On March 10, 2017, Lou Wade appeared on a panel discussing service of process issues in Missouri. The event occurred in Columbia, Missouri, attended by attorneys and process servers from Missouri. The discussion included proper methods of service and the impact of service upon liability under the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act.

Best Law Firms list by U.S. News & World Report and Best Lawyers 2011 - Present

McDowell Rice Smith & Buchanan, PC has been named to the Best Law Firms list by U.S. News & World Report and Best Lawyers.  U.S. News & World Report and Best Lawyers, the leading survey of lawyers worldwide, have joined to rank more than 10,000 law firms in 118 practice areas in 170 metropolitan areas and eight states. The top ranked U.S. Law firms by practice area includes a breakdown of firms ranked nationally in both state and metropolitan areas. The rankings are based on a rigorous evaluation process that includes the collection of client and lawyer evaluations, peer-reviews from leading attorneys in their field, and review of additional information provided by U.S. law firms as part of the formal submission process.  McDowell Rice Smith & Buchanan, PC, has been recognized in the practice areas of Bankruptcy and Creditor Debtor Rights/Insolvency and Reorganization Law, and Litigation.

Top Ranked Law Firm by Martindale- Hubbell 2012 - Present

McDowell Rice Smith & Buchanan, PC, has been distinguished as one of the Top Ranked Law Firms by LexisNexis® Martindale-Hubbell®. The Firm appeared in Fortune’s “2012 Investor’s Guide” and was one of 965 firms out of 254,000 to receive this honor. This first-time list of Top Ranked Law Firms features U.S. law firms with 21 or more attorneys in which at least one in three of their lawyers earned the AV® Preeminent™ Peer Review Rating, the highest possible rating. An AV® Preeminent™ certification is a significant accomplishment – a testament to the fact that a lawyer’s peers rank him or her at the highest level of ethical standards, professional conduct, and legal ability.

McDowell Rice Smith & Buchanan – “Ingram’s Best Companies to Work For”

McDowell Rice Smith & Buchanan, PC is distinguished as a Winner (“Small Company” category) in Ingram’s 2013 “Best Companies to Work For” competition.

Missouri Lawyers Weekly, February 13, 2017
By:  Jessica Shumaker

https://mcdowellrice.com/sites/default/files/Orme021317proof.pdf

Tiffany A. McFarland is teaching Family Law Practice as an Adjunct Professor at UMKC Law School in 2016-2017.

Tiffany A. McFarland has been selected to serve as Vice Chair of the Family Law Section of the Johnson County Bar Association.

Kansas City Business Journal, Feb. 3rd, 2017
By: James Dornbrook

http://www.bizjournals.com/kansascity/news/2017/02/03/mcdowell-rice-orme-president.html

At its 2017 Annual Meeting, McDowell Rice Smith & Buchanan, PC, proudly announced that Kristie Remster Orme was elected as the President of the firm. The firm’s Shareholders elected Ms. Orme as the first woman to serve as the President in the same year the firm celebrates its 70th anniversary (1947 – 2017).
During her 19 years with the firm, Ms. Orme has been active in firm management, serving as the firm’s General Counsel, as a member of the Executive Board of Directors and a mentor for young lawyers at the firm.
“I am proud to lead McDowell Rice into the future as we continue to achieve excellence in advising and providing legal services to our clients in the greater Kansas City area and across the country,” said Ms. Orme.
Ms. Orme is an experienced litigator, focusing on complex commercial litigation and representation of banking and financial service providers. Ms. Orme has extensive litigation experience in the state courts of Missouri, Kansas, and Iowa, in federal courts across the nation, including the Bankruptcy Courts of both Missouri and Kansas, and before arbitration panels. She also has appellate experience in both state and federal courts. She makes it a priority to work with clients to develop early litigation strategies which are designed to maximize results while minimizing costs.
Ms. Orme is a member of the firm’s Litigation & Dispute Resolution and Banking & Financial Services Groups. Ms. Orme represents individuals and business clients from the private sector as well as governmental agencies in complex contract, antitrust, tax, real estate, RICO claims, alter ego/successor liability, business torts, defamation, malicious prosecution/abuse of process and other commercial disputes nationwide. She also represents banks and individuals in loan enforcement workout and litigation matters. She is a former assistant attorney general and also represents businesses and individuals responding to regulatory inquiries and investigations by governmental agencies.
Ms. Orme is a member of the Kansas Bar Association, the Missouri Bar Association, the Iowa Bar Association, the Kansas City Metropolitan Bar Association, and the Johnson County Bar Association. She is a Litigation Counsel of America Fellow, and has been named to the Missouri and Kansas Super Lawyers® list for the past four years, and the Rising Star® list for three years. She is AV® Preeminent™ rated by Martindale-Hubbell, and is also listed on the Bar Register of Preeminent Women Lawyers.
Ms. Orme earned her J.D., from the University of Kansas School of Law, where she was Order of the Coif, a member of the National Moot Court Team and a Teaching Assistant for both Trial and Appellate Advocacy courses. She earned her B.A., cum laude, from Buena Vista University in Storm Lake, Iowa, where she was a Presidential Fellow.  She is admitted to practice in Missouri, Kansas and Iowa, and before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 8th and 10th Circuits, the U.S. Tax Court and the U.S. District Courts for the Western District of Missouri and the District of Kansas.

