Chief Legal Counsel, Bi‑State Development
The St. Louis Regional Freightway is led by Gregory Linhares, Chief Legal Counsel at Bi‑State Development.
Gregory J. Linhares serves as Chief Legal Counsel for Bi‑State Development and recently took on additional responsibilities for its multimodal enterprises. In his expanded leadership role, he provides strategic oversight and leadership support for the St. Louis Regional Freightway and directs the teams responsible for the Gateway Arch, Riverboats at the Gateway Arch and St. Louis Downtown Airport.
Linhares joined Bi‑State Development in October 2023 as Chief Legal Counsel, overseeing the organization’s legal, governance, risk management and compliance functions. In that role, he has provided legal and advisory support across the organization, supporting executive initiatives, Board policy and administration, human resources matters, contracts and procurement, litigation management, and policy creation and administration. He also has led cost-saving, organizational effectiveness and strategic policy initiatives designed to strengthen operations across the agency.
He brings 18 years of experience as a government executive to his role at Bi-State Development. Before joining the organization, Linhares served as Clerk of Court for the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri, where he managed a $7 million annual budget and supervised more than 80 employees supporting federal court operations. Earlier in his career, he served as State Courts Administrator for the Supreme Court of Missouri, overseeing more than 220 employees and administrative support for more than 3,000 people across the Missouri judiciary and over $190 million state and federal funds in the Missouri judicial budget.
Throughout his career, Linhares has focused on building collaborative partnerships, strengthening organizational effectiveness and developing practical solutions to complex public-sector challenges. His experience spans strategic planning, government relations, stakeholder engagement, budgeting, project management, legislative and policy development, team building, training and development and organizational assessment.
Linhares earned his Juris Doctor from Saint Louis University School of Law and a Bachelor of Arts in History from Truman State University. He is a member of the Missouri Bar and a Certified Court Manager through the National Center for State Courts’ Institute for Court Management. He also served as a Captain in the United States Army from 2000 to 2009, earning multiple military awards and decorations.
Additional honors include the 2022 Spirit of Justice Award from the St. Louis Bar Foundation and the President’s Award from the Missouri Association of Probate and Associate Circuit Judges in 2005 and 2007.