Julius M. Oswald
Julius is actively engaged in the practice of business, real estate and school law. He has served as counsel for the Blue Springs R-IV School District and other school districts for over 40 years. In addition, he has represented several banks and many businesses. Julius has lectured on school law topics in a variety of forums. Since 2001, Julius has been included in every edition of Best Lawyers in America.
Julius has chaired various state and local bar association school law committees and has served as the State Chairman of the Missouri School Board Association’s Council of School Attorneys. In addition, he has lectured for the University of Missouri Extension Council and the Missouri Department of Education Leadership Academy. Furthermore, Julius served on the Board of the University of Missouri Extension Council and on the Kansas City Bar Corporate Law Committee Board. He has also been on the panel of arbitrators for the United States District Court for the Western District of Missouri. Julius is also a former lawyer for the Eastern Jackson County Board of Realtors.
Julius has been very active in many community organizations including Kiwanis, the St. Mary’s Medical Center Board of Directors, bank directorships, and past president of the Lions Club, Sertoma, Blue Springs Country Club, and Blue Springs Education Foundation. Julius also acts as moderator for the Blue Springs Chamber of Commerce monthly legislative briefings. In 1998, he was honored as the Blue Springs Citizen of the Year. Julius and his wife, Jill, reside in Blue Springs.
JASON K. REW
Jason practices primarily in general civil litigation and business law. He represents clients with personal injury, employment, business, real estate, and contract issues.
Jason has tried numerous cases to juries and judges in the state courts of Missouri and Kansas. He has also argued successfully before the Supreme Court of Missouri, as well as the Court of Appeals for both the Western and Southern Districts of Missouri. Jason has also tried matters before the federal court in the Western District of Missouri.
Prior to attending law school at the University of Missouri – Columbia, Jason served as an intern for members of both the Missouri House of Representatives in Jefferson City, Missouri and the United States Congress in Washington, D.C. Additionally, he served as an aide to Congressman Ike Skelton from 1996 – 1997.
Jason is involved in several bar associations. He currently serves on The Missouri Bar Board of Governors where he represents Eastern Jackson, Clay, and Platte counties. He also serves on the Board of Directors for the Eastern Jackson County Bar Association. He previously served in various leadership roles on the Council for the Young Lawyers Section of The Missouri Bar, including Chair of the organization. Jason is also an Adjunct Professor for Drury University, teaching courses in law.
While Jason lived in Blue Springs most of his life, he currently resides with his family in Lee’s Summit, Missouri. In his spare time, Jason is involved in competitive cycling and running.
JENNIFER OSWALD BROWN
After Jennifer graduated from Blue Springs High School, she attended Saint Louis University and received a Bachelor of Arts degree in English, with a Minor in Philosophy in 1998. While attending Saint Louis University Jennifer had the opportunity to attend school at the Saint Louis University Madrid Campus, in Madrid, Spain, for a semester abroad. In 2001, Jennifer received a law degree from the University of Missouri-Kansas City School of Law.
Prior to joining Oswald Rew, Jennifer served for over two years as the Judicial Law Clerk for the Honorable Michael W. Manners, in the Circuit Court of Jackson County, Missouri. In this capacity, she worked on Judge Manners’ domestic docket, as well as civil and criminal dockets, where she assisted with multiple jury trials. The experience and knowledge gained through this clerkship have been invaluable to her current practice.
As a civil litigator, Jennifer’s primary area of practice is family law. She represents clients in dissolution of marriage cases, modification cases, and paternity actions, which often involve child support, maintenance, division of assets and debts, and child custody disputes. A significant part of Jennifer’s practice is serving as a court-appointed Guardian ad Litem in Jackson County, Missouri, and other surrounding counties. As a Guardian ad Litem, it is Jennifer’s great privilege and responsibility to represent children in cases involving allegations of abuse or neglect.
Over the last several years, Jennifer has developed a very active and successful mediation practice in the area of domestic and family law through both referrals and court-appointments. As a mediator, Jennifer assists parties in working toward a resolution of their pending issues outside the courtroom in an effort to promote judicial economy and preserve resources.
Jennifer currently resides in Lee’s Summit, Missouri, with her husband, Scott, and their three children, Annie, David and Bode. Jennifer is actively involved with school and extracurricular activities and thoroughly enjoys participating in Girls Scouts of America with Annie and soccer and baseball with my sons, David and Bode.
R. DYAN ZIMMERMAN
Dyan practices primarily in the areas of estate planning, probate and school law. She assists clients in creating and updating their estate plans, administering decedent’s estates, and seeking guardianships and conservatorships. She also works with various school districts to resolve contract disputes, and interpret and comply with federal, state and local government regulations, including those regulating the education of children with disabilities.
Dyan grew up in Oak Grove, Missouri and currently lives in Grain Valley with her family. Following her graduation from Oak Grove High School, she attended the University of Central Missouri where she earned a Bachelor of Arts in English and a Minor in Music in 2006. She was a graduate of the University of Central Missouri’s Honors College and was an active member of many of the campus’s music organizations, including serving as Drum Major for UCM’s Marching Mules and Co-Principal Horn of the University Symphony Orchestra. Additionally, she was a member of the Student Government Association Senate before being appointed as Chief Justice of the Student Government Association Supreme Court.
After graduation from UCM, Dyan attended the University of Missouri – Kansas City, where she earned her Juris Doctorate in 2009.While at UMKC, she was a staff member of both the UMKC Law Review and the Urban Lawyer and then served as the Lead Note and Comment Editor for the UMKC Law Review Board.
