Best Independence, Missouri Litigation - Labor and Employment Lawyers
Donald S. Prophete is a trial lawyer who excels at representing large clients in complex and multi-plaintiff race employment discrimination cases. He has handled many high-profile and high-damage cases in the sports, military contractor and retail industries. Don has served as lead trial counsel in all types of employment disputes in federal and state courts in New Hampshire, Kansas, Illinois, Iowa, Missouri, Michigan, North Carolina and Pennsylvania, including post-decertification wage and h...
Randy Coffey is a partner in the Kansas City office. He devotes his practice to the representation of management in labor and employment matters, defending employers in state and federal courts throughout the United States. Randy has litigated numerous multi-plaintiff and class-action cases, as well as cases brought by individual plaintiffs. He also provides representation before state and federal administrative agencies, including the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, the National Lab...
Brian Finucane is a partner in the firm's Kansas City office. He has practiced exclusively in the field of labor and employment law since 1977. Brian provides a broad range of legal services in employment law, from daily client consultation designed to avoid legal problems to defending clients in complex class action litigation. He also represents clients in traditional labor law matters, negotiating contracts and handling National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) matters, union contract arbitrat...
Michael Matula is a shareholder in the firm’s Kansas City office. Mike concentrates his practice in the areas of employment litigation and counseling. He has represented employers in a wide variety of employment matters including discrimination, retaliation, harassment and wrongful discharge cases, non-competition/trade secrets disputes, and EEOC administrative proceedings. Mike, who has been given an AV Martindale-Hubbell rating, also has significant experience in commercial, tort, and...
Shelley I. Ericsson is a lawyer recognized by Best Lawyers in the practice areas of Employment Law - Management and Litigation - Labor and Employment. Shelley I. practices law in Kansas City, Missouri Best Lawyers has recognized Shelley I. Ericsson since 2019. The Best Lawyers recognition is based on a peer-review survey of lawyers in the same geographic region and legal practice area. The recognition reflects the professional regard in which Shelley I. Ericsson is held by other lawyers.
Curtis R. Summers is a lawyer recognized by Best Lawyers in the practice area of Litigation - Labor and Employment. Curtis R. practices law in Kansas City, Missouri Best Lawyers has recognized Curtis R. Summers since 2021. The Best Lawyers recognition is based on a peer-review survey of lawyers in the same geographic region and legal practice area. The recognition reflects the professional regard in which Curtis R. Summers is held by other lawyers.
Patrick (“Pat”) Hulla co-leads the firm’s Class Action Defense Group. Since 1993, Pat has represented employers who have been sued by current and former employees. He has led the defense in dozens of class and collective actions. Examples of his recent success include: Denial of class certification in consumer race discrimination action; Denial of national conditional certification of age discrimination claims under the ADEA; Denial of class action certification of off-the-c...
Jim Holland is managing partner of the firm’s Kansas City office. He works as a business partner with his clients and focuses his advice on helping them navigate employment issues with as little disruption to their operations as possible. Jim counsels employers about how to avoid workplace issues before they become lawsuits. When lawsuits cannot be avoided, however, Jim has litigated cases in federal and state courts across the country. Jim works with his clients to obtain practical, bu...
Tim Davis advises clients on all aspects of the employer/employee relationship, including compliance with the NLRA, FMLA, Title VII, ADA, FLSA, EPA, OSHA, Executive Order 11246, ERISA and state and local employment statutes. He has assisted numerous clients in proactively addressing issues involving complex termination scenarios, the maintenance of union-free operations, the development of non-discrimination policies, investigation procedures and training materials, the development of FMLA an...
Melody Rayl is a partner in the Kansas City office. Melody counsels and advocates for private and public-sector employers in all aspects of employment litigation and traditional labor law. Melody regularly advises and counsels her clients through difficult situations with an eye to preventing litigation before it occurs and provides training to supervisory and management level personnel on a variety of employment related topics. When litigation does occur, Melody works with employers in defen...
Greg Ballew is a partner in the Kansas City office. Greg has successfully defended employers in state and federal court litigation throughout the United States, obtaining summary judgment, judgment and arbitration awards for employers in Florida, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Massachusetts, Michigan, Missouri, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Tennessee. Greg also regularly assists employers who have received charges of discrimination from the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC)...
James C. Sullivan is a lawyer recognized by Best Lawyers in the practice areas of Commercial Litigation, Employment Law - Management and Litigation - Labor and Employment. James C. practices law in Kansas City, Missouri Best Lawyers has recognized James C. Sullivan since 2010. The Best Lawyers recognition is based on a peer-review survey of lawyers in the same geographic region and legal practice area. The recognition reflects the professional regard in which James C. Sullivan is held by othe...
