Daily Record (Kansas City, MO) articles from July 2003

Daily Record (Kansas City, MO) archives from July 2003

Commentary: Time to update the ol' resume - For your law firm.
July 1, 2003... Byline: Jim Wirken If you don't need to pay any overhead, or you can support yourself on a trust fund, then maybe you will be that incredibly rare lawyer who can pick and choose causes you want to pursue. The rest of us "working stiffs"...

Present hardship not sufficient to discharge student loans.
July 1, 2003... Byline: Sheila Thiele Although a couple may currently be unable to pay their student loans, the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Western District of Missouri found they likely would be able to make payments on the loans in the near future....

Commentary: Professional Legal Secretary certifications available through NALS.
July 2, 2003... Byline: Carrie Tyner For many years NALS has offered Professional Legal Secretary certification (PLS), which is for the more experienced legal secretary. PLS is the designation for lawyer's assistants who want to be identified as...

Vanguard Airlines cannot recover money paid prior to bankruptcy filing.
July 2, 2003... Byline: Sheila Thiele The U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Western District of Missouri recently granted summary judgment in favor of Airline Automation Inc., because it found money paid to the company by Vanguard Airlines Inc. prior to its...

Court finds that Form 14 was improperly calculated for maintenance in divorce case.
July 3, 2003... Byline: Sheila Thiele Improperly placed Form 14 figures have led to a remand by the Missouri Court of Appeals for the Western District to determine the proper amounts of child support and maintenance to be awarded to the wife. After...

Court denies Farmland Industries' Chapt. 11 request to terminate retiree benefits unless approved.
July 4, 2003... Byline: Sheila Thiele In a case that has never before been brought to the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Western District of Missouri, Judge Jerry Venters took the side of the legislature's intent on an issue that has stirred up conflicting...

Court rules that hearsay evidence is not admissable in drug case.
July 7, 2003... Byline: Sheila Thiele The state's attempt to present hearsay to rebut the defense's case was inadmissible in court, leading the Missouri Court of Appeals for the Western District to remand a case of delivery of a controlled substance near...

Nursing home administrator not awarded fees.
July 8, 2003... Byline: Sheila Thiele A nursing home administrator who was found not to have neglected a resident and was awarded attorneys fees in one proceeding, was not awarded the same in other proceedings arising from the same incident. Andrea D....

Trust income should have been considered marital property.
July 9, 2003... Byline: Sheila Thiele Although a spouse may be deemed the sole beneficiary of a trust established prior to his marriage, some of the income on that trust may still be considered marital property. In an issue that has not been tried in...

U of MO-Kansas City hires three new faculty members.
July 10, 2003... Byline: Staff Writer The University of Missouri-Kansas City School of Law recently hired three new faculty members and a new director of the Leon E. Bloch Law Library. Robert H. Klonoff previously was a partner at the law firm of Jones,...

Co-worker immune from negligence suit.
July 10, 2003... Byline: Sheila Thiele The co-worker of a woman who was seriously injured in an accident is immune from negligence charges that he failed to drive safely under the Workers' Compensation laws. The Missouri Court of Appeals for the...

Bryan Cave adds new associate to staff.
July 10, 2003... Byline: Staff Writer Bryan Cave recently announced that Ricardo Kolster has joined the firm as an associate. Kolster is a member of the Commercial Litigation Client Service Group with an emphasis on real estate, construction and employment...

Tort Reform Bill vetoed by MO governor.
July 11, 2003... Byline: Sheila Thiele Heavily debated Senate Bill 280, dubbed the Tort Reform Bill, was vetoed Wednesday by Gov. Bob Holden. Some say the governor's actions protected the state's legal system, while others contend the governor chose...

Two Daily Record columnists named 'Women Who Mean Business' by The Business Journal.
July 14, 2003... Byline: Sheila Thiele Denise Henning of Henning & Bough and Constance Ward of RSM McGladrey, both regular columnists for The Daily Record, have been named Women Who Mean Business by The Business Journal. The two will be honored at a...

Court improperly classified property as non-marital.
July 15, 2003... Byline: Sheila Thiele The Missouri Court of Appeals found the Circuit Court of Buchanan County misclassified property as non-marital, but did not reverse the decision, because it would not have made a difference in the awards to each...

Commentary: Use a newsletter to communicate with clients.
July 15, 2003... Byline: Jim Wirken You may think your firm may not be big enough to have a newsletter, or you may be concerned your firm is so big you would not know how to pick and choose what to put in it. In both cases the answer is to put what is...

Jackson County programs to be honored as models at national conference.
July 15, 2003... Byline: Staff Writer Two initiatives in Jackson County are receiving national attention. These initiatives have captured the attention of the National Association of Counties. County Executive Katheryn Shields has been asked to present...

KCMBA lawyers provide afternoon of games for children.
July 16, 2003... Byline: Sheila Thiele They wanted to do something different, something a little more involved... so they did. After only a couple weeks of planning, the Kansas City Metropolitan Bar Association's Lawyers for Children Committee and the...

