Jeffrey Place of Littler Mendelson specializes in issues involving organized labor and labor-relations counseling-including collective bargaining talks, labor arbitrations and other mediation work for clients like utilities, construction companies, food processors, distributors and state and local governments. The firm continues to assert its place in the employment law field, recently bringing on Don Prophete, cited here last year for his work at Ogletree Deakins. He bolsters a lineup we met a year ago in Denise Drake, Dan Boatright and Jeannie DeVeney.
At McAnany Van Cleave & Phillips, Cliff Stubbs serves as defense counsel on worker’s compensation claims involving employers, insurance carriers and third-party administrators, both in litigation and offering guidance for crafting employment policies and injury management practices, and educating employers and supervisors. Ingram’s recognized Fred Greenbaum and John Jurcyk in this line of work last year.
With 33 years of legal experience to his credit, Joseph Colantuono specializes in employment and business litigation for Colantuono Bjerg Guinn in Leawood. His business litigation background encompasses and Title VII discrimination cases involving claims of discrimination based on color, religion, sex or national origin, disabilities and age-discrimination lawsuits, and actions brought under the Family and Medical Leave Act, or wage/hour and non-compete disputes.
Fisher Patterson Sayler & Smith boasts a team of employment law specialists that includes David Cooper, David Baker, Steven Pigg and Michael Seck. Cooper, a 17-year veteran with the Topeka firm, concentrates on litigation of governmental liability, civil and constitutional rights, and employment cases, as well as open-records law and civil rights litigation. Baker defends governmental entities, officials and employees in civil rights and state tort claims, and serves as managing partner for the firm, from its Overland Park office. Pigg’s expertise comes in defense of constitutional and civil-rights claims against law enforcement officers, public officials and governmental entities, but his background includes defense of private industries, as well. And Seck’s varied caseloads have involved construction and employment law, civil rights, among others, in state and federal courts.
At Sildon Law Group–The Center for Business Strategies, founder Myron Sildon deals in many aspects of business law, from taxation issues to business succession, real-estate transactions, estate planning and structuring of qualified plans and corporations. He’s highly regarded for his expertise in employee benefits law.
Also noted last year in these practice areas were Kimberly Jones, now with Seyferth Blumenthal & Harris, Timothy Davis and Robert Janowitz of Constangy Brooks & Smith; the Kansas City office founder of what is now Dentons U.S., Mark Johnson; the managing partner at Fisher & Phillips, Brian Finucane; Mark Ferguson of Gates, Shields & Ferguson; Ross Hollander of Topeka-based Joseph & Hollander; a trio of Lathrop & Gage’s best in Jack Rowe, Rosalee McNamara and David Vogel; Anthony Byergo and Michael Matula in the Kansas City office of Ogletree Deakins Nash Smoak Stewar; Bill Martucci, Lori Schultz and Carrie McAtee of Shook, Hardy & Bacon; and Spencer Fane Britt & Browne’s quartet of Michael Delaney, Nick Badgerow, David Wing and Sue Willman.
Real Estate/Development
G. Edgar James—more colloquially, Eddie—is vice-chair of the construction, energy and real estate litigation practice group for Polsinelli. He knows infrastructure, having worked on such cases involving highways, bridges, airports and wastewater facilities, to name a few, hailing from such sectors as life sciences, health care, hospitality, and educational and religious institutions. Timothy Sear has handled complex business litigation, emphasizing land use litigation and bankruptcy litigation, for more than two decades, while Matthew Hale, a former civil and structural engineer, works with clients who are architects, engineers, contractors, sub-contractors and other design professional firms. John Petersen, the real-estate division chair for the firm, has extensive experience throughout the Midwest with public-private partnerships that rely on tax credits, employment incentives and special-obligation bond financing.
Their work complements the talents of Dan Flanigan, Stanley Woodworth, Lonnie Shalton, Robert Adams, Bob Fitzgerald, Lisa Haines, Greg Musil, Michael Shteamer, Irwin Blond and Chase Simmons, all noted here last year.
At Shook, Hardy & Bacon, partner Scott McCandless represents all comers in real estate—buyers or sellers, lenders or borrowers, landlords or tenants—whether they are individuals, closely-held businesses, or large public or private corporations. Realty financing, leasing, zoning and other aspects of real-estate law fall into his domain.
Lathrop & Gage’s deep well of qualified real-estate counsel goes well beyond last year’s notables of Jerry Riffel, Pete Heaven, Harry Wigner Jr. and Scott Beeler. Also playing key roles in construction law is Jennifer Hannah, who represents clients in complex litigation disputes before juries and appeals courts—from general business dealings to partnership disputes and shareholder litigation, or fraud claims and employment-related cases, among others.
David Raymond isn’t just a partner at Husch Blackwell; he’s a licensed professional engineer and commercial trial lawyer. Raymond concentrates on construction and real-estate disputes, with a client base of owners, architects, engineers, contractors, subcontractors and suppliers. Stephen Adams is a multifaceted lawyer versed not only in real estate and development, but in health law and commercial transactions. Among his body of work are projects to develop new hospitals and health-care facilities and assisting hospital compliance planning. Former managing partner David Fenley and John Crossley were previously recognized here.
