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

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

Court of Appeals decides assets are joint property.
May 3, 2004... Byline: Christine Kayola Marital Property means all property acquired subsequent to the marriage except gifts, exchanges, after legal separation, or by written agreement. That is the point the Western District Court of Appeals tried to...

Commentary: Relocating Law School downtown is not the best solution.
May 3, 2004... Byline: Tony Miller The Kansas City Star ran a story (April 3, 2004, A-1, "Law School mulls move downtown".) concerning a proposal to relocate the University of Missouri - Kansas City School of Law downtown. Apparently the group that...

Commentary: Fail-safe tips for IOLTA and private trust accounts.
May 4, 2004... Byline: Jim Wirken There are a few more areas in the area of "administration" we need to talk about in order to bring the "administration" section to a close. Those five things are "customers" or "clients," "administration," "getting...

Report on Judiciary made at Bench-Bar session.
May 5, 2004... Byline: Stephanie Mitchum Murphy A panel of judges at The Kansas City Metropolitan Bar Association's 2004 Bench-Bar opening educational session, said the main obstacles the state's courts currently face include a lack of funding and...

Judges respond to Bar survey.
May 5, 2004... Byline: Stephanie Mitchum Murphy The Kansas City Metropolitan Bar Association's Bench-Bar conference gave judges a chance to respond to a recent Bar Survey about the 16th Judicial Circuit. In an educational session entitled, "Nine...

Commentary: Robert's Rules of Order: May I make a motion for fairness?
May 6, 2004... Byline: Christine Ann Hughes There have been several occasions recently that I have been exposed to the practical working of parliamentary procedure and the Robert's Rules of Order. Honestly, I had never had much interest in this subject...

Preparation key when using an expert witness.
May 6, 2004... Byline: Stephanie Mitchum Murphy Do your homework was the lesson presented to attorneys in the educational session on expert witnesses at the Kansas City Metropolitan Bar Association's Bench-Bar conference. Between Frye v. United...

Legal Aid of Western MO celebrates 40 year anniversary.
May 7, 2004... Byline: Stephanie Mitchum Murphy Jack Bangert urged those who attended Legal Aid of Western Missouri's Sixth Annual Justice for All Campaign Luncheon to give blood. Bangert, LAWMO's Co-Chair of the JFA Campaign Leadership Committee,...

National Public Radio's Nina Totenberg in K.C.
May 7, 2004... Byline: Stephanie Mitchum Murphy Despite lingering race issues and problems in the education system today, National Public Radio's legal affairs correspondent, Nina Totenberg believes the Supreme Court's decision declaring public schools...

Legislators disagree on solution to med-mal reform.
May 10, 2004... Byline: Stephanie Mitchum Murphy The only thing that's certain in medical malpractice tort reform in Missouri is something needs to change. But state representatives and Governor Bob Holden can't seem to agree on how to change it. ...

Commentary: Jackson County launches Drug Abatement Response Team.
May 10, 2004... Byline: Erika Wirken As a follow up to my last article, I am excited to announce that I have passed the Missouri Bar Exam and I am now an Assistant Prosecuting Attorney for Jackson County, Missouri. My exciting new assignment is...

Commentary: Jackson County's civil and traffic court data now available online.
May 10, 2004... Byline: Teresa York In the near future, access to many more records of the Circuit Court of Jackson County will be as easy as clicking a mouse. Since 1997, the Court has utilized the Justice Information System (JIS) to manage all of its...

Commentary: Fail-safe tips for implementing a legal research database.
May 11, 2004... Byline: Jim Wirken We are just about finished with the area of "administration," one of the five areas that make up every business in the world. You will be able to assess how well your firm and your practice are using the...

Attorneys get advice on how to better serve their international clients.
May 12, 2004... Byline: Stephanie Mitchum Murphy Guest speaker Dr. Jurgen Sparr LL.M. gave attorneys with Shughart Thomson & Kilroy first-hand advice on how to better serve their clients with international needs. Sparr, Managing Partner of the...