Dyan is very active in her community and with her family.She participated in the Blue Springs Chamber of Commerce Leadership Class and volunteers in the community, including providing free legal consultations at Vesper Hall in Blue Springs, and serving on the Blue Springs Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors.Additionally, she volunteers her time by participating in local church orchestras and worship teams.In her spare time, she enjoys spending time with her family and friends, running, biking, and swimming.
ERIN MAYFIELD CRAIG
Erin practices primarily in the areas of family law, domestic, and civil litigation. She grew up in Jackson, Missouri and currently lives in Oak Grove, Missouri with her husband, Steven Craig, and their daughter, Vivien Lee. Erin received her Bachelor of Science in Political Science and Philosophy from Missouri State University with honors in 2007. During Erin’s course of studies, she emphasized International Affairs and served as a student ambassador for the University in Dailian and Zhengzhou, China.
Upon graduating from Missouri State, Erin attended the University of Missouri-Kansas City School of Law and earned her Juris Doctorate in 2010. While at the UMKC Law School, Erin received the school’s International, Comparative, and Foreign Law Area of Emphasis after successfully completing courses in International and EU Law at the University of Vienna, Austria, Comenius University in Bratislava, Slovakia, and Corvinus Egyetem in Budapest, Hungary. While at UMKC, Erin participated in the Law School’s Guardian ad Litem clinic, representing children in domestic violence dockets in the 16th Judicial Circuit.
Erin is a member of The Missouri Bar, the Kansas City Metropolitan Bar Association including the KCMBA Domestic Law Committee, the Eastern Jackson County Bar Association, and is a board member on the Oak Grove Chamber of Commerce.Erin is admitted to practice in the Federal Western District Court of Missouri and also a Guardian ad Litem.
J. SCOTT KING
Scott has been practicing law in Eastern Jackson County for over forty-two years. A graduate of Raytown High School, he attended the University of Missouri for both his undergraduate and Law Degree. He concentrates his practice in Estate Planning and Probate matters such as:
Writing Wills and Trusts, Handling Probate cases, Representing Guardians and Conservators, Drafting Powers of Attorney documents, Writing Special Needs Trusts
Scott regularly counsels’ families regarding the needs of aging or disabled family members. He has served as the Chair of the Probate and Estate Planning Committee of the Kansas City Metropolitan Bar Association and is a member of the Missouri Chapter of the National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys. He often speaks on these subjects at seminars for other lawyers and paralegals.
MIKE RENEAU
Mike’s work ethic and business experience were learned early on while working his way through college. Graduating from the Shepherds School of Ministry and then the University of Missouri in Kansas City, Mike quickly rose through the ranks of the business world. Beginning at Quest Communications, he eventually landed at Sprint, where for several years was an award-winning businessperson, he traveled throughout western Missouri consulting with small businesses and individuals. At this early stage in his career, Mike had a goal when working with his clients. “I wanted to make the complicated, less complicated.” In 2005, he decided to put his future in his own hands and started his own mortgage company. The experience was extremely rewarding and Mike was able to help hundreds of families across Missouri. Mike’s unique experience as a start-up small business owner taught him firsthand about the legal challenges that face small businesses and individuals every day. Mike earned his law degree from the University of Missouri in Kansas City and worked in a prominent full service firm for several years handling cases throughout western Missouri. In 2013 Mike formed his own law firm where he practiced until joining Oswald Rew in June of 2021.
Andrew Podjenski
Andrew’s practice focuses on general civil litigation including personal injury, business law, real estate, and contract disputes. Additionally, Andrew has had the opportunity to practice in the family law sector as well, including training to act as a Guardian ad Litem to assist children in domestic disputes. Andrew is passionate about assisting clients with their specific legal matters and helping them achieve the best outcome for their situation.
Andrew grew up in Blue Springs, Missouri. After high school, Andrew received his bachelor’s degree from the University of Nebraska and thereafter, attended Ava Maria School of Law in Naples, Florida, and was admitted to the Missouri Bar in 2023. During law school, he was a member of the Student Bar Association and Trial Advocacy team.
Since 2020, Andrew, while balancing the demands and challenges of law school, served as a law clerk at Oswald Rew LLC. During that time, Andrew gained invaluable experience in all aspects of the law and was afforded the opportunity to learn from and observe some of the best practitioners in the business.
In his free time, Andrew enjoys spending time with family and friends, all things sports, and is an avid golfer. He looks forward to continuing to assist clients in all aspects of the law for many years to come.
Christy Dray
Christy practices primarily in the areas of probate law and estate planning. She assists clients in seeking guardianships and conservatorships, administering decedent estates and creating estate plans. She understands the difficulty of caring for loved ones struggling with mental health, substance abuse and age-related issues. Christy is passionate about assisting clients to achieve the best possible outcome for their family members and loved ones in need.
Christy grew up in Kearney, Missouri and received her bachelor’s degree from the University of Central Missouri. While at UCM, she was a member of Alpha Sigma Alpha sorority where she served as Treasurer and Fundraising Chair. Following graduation from UCM, Christy attended the University of Tulsa School of Law where she earned her Juris Doctorate in 2012. While attending TU, Christy worked as research assistant for Professor Samual Wiseman. She was also a member of Women’s Law Caucus and Paw Law where she served as President and Treasurer.
Following law school, Christy worked for Legal Aid of Western Missouri and represented individuals struggling with mental health and/or substance abuse issues in Mental Health Court and Veterans Treatment Court. In 2017, she went on to work at the Jackson County Public Administrator’s Office where she represented the Public Administrator in the administration of hundreds of guardianship, conservatorship, and decedent estate matters. Christy gained invaluable experience during her time at the Public Administrator’s Office.
Christy currently resides in Kearney, Missouri with her husband, Brandon, and two children, Lennox and Jemma. Christy loves spending time with her family and friends, watching her children’s sporting events, traveling, and attending every Chiefs game she can.