Wallace Saunders

Thanks to Wallace Saunders for sponsoring our YLS Happy Hour!!

Register today!

We spotted a familiar face in this month’s edition of KCMBA’s “KC Counselor” 👀

As part of Member Appreciation Month, we'll be featuring a Member of the Day each day. Today's Member of the Day is Kevin Johnson of Wallace Saunders!

Kevin Johnson focuses his practice to best serve his clients’ specific needs. Committing his practice solely to the representation of employers, self-insured employers, governmental entities, insurance companies and pools in workers’ compensation claims, Kevin is better able to meet the needs of his clients with the entirety of his practice focused on one specific realm.

Thanks, Kevin, for your dedication to KCMBA! To read more about his work, see the link below.

https://wallacesaunders.com/kevin-m-johnson

As March wraps up, we’d like to shout out some of our attorneys for the work they’ve been up to this month!

Congratulations to Robyn Butler and Bryan Kelly on their defense verdict in a medical malpractice trial in Wyandotte County.

And congratulations to Joel Riggs on his defense verdict that resulted from a week-long jury trial in the District Court of Shawnee County, Kansas, on a premises liability matter.

Wallace Saunders is proud to announce Bryan Kelly and Joel Riggs have been elected as non-equity partners in the firm.

Bryan joined Wallace Saunders in 2015, and specializes in handling healthcare and construction defect/professional design defense cases.

His success in civil litigation from defending personal injury cases helped earn him honors on the 2022 Super Lawyers: “Rising Stars” and Best Lawyers: “Ones to Watch” lists.

Joel has extensive litigation experience in handling product liability, premises liability, agricultural, transportation and first-party insurance defense litigation.

Since joining the firm as Of Counsel in 2019, he has continued to build on his vast experience, which includes having tried to verdict nearly 100 jury trials across the state of Kansas.

Congratulations, Bryan and Joel!


https://wallacesaunders.com/bryan-r-kelly

https://wallacesaunders.com/joel-w-riggs

Congratulations to Rachel O'Donnell! She was sworn in last week by Johnson County District Court Judge Rhonda Mason ⚖️

Happy Constitution Day! Robyn Butler celebrated Friday by participating in a reading of the Constitution at the federal courthouse in KCMO.

Welcome to Connor Brown, our newest associate attorney! He was sworn in last Friday by Johnson County District Judge Paul Gurney.

Congratulations to our attorneys who were recently named Best Lawyers and Best Lawyers: Ones to Watch!

Yearly the honor is peer-reviewed, identifying the “best legal talent in the world.”

We are excited to proudly announce we have recently added three new partners: Angela Clark, John Kellogg and Bryan Mouber.

Angela brings a wealth of experience and knowledge of insurance coverage and bad faith extra-contractual claims to the firm. She has testified as an expert in Missouri insurance law before the Missouri House of Representatives and has been influential in shaping the law through appellate victories. Her expertise also extends to general civil trial practice including commercial litigation, product liability, professional liability and employment law.

John practices commercial litigation with an emphasis on representing insurance companies in coverage disputes, vexatious refusal to pay claims and bad faith matters. With more than 20 years of experience and an eye for detail, John has found substantial success for clients in and out of the court, especially at the appellate level. Additionally, he has given CLE presentations on insurance coverage litigation for the Missouri Bar Association and Thomas Reuters.

Bryan is a member of Wallace Saunders’ banking and financial services group. His emphasis includes financial, drug and medical device, and environmental litigation involving petroleum storage tanks. Described as intelligent, creative and pragmatic, Bryan offers a unique perspective utilizing his knowledge of finance from his time as an analyst and from teaching students at the University of Missouri-Kansas City Bloch School for Business before becoming an attorney.

Congratulations Angela, John and Bryan!