Independent contractor must pay for own injuries.
May 14, 2004... Byline: Stephanie Mitchum Murphy Because an independent contractor procured his own workers' compensation insurance and then let it lapse he is responsible for paying for his injuries sustained while on the job, the Court of Appeals for...

MO Court of Appeals rules lender can charge high interest rate.
May 17, 2004... Byline: Stephanie Mitchum Murphy A finance company is allowed to charge 125.96 percent interest on a small personal loan, the Missouri Court of Appeals for the Western District ruled, reversing a circuit court's decision to apply the...

Missouri Association of Legal Secretaries holds annual meeting.
May 17, 2004... Byline: Staff Writer The Missouri Association of Legal Secretaries (MALS) held their annual meeting in West Plains, Missouri, April 30-May 2, 2004. A Welcome Party Friday evening celebrated The Central Ozarks Legal Secretaries 10th...

Commentary: Email 101: Uncommon courtesy - email etiquette.
May 17, 2004... Byline: Chris Wirken I wanted to take this opportunity to get a few things off my chest and out of my inbox. People really don't understand what they are doing to others when it comes to email. Therefore, I've compiled the following quick...

Commentary: Fail-safe tips for putting together an office memo manual.
May 18, 2004... Byline: Jim Wirken We are almost at the end of the topics in the area of "administration" as the second area that makes up every business in the world. Remember, the first area is "customers" or "clients." The next three areas are...

Punitive damages to be considered in forgery lawsuit.
May 19, 2004... Byline: Stephanie Mitchum Murphy A couple will get a second chance to win punitive damages against a machinery company they claimed forged a document in their name to repossess a bulldozer, the Missouri Court of Appeals for the Western...

Commentary: Is Citigroup class action settlement a lot of money?
May 19, 2004... Byline: Bob Barton Two recent events made me think of how often the value of a dollar is difficult to measure. The day before Mother's Day I took our two girls (10 and 5) shopping. (They both insisted on buying Mom a purse, both of...

School district overcharged taxpayers in levy.
May 24, 2004... Byline: Stephanie Mitchum Murphy After dissecting section 67.110.2, the Missouri Court of Appeals for the Western District determined a school district violated the statute by establishing a levy tax producing more money than the district...

KC Metropolitan Bar Assn. names new communications director.
May 24, 2004... Byline: Staff Writer The Kansas City Metropolitan Bar Association has announced Cheryl K. Rose will be leaving the KCMBA staff as the Director of Communications and she will be replaced by Marci McNeal. Rose plans to to become a...

Court of Appeals denies Writ for gay marriage to be on Aug. ballot.
May 25, 2004... Byline: Stephanie Mitchum Murphy Missouri's Secretary of State is not obligated to move forward with an August ballot on the issue of whether or not gay marriage in Missouri is constitutional, the Missouri Court of Appeals for the Western...

Commentary: Fail-safe tips for putting together benefits and holiday lists.
May 25, 2004... Byline: Jim Wirken We are nearing the end of all of the topics we need to talk about in the area of "administration" as the second of five areas that make up every business in the world. Soon we will be finished with the area of...

Diversity in law a hot topic at forum.
May 26, 2004... Byline: Stephanie Mitchum Murphy The message was clear: both corporate counsel and law firms are committed to increasing diversity. Representatives from law firms met with corporate counsel from some of America's top companies at a...

Parental rights case remanded to circuit court.
May 27, 2004... Byline: Stephanie Mitchum Murphy Despite concerns about the length of time a parental rights termination case has been in court, the Missouri Court of Appeals for the Western District remanded it back to the circuit court to determine if...

Supreme Court sets date for hearing.
May 27, 2004... Byline: Stephanie Mitchum Murphy The Supreme Court of Missouri advised Secretary of State Matt Blunt to be prepared to put together an August ballot that would allow voters to decide whether or not gay marriage is constitutional. "It...

Commentary: E-mail addresses UMKC's law school's future.
May 31, 2004... Byline: Tony Miller Over the last couple of months the buzz in the halls of local courthouses and meeting places has been focused on the proposed move of the University of Missouri - Kansas City School of Law to 811 Grand. Numerous...