McDowell Rice Smith & Buchanan attorney Mike Kelly was elected Mayor of Roeland Park, Kansas, on November 7, 2017, becoming the second municipal mayor in the firm’s history (Joseph H. McDowell was elected as Mayor of Kansas City, Kansas).  Mr. Kelly won over 70 percent of the ballots cast, and will begin his four-year term in January, 2018.  A first ring suburb located only two miles west of the firm’s Kansas City office, Roeland Park  was incorporated in 1951 and borders Kansas City, Kansas, Fairway, and Mission.  As Mayor, Mr. Kelly hopes to target business development and improve the city’s infrastructure to accommodate a growing population.  Mr. Kelly will continue his full-time practice with McDowell Rice and is a member of the Construction & Architect/Engineer Law practice group, and the Litigation & Dispute Resolution practice group.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE – KANSAS CITY, Missouri (October 11, 2017) –  McDowell Rice Smith & Buchanan, PC, is pleased to announce that Thomas R. Buchanan has successfully achieved recertification as a civil trial advocate.  The certification is issued by the National Board of Trial Advocacy (NBTA) which is accredited by the American Bar Association. Mr. Buchanan has been continually certified and in good standing for 7 years.  The NBTA was formed out of a strong conviction that both the law profession and its clients would benefit from an organization designed specifically to create an objective set of standards illustrating an attorney's experience and expertise in the practice of trial law.

Mr. Buchanan is part of a growing number of trial attorneys that have illustrated their commitment to bettering the legal profession by successfully completing a rigorous application process and providing the consumer of legal services with an objective measure by which to choose qualified and experienced legal counsel.

Board Certification is the highest, most stringent, and most reliable honor an attorney can achieve and are the only distinctions awarded by the non-profit NBTA.  The elaborate screening of credentials that all NBTA board certified attorneys must successfully complete includes: demonstration of substantial trial experience, submission of judicial and peer references to attest to their competency, attendance of continuing legal education courses and proof of good standing.

Mr. Buchanan earned his undergraduate degree in Philosophy from Washburn University in 1977 and his J.D. in 1980 from the University of Kansas School of Law. Mr. Buchanan is licensed to practice in Kansas, Missouri, and Colorado and has appeared in thirty-three states. He is a member of the Earl E. O’Connor American Inn of Court, The Missouri Bar, Kansas Bar Association, Kansas City Metropolitan Bar Association, Johnson County Bar Association, The Association of Trial Lawyers of America, American Association for Justice, and The Voice of the Defense Bar. 

Approximately three percent of American lawyers are board certified, and Mr. Buchanan is a member of a very select group who has taken the time to prove competence in their specialty area and earn board certification.

For more information on Attorney Thomas R. Buchanan, please visit: McDowellrice.com/attorneys/ThomasR.Buchanan.com and www.nbtalawyers.org.

Congratulations to Pete Smith for being recognized as one of the 2017 Ingram’s 250 most powerful and influential business leaders in Greater Kansas City.  Mr. Smith has been included in the Ingram’s 250 since its inception.  The firm thanks Mr. Smith for his leadership, insight, and the many contributions he has made to the Greater Kansas City and legal communities.  Please see link below.

http://ingrams.com/article/the-2017-ingrams-250/ 

McDowell Rice Smith & Buchanan congratulates its former law clerk, the Hon. Marvin Kaplan of Washington, D.C., upon his appointment to the five-member National Labor Relations Board, which hears all appeals from administrative decisions under the Labor Management Relations Act.

After confirmation by the U.S. Senate, Mr. Kaplan took the oath of office in Washington, with members of the Firm present, on August 10, 2017.  As a law clerk, Mr. Kaplan worked with Thomas R. Buchanan, one of the Firm’s managing directors and the Chair of the Firm’s Construction & Architect/Engineer Law Group.  Mr. Buchanan and the Firm are very proud of Mr. Kaplan and the fact that he has accomplished so much so early in his career.  The Firm is also proud of those members of the Firm who continue to practice in the area of employment law.

Should you require  assistance with employment matters, whether in the construction/architect/engineer area or otherwise, please contact any of the following members of the Firm’s Employment Law Group:

R. Pete Smith 
Linda McFee
Thomas R. Buchanan
Jason Buchanan
Adam J. Gasper
Michael J. Gorman
John Mueller, III
William C. Odle
Greg T. Spies

McDowell Rice Smith & Buchanan congratulates R. Pete Smith on achieving Senior Fellow status in the Litigation Counsel of America.  Fellowship in the society calls for this designation upon seven years of being a Fellow and is a permanent designation. 

The Litigation Counsel of America is an invitation-only trial lawyer honorary society established to reflect the new face of the American Bar. Membership is limited to 3,500 Fellows, representing less than one-half of one percent of American lawyers.