To learn more about each person or access their contact information, visit the links below:
https://wallacesaunders.com/angela-m-clark
https://wallacesaunders.com/john-l-kellogg
https://wallacesaunders.com/bryan-e-mouber

We're looking to hire a paralegal. More information can be found at the link below >>

Wallace Saunders hiring Paralegal in Overland Park, Kansas, United States | LinkedIn Posted 6:32:49 PM. Our Overland Park law office is seeking an experienced paralegal to join our established and…See this and similar jobs on LinkedIn.

Tuesday night our team started the summer softball season off strong with a 16-4 win! 🥎

We recently attended both the KU Law and UMKC Law diversity banquets.

KU Law raised nearly $50,000 this year to provide scholarships to students of diverse backgrounds.

Those who attended on the firm’s behalf were able to speak with members of the Hispanic American Law Students Association, who hosted the 2022 banquet, about their studies and experiences.

And at the UMKC Law Diversity Banquet, funds were raised to support the Diverse Student Coalition Scholarship.

UMKC Law celebrates diverse student organizations including the Black Law Students Association, Latina Law Students Association, Asian Pacific Islander Law Students Association, and OutLaws, the LGBTQ organization.

Each evening was educational and empowering, and we are grateful to continue supporting both programs in their efforts to promote diversity.

The Kansas Court of Appeals issued a published decision on March 18, 2022, in favor of Wallace Saunders’ client, in Turner v. Pleasant Acres, distinguishing federal case law that had been in place since 1981.

The Court of Appeals held that, despite the United States Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit’s opinion in Knight v. Insurance Company of North America, the Kansas Workers Compensation Act, specifically K.S.A. §44-504(b), does not distinguish between the types of recovery to which a workers compensation lien attaches.

Our client was thus granted a subrogation lien where one would have previously been denied, involving uninsured motorist benefits.

This clears the way for Respondents to successfully assert statutory liens against settlements and judgments where a plaintiff/claimant attempts to recover duplicate damages through an uninsured motorist action and a workers compensation claim.

Congratulations to Tim Emerson in our Wichita office for his success on behalf of the client!

Read more here: https://www.kscourts.org/Cases-Opinions/Opinions/Published/Turner-v-Pleasant-Acres

Happy International Women’s Day! Wallace Saunders is proud to celebrate our women attorneys today and every day.

Just a few accomplishments of this group include presenting cases to the U.S. Supreme Court, being awarded the “Super Lawyer” and “Rising Star” designation, winning litigation awards, offering their talents through defense clinics, and making a difference through serving on local legal boards and associations.

For 50 years, William P. “Bill” Coates, Jr. has practiced law, and in virtually every field at that: a no-nonsense prosecutor, Assistant Attorney General for Kansas, trial counsel for major railroads, and teacher of trial lawyers, both at his alma mater, KU Law, and at the National Association of Railroad Trial Counsel, Trial Academy.

Bill’s deep experience — 125+ jury trials — and career-long service to the legal profession — Federation of Insurance and Corporate Counsel and Master Emeritus, Earl E. O’Connor Inns of Court — have earned Bill our heartfelt admiration as a “lawyer’s lawyer.”

After a 7-day jury trial in Jasper County for a slip and fall at Waffle House in Webb City, Nick Nagrich of Wallace Saunders’ Springfield office received a defense verdict. The decision came after an hour and a half of deliberation.

The plaintiff’s last settlement demand in September 2021 was for nearly $1.7 million, but the defendants remained firm with offering a counter settlement of $90,000, which would cover medicals only. However, the plaintiff adamantly rejected this offer.

But following a long and tedious trial, Nick’s experience, relatability, and even-keeled nature won, and the client was elated.

Congratulations, Nick!

Nick Nagrich Consider yourself lucky if you have Nick Nagrich on your side. He is the Partner in Charge of our Springfield, Missouri office. A pillar of the firm since 1998, he works hard, yet makes it look easy, thanks to a legal career spanning three decades. Nick’s practice focuses on civil litigation, incl...

At Wallace Saunders’ annual partnership meeting in December, Alyssa Brockert was elected as a non-equity partner in the business and estate practice group, and Chris Confer was elected as an equity shareholder in the train and transportation practice group.