Armed criminal action charge subjected man to double jeopardy.
July 17, 2003... Byline: Sheila Thiele A man convicted of felony murder was subjected to double jeopardy when he was also convicted of armed criminal action. The Missouri Court of Appeals for the Western District vacated the conviction and sentence for...

Couple joins Real Property Teams.
July 18, 2003... Byline: Staff Writer Anita and Paul Skehen have joined Real Property Teams of Kansas City. They will be conducting their business as Your Home Consulting Team, and will be focusing on servicing the needs of buyers and sellers in the...

New director appointed for Southwest Charter Schools.
July 18, 2003... Byline: Staff Writer Rierson Clark was recently appointed director of Southwest Charter School. Clark is an education professional with 14 years of administrative and classroom experience. She has worked at the school as teacher, assistant...

Gov. Holden appoints one to Missouri Hazardous Water Mgmt. Commission.
July 18, 2003... Byline: Staff Writer Rusty A. Brown of Independence has been appointed by Gov. Bob Holden to the Missouri Hazardous Waster Management Commission. Brown is currently a general supervisor of environmental and safety concerns for the Ball...

Commentary: Surviving the flood of wage-hour class actions.
July 21, 2003... Byline: Paul Satterwhite A company makes a determination that several classifications of employees are exempt from overtime regulations under the white-collar exemptions to the Fair Labor Standards Act. Several years later, the company...

Commentary: Keep clients in the loop with announcements.
July 22, 2003... Byline: Jim Wirken When I first started practicing law over thirty years ago, it seemed firm announcements were a standard part of contact with clients. Over the years it appears as though fewer and fewer firms are using the traditional...

Lawyers Assn. of Kansas City presents award.
July 23, 2003... Byline: Staff Writer The Lawyers Association of Kansas City presented its annual Whittaker Award to Eugene Balloun and Nancy Kassebaum Baker at a luncheon Monday. LAKC established the annual award, named for Justice Charles E....

Stinson Morrison Hecker opens Jefferson City office.
July 24, 2003... Byline: Staff Writer The law firm of Stinson Morrison Hecker has announced that it has opened its third Missouri office in Jefferson City. Joining the firm and heading up that office is Charles W. (Chuck) Hatfield, former Counsel to and...

Panel discussion addresses diversity in legal community.
July 25, 2003... Byline: Traci Daffer A special panel discussion addressing diversity within the legal profession, sponsored by the Kansas City Metropolitan Bar Association, was held on July 23, 2003. Sylvester "Sly" James, Jr., KCMBA president, and...

Commentary: Originality important in giving holiday gifts to clients.
July 29, 2003... Byline: Jim Wirken Merry Christmas! No, it's not that time of the year, but the sentiment certainly applies. You are probably reading this in July, and if you are in the state of Missouri, the very last thing you are probably thinking...

Court no longer had jurisdiction over custody case.
July 30, 2003... Byline: Sheila M. Thiele The uncertain circumstances surrounding a court's decision in a custody battle have driven many courts to formulate creative remedies to protect the child's interests, but some of these remedies abuse the power of...

Jackson County makes records available online.
July 30, 2003... Byline: Staff Writer Jackson County Executive Katheryn Shields announced that records of food service inspections and plats of land within the county will be available online. These new online services are part of the county's electronic...

Purchasing Mgr.'s Index shows growth in MO economy.
July 30, 2003... Byline: Staff Writer Missouri's Purchasing Manager's Index, a key economic indicator, climbed to its highest level in nearly a year. June's score of 58.7 was the highest since July 2002 and also marked the 17th consecutive month the score...

Springfield woman appointed to MO Art Council board.
July 30, 2003... Byline: Staff Writer Carolyn Gerdes of Springfield has been appointed to the Missouri Art Council board for a five-year term. Governor Bob Holden selected Gerdes, who has served for 13 years as a member of Springfield's city council and...

Funding available for art programs commemorating Lewis and Clark.
July 30, 2003... Byline: Staff Writer In recognition of the bicentennial of Lewis and Clark and the Corps of Discovery, the Missouri Arts Council will establish $30,000 in grant money to those organizations that wish to hold commemorative events. These...

13 KC organizations recognized by Children's Trust Fund.
July 30, 2003... Byline: Staff Writer 13 organizations in the Kansas City area have been recognized by Children's Trust Fund, Missouri's foundation for child abuse prevention. These agencies will receive over $312,000 to help fund programs established to...

Arrest of vending machine thieves result of illegal search.
July 31, 2003... Byline: Sheila M. Thiele An officer's search and subsequent arrest of a man violated the defendant's Fourth Amendment rights protecting against illegal search and seizure. Typically, an officer is required to have a warrant to search a...

KC law firm adds to staff.
July 31, 2003... Byline: Staff Writer Joel Pelofsky will join the law firm of Spencer Fane Britt & Browne as Of Counsel. He has served eight years as U.S. Bankruptcy Trustee for Region 13, which includes Missouri, Nebraska and Arkansas. He will practice in...

Lathrop & Gage add two associates to staff.
July 31, 2003... Byline: Staff Writer Kristie R. Richardson and JoAnna L. Rush recently joined Lathrop & Gage as associates. Both attorneys will practice in real estate and financial institutions law.