On July 28, 2017, the U.S. District Court granted the firm’s Motions seeking a Protective Order.  Lou Wade and Ania Moncrief represented a third-party witness, and former employee of the Defendant. Plaintiff sued Defendant for improper denial of insurance benefits. As a former underwriter involved with development and application of the policy at issue in the 1970’s, our client gave his deposition and provided useful information to the Plaintiff. Defendant sought to discredit him by issuing subpoenas around the country for our client’s past medical, personnel, and financial records covering a long time-span. A very large, international law firm represents the Defendant, aggressively and relentlessly pursuing confidential, privileged, and irrelevant records. As a result of our efforts, the court stopped all efforts to obtain our client’s personal information. The court further indicated a willingness to award attorney fees, which we will seek following close of discovery.

An in-house CLE program entitled, “Mindfulness for the Ethical Practice of Law” was presented by Rebecca Martin.  For over a decade, law students, judges, law professors and practicing attorneys have been utilizing meditation and mindfulness to develop concentration, improve emotional well-being, and lessen the stress of legal work.  According to Terry Harrell, chair of the ABA’s Commission on Lawyer Assistance Programs, “Meditation and mindfulness are not just good for us the way things like fish oil are.  They actually affect the quality of legal work.  A mindfulness practice makes us better decision-makers and better ethical decision-makers.  That translates into better lawyering.”  The CLE program introduced legal professionals new to the practices of meditation and mindfulness to effective daily practices and the benefits of such practices as well as suggested additional techniques for those legal professionals already engaging in meditation and mindfulness. 

For more information on this topic, please contact Rebecca D. Martin.

“A River—and a State Line—Runs Through It” by Kristie Orme

(Ingram’s Magazine, June 2017 Publication)

http://ingrams.com/article/a-river-and-a-state-line-runs-through-it/

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE – KANSAS CITY, Missouri (May 3, 2017) – McDowell Rice Smith & Buchanan, PC, is proud to announce that Corby W. Jones and William C. Odle have joined the Firm as Shareholders, bringing their sports and enterlaw practice to the Firm.  Together, they will continue to practice in all aspects of sports law, white collar defense and government investigations, and litigation.

Mr. Jones represents the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), and the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) on matters involving student-athlete eligibility, amateurism, student-athlete health and welfare, and civil rights. Additionally, he serves as counsel to the NCAA on legislative and governance matters and assisted in the development and implementation of amendments to the Division I enforcement program.

Prior to his intercollegiate and amateur sports representation, Mr. Jones served as a National Football League Players Association certified contract advisor, negotiating both endorsement and player contracts with NFL teams and apparel and training companies.  Mr. Jones also has substantial experience defending premises liability, general tort liability and personal injury claims, and representing developers and investors in all phases of acquisition, ownership, operation and disposition of real property.

Before earning his law degree, Mr. Jones was an NCAA Division I student-athlete at the University of Missouri, where he was an all-conference selection at quarterback, as well as a National Football Foundation National Scholar Athlete. He played professionally in the NFL and Canadian Football League, and was inducted into the University of Missouri – Columbia Intercollegiate Hall of Fame in 2003. Mr. Jones also worked as a college football analyst for the Fox Sports Networks.  He earned his J.D. from the University of Missouri School of Law, and holds a B.A. degree from the University of Missouri – Columbia.

Mr. Odle is an experienced trial and appellate lawyer, focusing on issues relating to amateur and intercollegiate athletics.  He has represented sports clients in numerous high-profile cases, including antitrust, defamation, civil rights, intellectual property and business torts. Mr. Odle’s clients include colleges and universities, non-profit associations and school districts, and also the NCAA, which he has successfully defended in cases involving student-athlete eligibility, amateurism, drug testing, student-athlete health and welfare, civil rights and antitrust claims.

Mr. Odle also serves as outside counsel to NCAA Presidential Working Groups and assisted in the development and implementation of amendments to the NCAA Division I enforcement program. He regularly counsels clients on association law and governance issues, management of emerging risks in the sports industry, and public policy.  Mr. Odle earned his J.D. from the University of Michigan Law School, and holds a B.A. degree from the University of Kansas.

Contact:
Sherry Newsom
snewsom@mcdowellrice.com
(816) 753-5400
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The annual Banking Industry Outlook Assembly co-sponsored by McDowell Rice Smith & Buchanan, and hosted by Ingram’s Magazine was held on March 1, 2017.  The Assembly was co-chaired by MRSB’s President, Kristie Remster Orme.  Participants from the Firm included Jonathan Margolies, Mike Gorman, Scott Long, and Rob Maher, as well as other leading executives from the region’s leading commercial and community banks.  The views inside the Assembly going forward were optimistic and vibrant for regional banks.  The financial crisis in 2008 brought about many changes and washed out some of the weaker players in the banking scene.  Loan volumes surged in 2016, and the need for enforcement actions and loan workouts plummeted.  The Assembly pointed out a powerful reminder of the link between banks and the broader region’s economic fortunes.  A complete report on the discussion appeared in the March 2017 issue of Ingram’s Magazine.