Legal

Making Corporate Law Look More Like Kansas City

On the afternoon of August 1, in its splendid 16th floor Downtown Boardroom, Shughart Thomson & Kilroy hosted and co-sponsored Ingram’s fifth annual Legal Industry Outlook, an event that proved more provocative than the prescribed topic list might have indicated.

Ably chairing the event for Shughart Thomson & Kilroy was the firm’s managing partner, Jack Kilroy, Jr. In attendance were more than 30 of Kansas City’s most prominent attorneys.

Civic Contributions

Jack Kilroy, Jr. made the observation that corporate attorneys have emerged as some of Kansas City’s most engaged citizens, and the list of their community efforts would surprise the unknowing. Irv Belzer of Bryan Cave suggested a reason why this is so. Given the relative shortage of corporate headquarters here, large law firms have become prominent corporate citizens. “There is an expectation,” he added, “that your lawyers will participate in the community.”

Time did not allow a listing of all accomplishments, but as an illustration, each participant was asked to name one way in the last year in which he or she helped make the area business environment more productive and/or the greater Kansas City community more civil and attractive. The answers were impressive and wide-ranging.

Participants Include:

(front row, left to right)

David Fenley, Blackwell Sanders Peper Martin

Mike Burke, King Hershey

Bill Carr, Lewis Rice & Fingersh

Jack Kilroy, Jr., Shughart Thomson & Kilroy (Event Chair)

Craig O’Dear, Bryan Cave

Kim Jones, Blackwell Sanders Peper Martin

Kent Sullivan, Stinson Morrison Hecker

(second row, right to left and up the stairs)

Dennis Honobach, Washburn University Law School

John Granda, Stinson Morrison Hecker

Tom Rice, Baker Sterchi Cowden & Rice

Brian Finucane, Fisher & Phillips

Ed Spalty, Armstrong Teasdale

Susan McGreevy, Husch & Eppenberger

Joe Hiersteiner, Seigfreid Bingham Levy, Selzer & Gee

Cathy Dean, Polsinelli Shalton Welte Suelthaus

John Murphy, Shook Hardy & Bacon

Russ Welsh, Polsinelli Shalton Welte Suelthaus

Jim Sanders, Wallace Saunders Austin Brown & Enoch

Mitch Woolery, Kutak Rock

Carl Helmstetter, Spencer Fane Britt & Browne

Jennifer Gille Bacon, Shughart Thomson & Kilroy

Steve Brown, Brown & Dunn

Irv Belzer, Bryan Cave

Tom Stewart, Lathrop & Gage

Anita Porte Robb, Robb & Robb

Peter Brown, Husch & Eppenberger