Lashly & Baer, P.C.

Judge Jimmie M. Edwards is a member of the firm’s Litigation, and Government and Education practice groups. He is also a mentor, as well as assisting with the firm’s recruiting and diversity committees.

Judge Edwards served St. Louis as the Director of Public Safety since 2017, when he was appointed by Mayor Lyda Krewson. Prior to this position, Edwards was appointed to the 22nd St. Louis Judicial Circuit Court and served there from 1992 to 2017. He spent most of his time on the bench as an Administrative Judge of the Family Court and Chief Juvenile Court Judge. Judge Edwards spent 15 years hearing adult cases before being appointed to the juvenile court in hopes of making a difference in the lives of children before they became criminals.

Judge Edwards is the founder of the Innovative Concept Academy, a ground-breaking school in St. Louis Missouri that acts as a last resort for at risk teens. The program garnered national attention from CBS Early Show, Today Show, The Wall Street Journal, and a visit from the U.S. Secretary of Education. The program also earned Edwards the “Hero Among Us” recognition by People magazine. Ebony magazine selected him to its 2013 “Power 100 Most Influential in America List” and Chief Justice of the United States John Roberts presented Judge Jimmie M. Edwards with the William Rehnquist Award for Judicial Excellence, one of our nation’s highest judicial awards. In 2014, Judge Edwards received honorary Doctor of Law Degrees from Saint Louis University and Eden Theological Seminary.

Edwards graduated from Saint Louis University in 1978, where he earned a Bachelor of Arts degree, and again in 1982, where he earned a Juris Doctorate degree. Judge Edwards began the private practice of law in a small law firm in St. Louis, Missouri in 1981.