Thousands of Kansas City Police Officers have pressed a class-action lawsuit against the City of Kansas City and the KC Board of Police Commissioners.

Those officers claim that they are being forced into changing their current health insurance policy for a City health insurance plan the City prefers in order to cut costs.

Attorney Sean McCauley, of McCauley & Roach, LLC represents the class.  According to McCauley, thousands of officers are considering work outside of the KCPD in response to the City’s planned health insurance policy.

The lawsuit [...]

What are your hobbies?

Skiing, backpacking, home construction, and construction in general.  It depends on the season and my availability.  In past years I have done both Habitat for Humanity and Christmas in October, when I can.  I help others with all sorts of projects.  I work on my own house, my lake cabin, and another lake cabin I helped to build.   A lot of my weekends are spent on construction projects.

I also write songs and play the guitar.  It is more of a hobby, because I am not a musician, which would make things easier.  I have had [...]

Attorney Jeffrey A. Goldman, formerly of the international Mayer Brown’s Chicago office, will join Husch Blackwell as a partner.

Goldman will join Husch Blackwell’s Tax & Benefits Department.  Prior to joining Husch Blackwell, Goldman will have worked in tax law for more than 15 years.

Goldman received his J.D. from the University of Chicago Law School in 1990 where he graduated in the Order of the Coif.

After graduating from the University of Chicago Law School, [...]

Attorney Desarae Harrah, of Kansas City’s Martin Leigh Laws & Fritzlen PC, has been promoted to partner at that firm.

Harrah has served as an associate at Martin Leigh Laws & Fritzlen PC since 2006.

She focuses her practice on litigation in real estate, banking, construction, and complex business and commercial issues.

Harrah graduated from the University of Missouri – Kansas City School of Law in 2005.  After graduating from UMKC, she served as a law clerk for the Honorable Vernon E. Scoville III at the Sixteenth Judicial Circuit Court of Missouri.

Currently, she serves as on the Steering Committee [...]

Cole County Circuit Judge Patricia Joyce ruled on Friday rewriting two ballot descriptions of tax overhaul proposals to replace Missouri’s income tax with sales tax.

In addition, Judge Joyce ordered the Missouri state auditor to recalculate the financial analyses of the two measures.

The organization behind the proposals, Let Voters Decide, is closely aligned with Missouri billionaire Rex Sinquefield.  The same organization tried to remove by referendum Kansas City’s earning tax last year.  In 2010, that group was successful in its campaign to require Kansas City and St. Louis to vote every five years on whether or not to renew [...]

The Missouri Supreme Court continues to weigh whether John Davis, former estate attorney for Kansas City’s Stinson Morrison Hecker LLP, should be allowed to keep his license to practice law.

While the Missouri Supreme Court heard oral arguments in that case early this April, a decision is still awaited.

Davis was accused of making tax payments by using a trust account he had handled for a widow for nearly 20 years.  Before he resigned from Stinson in 2010, he repaid $85,000 into that account.  Stinson’s tax, [...]

Nationally, lawyers from across the spectrum appear to have increased their average hourly rates in 2011.

Those attorneys in the highest hourly price bracket increased their average hourly rate by approximately 5% last year.

Attorneys in the bottom bracket of hourly prices increased their average rates by 1.3%.

The overall rate increase by attorneys in 2011 was the largest increase since the great recession, with an average rate increase of 5.1% for all attorneys.

According to the Kansas City Business Journal: Partners in [...]

Missouri Secretary of State Robin Carnahan plans to appeal a recent Cole County Circuit decision that invalidated a ballot summary concerning payday loans.

As Legal Sonar previously reported, Cole County Judge Daniel Green struck down the cost estimate of a Missouri ballot measure to cap interest rates on payday loans.

Missourians for Responsible Lending is the organization behind the ballot initiative.

That organization will continue its push to collect signatures so the measure can appear on the ballot in 2012.

According to the Kansas City [...]

Attorney Adam LaBoda, partner at Kansas City’s office for Spencer Fane Britt & Browne, LLP, was recently named to Ingram’s 40 Under Forty for 2012.

Of note in LaBoda’s selection to the prestigious group of leaders was his passion for economic justice.

One such project LaBoda worked to launch is Fair Community Credit.  That programs serves as a national model for payday loan alternative.

LaBoda earned his J.D. from the University of Kansas School of Law and his Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science and Journalism from the University of Iowa.  Before joining Spencer Fane, LaBoda clerked for the [...]

Attorney John C. Crossley, partner at Kansas City’s Husch Blackwell, was recently named to Ingram‘s 40 Under Forty for 2012.

Crossley practices real estate law and has represented prominent development deals by H&R Block, J.E. Dunn Construction Company, and Black & Veatch amongst other such renowned organizations.

The 40 Under Forty honor is given to those most accomplished leaders in business and the community in the Kansas City region who are under forty years old.

Crossley received his law degree from the Washington University School of Law in 1999.  He holds a Masters degree and a Bachelors of Art from [...]