrollment, college-preparatory public schools dedicated to preparing students in underserved communities for success in college and in life, according to the Missouri State University biography.
Gore has spent the past 10 years at the Dowd Bennett law firm.
The firm has a bitter history with Gardner. It represented former Missouri Gov. Eric Greitens after Gardner charged him with crimes related to an alleged compromising photo he took of his mistress without her consent.
At the end of that saga in 2018, Greitens resigned after striking a deal with Gardner in exchange for her dismissal of the charges against him. Parson then became governor.
Ed Dowd and defense attorney Scott Rosenblum then filed a criminal complaint against Gardner’s investigator for withholding evidence, and he ultimately pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor. The attorneys then filed a bar complaint against Gardner, which ended in a reprimand against her.
By state law, it fell on Parson to appoint Gardner's replacement, which he had planned to have in place by her original resignation date of June 1. Parson moved up that deadline following her unexpected resignation, saying he hoped to have an appointment by Friday.