Daily Record (Kansas City, MO) articles from March 2004

Daily Record (Kansas City, MO) archives from March 2004

Missouri Court of Appeals finds no pattern of domestic violence.
March 1, 2004... Byline: Stephanie Mitchum Murphy Despite the fact a trial did not find a pattern of domestic violence in a marriage dissolution, it erred in failing to make findings pursuant to a Missouri statute that the custody arrangement ordered by...

First annual Greater Kansas City Bar Leadership Academy off to good start.
March 2, 2004... Byline: Stephanie Mitchum Murphy Twenty-six eager young lawyers gathered at the Guadalupe Centers Inc., for the second session of the 2004 Greater Kansas City Bar Leadership Academy. The day-long session was packed with a schedule of...

Commentary: Tips for setting up an automatic time keeping system.
March 2, 2004... Byline: Jim Wirken Over the last couple of months we have been talking about "fail-safe tips" dealing with the administration of a law firm that allows your office to operate very efficiently and consistently if these "fail-safe" systems...

MO Court of Appeals Judge Ulrich retires early to work for U.S. in Iraq.
March 4, 2004... Byline: Stephanie Mitchum Murphy Missouri Court of Appeals Judge Robert G. Ulrich had a week to prepare for the opportunity of a lifetime. As his fellow judges and staff at the Western District swallowed the news he would be retiring...

MO Court of Appeals reverses armed criminal action based on jury instruction error.
March 8, 2004... Byline: Stephanie Mitchum Murphy The Missouri Court of Appeals for the Western District reversed an armed criminal action charge based on a recent Missouri Supreme Court decision that says the underlying felony for an armed criminal action...

Commentary: Fail safe tips for tickler cards and reminder date systems.
March 9, 2004... Byline: Jim Wirken We have four more topics to talk about in the area of "fail-safe" systems for being sure that the administrative part of your law firm operates efficiently. Remember, the "administrative" part of your practice is...

Ten from Kansas City community chosen for Legal Leaders of the Year Awards.
March 10, 2004... Byline: Stephanie Mitchum Murphy Ten leaders of Kansas City's legal community have been chosen to receive The Daily Record's inaugural 2004 KC Legal Leaders of the Year Awards. The individuals, which include attorneys, a professor and...

Commentary: Today may be your last chance to share a smile.
March 10, 2004... Byline: Christine Ann Hughes Shelly Behnke, a single, 29-year-old female document clerk at Shook, Hardy & Bacon L.L.P., passed away on Valentine's Day. For the past two months, Shelly has walked by my desk several times a day. Her...

Court affirms summary judgment in water contract.
March 16, 2004... Byline: Christine Kayola The fact a municipality was not incorporated at the time they began a water supply project suppressed an engineering company's attempt to enforce a decade old agreement. The Western District Court of Appeals...

Commentary: Tips for having outgoing correspondence in reading files.
March 16, 2004... Byline: Jim Wirken Okay, everybody hang in there, there are only three more topics to talk about in the area of "fail-safe" systems that make up the administrative part of your law practice. Bear with me while I finish up this...

Commentary: Legal issues can be difficult to understand.
March 17, 2004... Byline: Bob Barton "Mr. Barton, can I will something to my cow?" Late last month I had the pleasure of speaking to the fifth graders at Mill Creek Elementary School in Lenexa. I was one of the 10 presenters for the school's annual...

Bankrupt Transit must pay full insurance claim.
March 19, 2004... Byline: Christine Kayola Missouri law does apply to insolvent insurance companies when it comes time to decide how previous claims should be paid out. That's what the Western District Court of Appeals decided when it reversed the...

Four lawyers to write new column for The Daily Record.
March 19, 2004... Byline: Stephanie Mitchum Murphy Four young lawyers will be writing a new column for The Daily Record beginning Monday. The column, entitled, "The Rookies" will be published every Monday and written by Chris Wirken of The Wirken Law...

Court rules stock options not marital property.
March 22, 2004... Byline: Christine Kayola In a precedence setting case, the Western District Court of Appeals tackled the sensitive issue of division of marital property. In the case, Joseph Lamar Clance, Jr., Appellant, v. Lourdes Maria Clance,...

Commentary: Mentors are a must for new lawyers.
March 22, 2004... Byline: Chris Wirken Now that you are out of school and beyond the bar exam, the goals, tasks, and priorities have all changed. No longer do you get a syllabus telling you what will be expected. No more hypotheticals. No more old questions...

Commentary: Fail safe tips: Closing a file is golden marketing opportunity.
March 23, 2004... Byline: Jim Wirken This week we are going to continue to talk about "fail-safe tips" for law office administrations. You will remember we have eighteen of these "fail-safe" systems for operating your law office. This week's...

Judge Ulrich's special mission to Iraq cancelled.
March 24, 2004... Byline: Stephanie Mitchum Murphy Judge Robert G. Ulrich is back on the docket at the Court of Appeals for the Western District. In fact, he never left town. Earlier this month, The Daily Record reported Judge Ulrich would be going to...

Judgment must include prejudgment interest.
March 24, 2004... Byline: Stephanie Mitchum Murphy A circuit court did not err in overruling an objection to an attorney's closing argument concerning the other counsel's failure to call its own medical doctor as an expert. However, it did err in not...

MO Court of Appeals rules circuit court erred in allowing psychiatrist to testify.
March 26, 2004... Byline: Stephanie Mitchum Murphy Despite winning a verdict of $45,000 in damages, a woman injured in a car accident appealed, arguing the court should not have allowed witness testimony from a psychiatrist who diagnosed her with...

Commentary: Do's and don'ts from a former law clerk.
March 29, 2004... Byline: Dana McFarland I was a law clerk for Presiding Judge Jay A. Daugherty in Division 13 of Jackson County for 2 1/2 years. We worked a variety of dockets. During my clerkship, I learned a few things and would like to now share...

Commentary: Tips for closing files and removing them from file storage.
March 30, 2004... Byline: Jim Wirken We have been talking for the last sixteen weeks about "fail-safe tips" for law office administration. There are eighteen "fail-safe tips" in all. We have two "fail-safe tips" left to talk about in order to complete our...

Punitive damage award reversed in breach of contract.
March 31, 2004... Byline: Stephanie Mitchum Murphy While Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Kansas City will have to pay $3 million in actual damages in a breach of contract dispute, they will not owe $3.09 million in punitive damages, the Missouri Court of...