Concurrent with the election of Ms. Orme as President, the firm also announced that R. Pete Smith as Chairman, Thomas R. Buchanan, Jonathan A. Margolies, and Greg T. Spies were re-elected to the Executive Board of Directors. Also re-elected were Charles W. Smiley as Secretary and Ronald S. Bronstein as Treasurer. Additionally, Michael J. Gorman was elected as Executive Vice President and Donald G. Scott was elected as General Counsel.

The firm is also pleased to announce that Patrick C. Guinness was elected as a Shareholder.

KANSAS CITY, Missouri (November 9, 2016) McDowell Rice Smith & Buchanan, PC, announced that David Andrew Jack joined the Firm as an Associate.  Mr. Jack is a member of the Firm’s following practice groups:  Banking & Financial Services, Corporate & Business Transactions, Litigation & Dispute Resolution, and Real Estate Law.  His practice focuses on commercial litigation and condemnation law.  He has represented banks, pipeline companies, and other entities, and handles all phases of litigation.

Mr. Jack brings a strong business background to his legal practice.  Prior to attending Washburn University School of Law, where he graduated with honors and was a staff member on the Washburn Law Journal, Mr. Jack earned an M.B.A. from Baker University.  He passed the Series 6, Series 7 and Series 24 securities licensure exams and joined an asset management and financial planning company where he worked on regulatory and compliance matters.  Mr. Jack also holds a B.S. degree in Business Administration from the University of Kansas.  He is licensed to practice law in Missouri and Kansas. 

Congratulations to the following attorneys who have been selected to the 2016 Missouri & Kansas Super Lawyers® and Rising Stars Lists in their primary practice area.  The announcement will appear in the 2016 Super Lawyers® Magazine for Missouri & Kansas, published November 3. 2016:

Super Lawyers® List:

Thomas R. Buchanan – Business Litigation
Michael J. Gorman – Business Litigation
Robert D. Maher – Creditor Debtor Rights
Jonathan A. Margolies – Bankruptcy: Business                                                                   
Kristie Remster Orme – Business Litigation
R. Pete Smith – Business Litigation                                                                                           
Greg T. Spies – Business Litigation
Louis J. Wade – Bankruptcy: Business
Tiffany A. McFarland – Family Law

Rising Star List:

Adam J. Gasper – Banking

Congratulations to Tiffany A. McFarland* and Robert D. Maher** on having been selected by their peers to the honor of Best of the Bar for 2016 as published by The Kansas City Business Journal for their work in the following practice areas:

Tiffany A. McFarland – Family Law

Robert D. Maher – Creditor/Bank Rights, Real Estate, Corporate

Tiffany may be contacted at 816-753-5400.  Rob may be contacted by calling his direct dial at 816-960-7393.   

*Honored 2014 – Present

**Honored 2016