Administrative Law

Several members of the Firm have substantial experience practicing before various administrative agencies, including the Division of Taxation of the Kansas Department of Revenue, Court of Tax Appeals, Kansas Corporation Commission, Division of Workers’ Compensation of the Department of Human Resources, Division of Alcoholic and Beverage Control of the Kansas Department of Revenue and the Kansas Real Estate Commission. The Firm’s location in Topeka makes it uniquely qualified to represent clients before the various administrative agencies of the State of Kansas. Attorneys in the Firm emphasizing this practice include Bob Alderson, Mark Burghart, Joe Weiler, Darin Conklin and Dan Crow. Darin also serves as General Counsel for the State Board of Accountancy.

Adoptions

Michelle’s adoption practice includes stepparent, independent, agency, adult and contested adoptions.  She has experience representing the adoptive parent(s), stepparents, grandparents, birth mothers, birth fathers and the individual being adopted.

Bankruptcy

The Firm has represented both debtors and creditors in bankruptcy proceedings and a wide variety of bankruptcy-related matters, including stay relief, discharge and preference litigation, secured property disputes, bankruptcy-related fraud actions and others. The Firm has significant experience representing consumers and commercial debtors, as well as bank and general business creditors, both secured and unsecured. The Firm’s principal bankruptcy attorney is Joe Weiler. Joe has been involved in several complex cases dealing with motor carrier bankruptcy, farm bankruptcy, consumer bankruptcy with complex discharge issues and public utility bankruptcy under Chapters 7, 11, 12, and 13 of the Bankruptcy Code.

Civil

The Firm has the resources and experience to support our clients through litigation, when necessary, including business litigation, antitrust claims, insurance disputes, transportation litigation (including freight claims and truck safety and accident claims cases), employment litigation (including workers’ compensation claims) and numerous other areas where our clients need courtroom and litigation assistance. The Firm litigates in both state and federal courts and before arbitrators, and has experience with both jury and court trials, complex multi-district litigation, class actions and adversary proceedings in bankruptcy court.  Firm members regularly act as local counsel for companies sued in Kansas, and can assist in-house or corporate counsel with litigation in Kansas.  The Firm’s litigation efforts are handled primarily by Darin Conklin and Joe Weiler.

Corporate & Business Law

A significant portion of the Firm’s practice involves the representation of corporations and other business entities, including limited liability companies and partnerships. The members of the Firm whose practices focus, to a great extent, on business and corporate law are Bob Alderson, Mark Burghart, Darin Conklin, Dan Crow and Joe Weiler. They are regularly engaged in the selection, formation and operation of business entities, and they represent clients in transactions involving tax, antitrust and bankruptcy issues.

The corporate and business law practitioners in the Firm are recognized for their experience in these areas. Bob and Mark are co-authors of Chapter 4 (“Operating Problems”) of the Kansas Bar Association’s Kansas Corporation Law & Practice. Bob also is co-author of Vernon’s Kansas Statutes Annotated, General Corporation Code, and he previously chaired an ad hoc committee formed by the Kansas Bar Association to study the need for revising this Code.

A substantial portion of Mark’s practice involves the representation of multi-state corporations and business entities before the Kansas Court of Tax Appeals.

Darin assists clients in the organization and operation of business entities which have been formed by health care professionals or are otherwise involved in the health care industry, and he represents business clients in various federal, multi-district antitrust litigation.

While Joe maintains a general corporate and business law practice, he emphasizes the representation of transportation companies and the creation of contractual arrangements which are available for the operation of transportation companies.

Dan’s business practice generally focuses on issues involved in the management and operation of homeowners associations and other transactions involving the transfer of interests in real estate.

Employment Law

To a great extent, the Firm’s corporate and business law practice has shaped its employment law practice, limiting this practice area to the representation of employers. The respective practices of Bob Alderson, Dan Crow and Darin Conklin include advising employer clients on employment matters, including the requirements of various federal and state laws dealing with employment issues involving wage and hour requirements and discrimination in employment. They also advise employer clients regarding the development of personnel policies which are consistent with requirements of applicable statutes, rules and regulations.

Estate Planning and Probate

The Firm’s estate planning practice includes the preparation of simple and complex wills, revocable and irrevocable trusts and related asset transfer documents, as well as tax planning for individuals and married couples who have exposure to both state and federal estate taxes. The Firm also has extensive experience in the administration of probate estates in counties across the State of Kansas. Firm attorneys specializing in these practice areas are Mark Burghart and Dan Crow.

Family Law

Child Custody - A substantial portion of the Firm’s practice involves seeking a modification of existing custody arrangements, or defending against a modification proposed by another parent. Alan Alderson has many years of experience and is very knowledgeable about what judges look for in these situations, and understands alternatives to litigation. Joe Weiler, Michelle Miller and Brain Frost also are skilled and experienced in these matters.

