Brenda is Chair of the eDiscovery Committee, where she spearheads the firm’s efforts to continually provide high-quality and state-of-the-art litigation services to its clients. She is also on the firm’s Mentors Committee serving as a Mentor to our Associate Attorneys, and is the immediate past Chair of the firm’s Litigation Practice Group.
Your business can benefit from Brenda’s broad litigation experience.
When you work with Brenda, you will find that she is well-versed in litigation strategies that can help resolve or reduce the scope of your litigation early in the case. Her broad experience helps her spot issues that other litigation attorneys might miss and can help her convince the other party that its case is weak. She will work diligently and efficiently to find a way to resolve your dispute as quickly as possible, including using dispositive motions to try to get the lawsuit dismissed as early as possible. By doing so, she can help you avoid drawn out litigation and the expense and uncertainty of a trial. However, when it serves your best interest, she stands ready to take your case to trial.
Clients appreciate Brenda’s high degree of integrity and practical problem-solving solutions.
As a business owner herself, Brenda understands the concerns of business owners and always seeks to provide value not just as a trusted attorney, but also as a trusted business advisor. She makes a point of understanding her clients’ businesses, which she believes allows her to be more effective in both roles.
The advice you receive from Brenda will be practical and effective. It will help your company’s litigation move forward quickly and efficiently without unnecessary legal work or delays. You can rely on her advice without having to second guess if the recommended legal strategy is right for your situation.
Regardless of whether your business is large or small, Brenda will work with you to find practical, cost-effective solutions for addressing your business litigation matters.
Recognition
- Women’s Justice Award recipient, Litigation Practitioner, Missouri Lawyers Media, 2021
- Recognized by The Best Lawyers in America® for Commercial Litigation, 2020-present; Litigation–Labor and Employment, 2021-present
- Recognized by Kansas City Business Journal as “Best of the Bar”
- Martindale-Hubbell AV® Rating
- Missouri & Kansas Super Lawyers, 2005-present
- Top 50 Missouri and Kansas Women Lawyers
Education
- University of Missouri-Columbia, J.D., 1990
- Summa cum laude
- Order of the Coif
- Member and Associate Managing Editor of the Missouri Law Review
- University of Missouri-Columbia, B.A., Economics, 1987
- Summa cum laude
- Phi Beta Kappa
Judicial Clerkship
- Law Clerk to Judge D. Brook Bartlett, United States District Judge for the Western District of Missouri (1990-92)
Admissions
- Missouri
- Kansas
- Iowa
- U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit
- U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit
- U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit
- U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit
- U.S. District Court for the Western District of Missouri
- U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri
- U.S. District Court for the District of Kansas
- U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Iowa
- U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Iowa
- U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan
Professional Affiliations
- Missouri Bar Association
- Kansas Bar Association
- Kansas City Metropolitan Bar Association
- Board of Directors, Member-At-Large, 2021-present
- Finance and Investment Committee, 2021-present
- Board of Directors, Legal Advisor, 2020
- “Fellow” Member, 2022-present
- “Sustaining” Member, various years
- “Regular” Member, 1990-2022
- KCMBA Federal Court Advocates
- Defense Research Institute
- Commercial Litigation Committee
- Intellectual Property Litigation Committee
- Employment and Labor Law Committee
- American Bar Association
- Commercial and Business Litigation Committee
- Class Actions & Derivative Suits Committee
- Labor and Employment Law Section
- Intellectual Property Litigation Committee
- Association of Women Lawyers
- Association of Certified E-Discovery Specialists
- Society for Human Resource Management, National and Kansas City Chapters
- American Intellectual Property Law Association
Selected Published Works & Presentations
- Co-author “2020 Employment Law: What to Expect & What to Do,” published in SHRM of Greater Kansas City Newsletter (January 2020)
- Speaker, Non-Compete Law Update, Kansas City Metropolitan Bar Association Annual Business Litigation Seminar, sponsored by the Business Litigation Committee (2019)
- Speaker, Protecting Confidential Information & Customer Relationships, CLE program sponsored by Seigfreid Bingham (2019)
- Employment and Intellectual Property Law Editor of Courts Bulletin, published monthly by The Missouri Bar (2018 to present)
- Contributing Author of American Bar Association’s Fair Labor Standards Act Treatise, published by Bloomberg Law and ABA Section of Labor & Employment Law (2018 to present)
- Co-author “Don’t Let Inattention Cripple Your Business: Simple Tips for Protecting Your Trade Secrets & Client Relationships,” published by SHRM of Greater Kansas City Newsletter (November 2018)
- Author of the “Kansas Trade Secrets” section of Trade Secrets and Non-Competes: A Compendium of State Law, published by Defense Research Institute (Defense Library Series) (2012)
- Author of the “Kansas Trade Secrets” section of Trade Secrets and Agreements Not to Compete: A State-by-State Compendium, published by Defense Research Institute (Defense Library Series) (2008)
- Editor/Reviewer of Missouri Tort Law Deskbook, published by The Missouri Bar
- Note, “Expert Testimony on the Reliability of Eyewitness Identifications: A Critical Analysis of its Admissibility,” 54 Mo. L. Rev. 733 (1989)
Charitable Work
- Vice President and Member of the Board of Directors of Families Blessed with the World’s Children, 2015-present
Kansas City, MO 64108