Areas of Practice
With the vast experience of the attorneys in the Kansas City office, combined with the wealth of resources available from the other Sonnenschein offices nationwide, the Kansas City office of Sonnenschein is able to provide truly unique legal services to our clients. Listed below are the principal Kansas City office practice areas:
Included within each practice area listing is a brief summary of recent and ongoing projects that illustrate the wide-ranging and diverse matters handled in the Kansas City office.
Corporate Transactions
- Securities
- Mergers and Acquisitions
- Corporate Debt Financing
- Entrepreneurial and Growth Companies
- Broker-dealer and NASD compliance
- Not-for-profit corporations and foundations
Representative Engagements
Kansas City Southern: Act as outside general counsel to this New York Stock Exchange listed transportation and financial services holding company. We have handled acquisitions, public offerings, securities filings and other transactional matters for this client, including, in 1997, assisting with its successful bid to privatize and finance acquisition of the principal rail corridor of the Mexican National Rail System, a $1.6 billion transaction. Recently, we helped this client enter into a series of agreements by which it intends to develop the "NAFTA Rail" system by acquiring complete control of the Mexican and U.S. railroads connecting to the KCS Lines.
DST Systems, Inc.: Act as outside general counsel for this New York Stock Exchange listed company which is a leading provider of sophisticated information processing and computer software services and products, primarily to the mutual fund, insurance, banking and other financial services industries. We also represent affiliates of DST, including Output Technologies, Inc., a leading provider of business communication solutions and DST Catalyst, Inc., which provides software and systems for securities exchanges throughout the world.
Jordan Industries, Inc.: Act as general counsel for an approximate 100 companies in the Jordan Group, ranging from health products to Internet services. Also represent Jordan in numerous sales and acquisitions of businesses each year.
Monsanto Company: Represent Monsanto Company in a number of acquisition transactions.
H&R Block: Represent H&R Block in a major corporate finance transaction.
George K. Baum Capital Partners: Advised client on securities, partnership and tax issues involving the organization and structure of a $100 million buyout fund, and act as counsel to the fund on an ongoing basis.
George K. Baum Merchant Bank: Advise this client in connection with acquisitions and investments.
Goldman, Sachs & Company: Served as underwriters' counsel in connection with the initial public offering of CompuServe.
William Blair & Company: Acted as underwriters' counsel for William Blair & Company in connection with the initial public offering of Mazel Stores, Inc.
Wall Street Access: Act as counsel to this privately-held New York City based broker/dealer and investment advisor, handling compliance and general corporate matters.
Berger Associates, Inc.: Act as counsel to this mutual fund management company, handling general corporate matters, acquisition of a small mutual fund located in Chicago and structuring of a joint venture with Bank of Ireland Asset Management Company to establish a new series mutual fund.
UMB Financial Holdings, Inc.: Represent audit committee of publicly-held company as its independent counsel.
Garmin International, Inc.: Represented company in its initial public offering and serve as principal outside corporate and securities counsel.
Lafarge North America, Inc.: Represent Lafarge, the world's largest supplier of construction materials, on a variety of corporate transactions, including acquisitions, divestitures, construction and leasing matters, throughout the Midwest.
Litigation
- Commercial litigation of all kinds
- Antitrust
- Construction
- Business torts
- Environmental
- White collar criminal defense
- Intellectual property
Representative Engagements
Duke Energy Corporation: Represent Duke Energy Corporation as regional litigation counsel in six states, as well as cases in Texas and Wyoming, involving substantial antitrust, energy, and commercial matters.
Sprint Corporation (Network 2000): Representing Sprint Corporation in a class action case brought by independent marketing representatives with respect to the sale of long distance telephone service. This case involves a significant arbitration proceeding, along with complex class action litigation issues.
Kalamazoo River Study Group: Representing a number of major companies in connection with an environmental cost recovery action against several defendants. The site of this large superfund recovery case includes 35 miles of the Kalamazoo River in Michigan.
Wastex Joint Steering Committee: Handled a superfund cost recovery involving environmental clean-up costing tens of millions of dollars.
Koch Industries, Inc.: Representing client, one of the nation's largest privately-held companies, in cases where plaintiffs allege impurities in wheat sold by Koch and damages in excess of $50 million are sought. Represented client in a case seeking to recover treble civil damages from it and other defendants under federal and state antitrust laws for alleged monopolization.