Child Support - The Firm routinely represents parents in seeking or defending against modifications of child support. Alan Alderson, Joe Weiler, Michelle Miller and Brian Frost all represent clients in matters involving child support issues. They are knowledgeable of the latest rules, guidelines and case law, and provide good results for their clients.

Divorce - The Firm represents both petitioners and respondents in divorce, separate maintenance and annulment cases. From simple, agreed divorces to complex cases involving significant assets (including businesses) and custody issues, the Firm has substantial experience in properly advising clients to reach agreement or litigate for a good result. Alan Alderson, Joe Weiler, Michelle Miller and Brian Frost handle these matters. All of these attorneys work in conjunction with skilled paralegals to provide clients with a knowledgeable, affordable connection to their attorneys.

Paternity - Several members of the Firm have substantial experience in issues involving determination of parentage, custody, child support and visitation in paternity cases. The firm represents both mothers and fathers in paternity cases. Alan Alderson, Joe Weiler, Michelle Miller and Brian Frost have years of experience in these matters, and they are able to skillfully guide their clients through the maze of issues involved in paternity cases.

Premarital and Postmarital Agreements - Mark Burghart’s practice includes drafting premarital and postmarital agreements for his clients, as well as reviewing drafts of these agreements presented for his clients’ consideration. He has considerable knowledge and experience regarding the issues involved in these agreements.

Visitation - The Firm handles a great number of cases involving child visitation rights of parents. Several Firm members are very knowledgeable about these issues and have participated in the development of Shawnee County Family Law Guidelines. Alan Alderson, Joe Weiler, Michelle Miller and Brian Frost frequently represent clients on these issues.

Guardianships and Conservatorships

Michelle Miller is the primary attorney at the Firm that handles Guardianships and Conservatorships. Her practice focuses on voluntary Guardianships and Conservatorships for children and adults.

Lobbying

Since its inception, the Firm has afforded its clients the opportunity for representation before the Kansas Legislature. Normally, legislative representation is available only to clients of the Firm who utilize the Firm’s legal services in other practice areas. On selected occasions, however, the Firm has represented clients whose only interest is legislative representation of relatively narrow, limited interests.

Currently, Bob Alderson is the member of the Firm whose practice includes significant lobbying activities. To a lesser extent, Mark Burghart and Darin Conklin also are involved in lobbying activities.

Real Estate

The Firm is well prepared to assist in virtually every aspect of its clients’ real estate needs, assisting them in nearly all types of real estate transactions, whether residential or commercial. The Firm is regularly involved in residential and commercial real estate sales, from preliminary negotiations to closing, including real estate transfers included in business asset purchases, mergers or other acquisitions. In addition, the Firm is able to provide legal services in connection with boundary disputes, easement grants, construction contracts, title disputes and condemnation litigation. Dan Crow’s practice focuses on these real estate matters, and Bob Alderson and Joe Weiler also include various real estate transactions in their respective practices. Dan serves as General Counsel for numerous homeowners’ associations, and he provides guidance regarding the creation, implementation and enforcement of restrictive covenants.

Taxation

Mark Burghart’s tax practice concentrates on tax disputes with the Kansas Department of Revenue and the Internal Revenue Service, as well as representation of clients before the Kansas Court of Tax Appeals on state income and sales tax issues and property valuation matters. Mark has considerable experience on state tax issues, having served as General Counsel to the Kansas Department of Revenue for nearly eight years prior to joining the Firm.

Transportation Law

The Firm has extensive experience in the transportation industry, representing a wide variety of transportation entities. The Firm’s transportation clients include common and contract carriers, private carriers, shippers, brokers, logistics companies, railroad companies, freight forwarders, transportation consultants and insurance companies. The Firm has collective experience of over 50 years in representing clients in transportation matters. The primary attorneys specializing in transportation are Bob Alderson and Joe Weiler. Bob and Joe regularly engage in all aspects of transportation law, from forming transportation entities through their day-to-day operations, including regulatory compliance involving the securing of necessary operating authorities from state and federal administrative agencies and safety compliance. They also advise clients in business structuring and business contracts and transactions, transportation litigation, insurance, labor and employment, truck accident litigation, taxation, mergers and acquisitions, workers’ compensation, owner-operator issues, logistics, leasing arrangements for both drivers and equipment, bus and taxi-cab related matters, short-line railroad real estate and business issues, private fleet operations and a variety of other transportation-related matters.

Workers Compensation

Darin Conklin presently manages the firm’s workers’ compensation practice. Over the course of the preceding seventeen years, Darin has had occasion to practice before the Kansas Department of Labor in venues throughout the State of Kansas on behalf of employers, employees, insurance carriers and the Kansas Workers’ Compensation Fund. In so doing, he has garnered a wealth of experience in evaluating and litigating claims, and is, therefore, able to efficiently and effectively address the issues that face businesses and individuals in the workplace.