We Are Cortex | Tony Westbrooks

Nobody can say Tony Westbrooks hasn’t been around the block a few times on his way to founding his own Cortex-based law practice. He is or has been a father, an Eagle Scout, a writer, a stock market reporter, a water pricing analyst, a regulatory lawyer and now principal attorney for his own trust and probate law firm, Formula Law.

“I help my clients who are planning for inheritances or passing money on to their heirs,” Westbrooks said. He also helps families navigate the death of a relative through the challenges of probate court.

It’s been a long and winding road for Westbrooks that’s carried him through high school and scouting’s highest honor, through Grinnell College in Iowa, and on to Austin, Texas, where he developed water rate projection models. From there, he went back north to the Chicago Mercantile Exchange as a market reporter until the law school bug bit him.

After earning his degree in 2006 from WashU’s law school, he made a few intermediary stops before setting up shop for himself — originally in co-working space within the Cortex Innovation District.

“One of the draws for Cortex is the flexibility,” Westbrooks said. “As my practice grew and I needed a firm location for my files and other office equipment, I was able to then lease a permanent office space.”

In the years since establishing Formula Law in 2022, Westbrooks has been sold on the suite of amenities and benefits he gets as a Cortex tenant. There’s the location near his University City home. There’s the onsite gym. There’s the environment teeming with like-minded professionals. There’s the business address, the meeting rooms and the concierge services.

“It’s one-stop shopping,” Westbrooks said. “I even charge my car at the electric vehicle charging stations.”

Westbrooks doesn’t want to undersell the benefits of the professional environment in and around the district. That gives him the chance to work with the people from other companies in Cortex who need help with probate or estate planning.

“There are competitors to Cortex around St. Louis,” he said. “I chose Cortex because I have access to all of these facilities and access to the Cortex community and staff.”

We Are Cortex celebrates the individuals who power our vibrant district.