Patricia Jensen, of White Goss Bowers March Schulte & Weisenfels, draws on her experience as a former assistant city attorney for Kansas City (12 years there) to advise clients on matters that involve zoning, platting, planning, land use and economic incentives. That insider’s perspective helps them navigate urban renewal issues, tax abatement developments and a wide range of economic incentives at the city and state level. Her work complements that of Mike White, Jim Bowers and Aaron March, noted here last year.
Brown & Ruprecht co-founder Steven Ruprecht, nationally recognized as an authority on construction law, has gone to bat for more than 100 clients in federal and state courtrooms, as well as arbitration hearings. He deals in construction contract disputes, non-payment claims, and employee and labor issues, and has written and lectured on contract law, performance and payment bonds, indemnity agreements and related subjects.
With nearly 20 years of legal practice behind him, John Hutton of Topeka-based Henson, Hutton, Mudrick & Gragson specializes in commercial and construction law, real-estate and contract law, and zoning and land-use issues, in addition to handling civil litigation, banking matters and other corporate and business law.
Through boom and, more recently, bust in the construction sector, Brad Finkeldei of Lawrence-based Stevens & Brand has assisted clients with dealings in construction and development, including banks, businesses, governmental entities and contractors. He approaches those tasks with a well-rounded education that includes a degree in chemical engineering, with a minor in economics.
Two key players in construction law team up to form the nameplate at Warden Grier—Jim Warden and Mike Grier. Warden is a veteran of more than 30 years, working both trial and arbitration settings in cases of professional liability, construction, insurance and re-insurance coverage, and commercial and catastrophic personal injury and property damage cases nationwide. Grier, the firm’s managing partner, is likewise experienced in courtrooms and arbitration settings dealing with real estate and development issues, professional liability, construction, insurance and reinsurance coverage or business and commercial cases.
Lawyers from other firms cited here last year for excellence in this field were Steve Sparks of Bryan Cave; Mark Anderson of Lawrence-based Barber Emerson; Dentons’ managing partner John Snyder; a strong block of professionals from Lewis, Rice & Fingersh in Bill Carr, Pete DiGiovanni, Charles Miller and Mark Eisemann; Stinson Morrison Hecker’s David Frantzé, Todd LaSala and Kate Hauber; and Spencer Thomson of Thomson Walker.
Trial/Litigation
Intended or not, Shook, Hardy & Bacon has sent a message about the role that successful defense litigators play in the firm with the selection of John Murphy to a fourth term as the firm’s chairman. He has successfully defended product liability cases against some of America’s best-known companies, setting a tone for the firm and legal eagles like Robert Adams, Stanley Sexton and Patrick Lujin. Adams, Missouri Lawyers Weekly’s 2006 “Missouri Lawyer of the Year,” has tried cases before more than 40 juries, specializing in product liability, intellectual property, insurance coverage and torts. Sexton is a partner who handles cases of complex litigation dealing with scientific, technical and medical issues, while Lujin, a former in-house patent counsel for Microsoft, specializes in all areas of patent law—with an emphasis, naturally, in computer software cases. They complement litigators like Harvey Kaplan, Joe Rebein, Bill Sampson, Eugene Balloun, Gene Voigts, Todd Ruskamp and Trent Webb, all noted here last year.
Polsinelli P.C. deals with much more than litigation, but that area is foundational to the firm’s success. From CEO Russ Welsh on down, there are experienced litigators like those we saw last year: Larry Ward, Roy Bash, Jack Kilroy, Jr., Cathy Dean, Thomas Kokoruda, Anthony Rupp and Dan Boulware. The firm also boasts Russell Jones Jr., chairman of the commercial litigation practice group, and Jennifer Gille Bacon is a senior partner. Jones, a veteran of 30 years of practice, deals with telecommunications, software and technology clients, local and state governments, banks and financial services, utilities, not-for-profit groups and manufacturers. Bacon’s work in business litigation and antitrust law has been a part of trial teams that obtained the largest business trial verdict ever upheld in Missouri—$70 million—and the largest settlement, over $400 million.
John Shaw of Berkowitz Oliver Williams Shaw & Eisenbrandt specializes in commercial, product liability and securities cases, both in trial and appellate court, and has a client base of product manufacturers and securities broker dealers alike. His work includes dispute resolution and representation before regulatory boards in the financial-services sector. Six members of the firm made it into this space a year ago: James Eisenbrandt, Larry Berkowitz, David Oliver, Jeffrey Morris, Thomas Schult and Kurt Williams.
Stinson Morrison Hecker calls on Sean Colligan for an experienced take in matters of litigation involving banking, mergers and acquisitions and regulatory affairs. Colligan has defended class-action consumer and securities lawsuits, managed arbitrations in financial-services settings, and handled securities-fraud cases for plaintiffs and defendants alike. As recognized last year, managing partner Mark Hinderks, John Aisenbrey, David Everson and Matthew Verschelden bring similar business-litigation competencies to the firm.