Alyssa is known for her out-of-the-box approach to problem-solving and the high-quality, individualized attention she provides every client. She appreciates the opportunity to make the legal process as stress-free and comfortable as possible.

As a seasoned litigator, Chris has extensive experience with high-exposure, high-risk cases. He values the close relationships he has built with clients and their trust in him to always provide the best results possible.

Congratulations, Alyssa and Chris!

https://wallacesaunders.com/alyssa-c-brockert
https://wallacesaunders.com/christopher-c-confer

Merry Christmas! We hope you and yours enjoy a safe and happy holiday season!

Wallace Saunders, together with the ACLU, provided pro bono services to Bobby Bostic and obtained a decision from the Missouri Department of Probation and Parole granting Bostic parole.

Bostic had been sentenced to 241 years in prison for a robbery he committed as a minor at the age of 16. At his sentencing, the court advised Bostic that he would “die in the Department of Corrections.”

Bostic served 26 years of that sentence before this week’s decision.

We gathered for a Jack Stack Barbecue lunch to celebrate everyone's hard work this year!

We are proud of our Super Lawyers and Rising Stars!

Robert Curtis, Kathleen Hardy, Robyn Butler, Kevin Johnson and Brian Boos had a great time Friday at the 137th annual KCMBA meeting.

Congrats to Penny Calhoun and Marty Jackson! The Kansas Court of Appeals affirmed summary judgment last week in their case on the Kansas Winter Storm Doctrine.

“The appeals court made it very clear you can’t just object to the moving party’s statement of facts and present controverting evidence in response to a summary judgment motion,” Calhoun said. “You have to expressly state ‘controverted,’ which plaintiff failed to do.

“Objecting to the statement of facts and providing controverting evidence is not enough, which we argued at the summary judgment hearing. … The Court of Appeals adopted all of our arguments and relied solely upon the cases cited in our brief when rendering its opinion.”

𝘈𝘨𝘯𝘦𝘸 𝘷. 𝘋𝘪𝘭𝘭𝘰𝘯𝘴 is still the law in Kansas.

Ahead of Thanksgiving, Wallace Saunders went to Thai Place to celebrate the firm’s 15th annual Thaigiving lunch!

Wallace Saunders is excited to welcome Kip Kubin back to the team! Kip first joined the firm after graduating from law school. And in October, after a 30+ year sabbatical, he rejoined as Of Counsel in the Workers’ Compensation Group.

Read more about Kip and his experience here: https://wallacesaunders.com/kip-a-kubin

Congratulations to Stephanie Woltkamp, now Blaylock, and husband Levi who tied the knot on Saturday, October 30th! 🎉

Mike Brown represented Cincinnati Insurance in a COVID-19 business interruption coverage lawsuit. The jury determined Thursday that Cincinnati did not “breach a property policy issued to a Kansas City restaurant and bar operator by denying a claim for pandemic-related losses,” according to Law360.

Insurer Prevails In 1st COVID-19 Coverage Jury Trial - Law360 The Missouri federal jury handling the first jury trial in a COVID-19 business interruption coverage lawsuit found for Cincinnati Insurance on Thursday, deciding that the insurer didn't breach a property policy issued to a Kansas City restaurant and bar operator by denying a claim for pandemic-relat...

Wallace Saunders Partner Robyn Butler won this year's MVP award at the JOCO Bar Golf Tournament! We think MVP also stands for ‘Most Valuable Partner’ 😃 way to go, Robyn.

Wallace Saunders is proud to announce that Tad Kardis, Tim Emerson, and Tim Pullin have obtained their Diversity, Equity and Inclusion in the Workplace Certificate from USF Training and Professional Education, which is a seven week course created in partnership with the Tampa Bay Lightning an Jabil focusing on ways for organizations to create diverse workplaces, address equity issues, and foster inclusivity. Read more here: https://www.usf.edu/business/certificates/diversity-equity-inclusion/index.aspx