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Derek J. Luster is an attorney at Allison & Mosby-Scott where he practices business law, as well as providing risk management consulting for the firm’s risk management consulting practice, Allison & Mosby-Scott Risk Management. Derek’s practice areas include business and commercial litigation; business organization and transactions; mergers and acquisitions; ERISA; agreements and contracts; captive insurance company taxation, formation, and regulation; real estate; and wills, trusts, and probate. Derek leverages his 10-plus years of legal experience and his broad knowledge-base to assist clients in resolving complex legal and business issues so they may reach their goals.. Prior to joining the firm, Derek was Senior Counsel, Mergers & Acquisitions at Archer Daniels Midland Company (ADM), a publicly-traded, Fortune 50 company. While in this role, Derek was entrusted with handling extraordinary large and complex cross-border transactions, including a $3 billion acquisition of a European flavorings business, the $1.3 billion sale of ADM’s cocoa processing business to a sovereign wealth fund, the $400 million sale of ADM’s chocolate business to a direct competitor of ADM, in addition to the $120 million sale of ADM’s Crop Risk Services to a private buyer. Before taking on the role of Senior Counsel, Mergers & Acquisitions, Derek served as Senior Counsel – Business Law at ADM, handling multiple sensitive and complex transactional and commercial issues.. A native of Central Illinois, Derek grew up in a small farming community prior to attending college at Southern Illinois University Carbondale. When enrolled there, he received a Bachelor of Science in Finance, with specializations in both Investments and Banking, and a minor in Accounting. Derek then attended Southern Illinois University School of Law while also working for ADM’s Insurance and Risk Management Department.. Derek and his fiancée, Alexandra Lakshmanan, have two dogs and he has been a life-long resident of Illinois. He enjoys spending time with family and friends, hunting, outdoor activities, and travel.

Lauren Surdyke graduated from St. Louis University School of Law with honors in 2015.  Prior to attending law school, Lauren served as the Director of Human Resources at Spectrum Cleaning & Restoration Services for over six years.. Lauren specializes in estate planning, probate administration, trust matters, limited liability companies and other business entities.