BE Aerospace: Represented this manufacturer of airline food and beverage carts in products liability case brought by 65 TWA flight attendants alleging carpal tunnel syndrome injuries. Plaintiffs were claiming damages in excess of $17 million.
Allied Waste Systems, Inc.: Represented Allied on a number of alleged hazardous waste sites.
Hoechst Marion Roussel, Inc.: Represented Hoechst in a number of false and misleading advertising cases brought under the Lanham Act and on other grounds.
Allstate Insurance Company: Represent Allstate Insurance Company in coverage and related business tort litigation.
White Collar Criminal Defense: Represent clients on a variety of matters including:
- Criminal Antitrust Price Fixing
- Federal and State Government Contract Fraud
- Federal Wire, Bank and Mail Fraud
- Federal Criminal Environmental Violations Federal and State Grand Jury Witness Representation and Subpoena Compliance
- RICO Claims
Lafarge North America, Inc.: Represent Lafarge, the world's largest supplier of construction materials, in connection with major litigation, including construction litigation, real estate litigation, and general commercial litigation.
Real Estate
- Commercial leasing
- Real estate development
- Real estate financing
- Construction
- Acquisitions and dispositions
- Workouts, foreclosures and receiverships
Representative Engagements
GMAC Commercial Mortgage Corporation: Represent GMAC on real estate financing transactions on a nationwide basis.
Prudential Mortgage Capital Company: Represent Prudential on real estate financing transactions on a nationwide basis.
Opus Northwest, L.L.C.: Represent Opus on various commercial development projects throughout Kansas and Missouri, including 155 acre tract near Kansas City International airport and 130 acre tract in Topeka.
Developers Diversified Realty Corporation: Represent DDRC on development and zoning issues for retail shopping centers in Kansas City area.
Trammell Crow Company: Represent Trammel Crow in various development, construction and leasing matters, including business parks in Lenexa and Shawnee.
Union Bank: Represent lender on numerous commercial real estate loans in Kansas and Missouri.
Orix Capital Markets: Represent loan servicer in loan workouts, assumptions, modifications, foreclosures and receiverships in Kansas and Missouri.
Labor and Employment
- Litigation
- Traditional labor representation
Representative Engagements
The Kansas City Labor and Employment group counsels employers throughout the U.S. and Canada on their collective bargaining and negotiates contracts with the local affiliates of virtually every major union in the United States. Our Labor and Employment group represents employers in all areas of employment-related litigation, including suits arising under Section 301 of the National Labor Relations Act, OSHA, and federal and state laws concerning age, race, religion, disability and sex discrimination as well as suits alleging sexual harassment. Our attorneys also handle union organizing campaigns for employers. Our attorneys represent employers in numerous arbitration and NLRB hearings each year. Our Labor and Employment group presents seminars and training sessions throughout the U.S. and Canada on various topics including the Americans with Disabilities Act, the Family and Medical Leave Act, union avoidance, and recent developments in employment law and affirmative action.
Hearst Corporation: Handle all legal work for ABC Television's affiliate, Channel 9, including First Amendment work.
Missouri Gas Energy division of Southern Union Company: Handling all employment litigation for this natural gas utility.
Handle union organizing campaigns, such as the successful campaign for Russell-Stanley Corporation, the largest manufacturer in the world of blow-molded, 55-gallon drums in Allentown, Pennsylvania, and the Fixtures Furniture, Inc. campaign in Kansas City, Missouri.
Telecommunications
Representative Engagements
Ongoing representation of telecommunications companies in the local and long distance telephone markets, including wireless carriers, and cable companies' regular appearances before regulatory agencies throughout the Midwestern United States and prosecution and defense of litigation in state and federal courts arising out of disputes between these companies and incumbent telephone companies.
Arbitration of interconnection disputes between competitive telecommunications carrier and incumbent providers before state regulatory agencies.
Appear before legislative and regulatory authorities to advocate concerning statutory and regulatory issues.
Insurance
- Coverage opinions
- Coverage litigation
Intellectual Property
- Patents, trademarks, copyrights
- Technology
- Franchising
- Product labeling
- Litigation
Representative Engagements
The Kansas City Intellectual Property & Technology Group includes four attorneys who are registered to practice in the United States Patent and Trademark Office and who provide a full spectrum of intellectual property legal services such as conducting patent and trademark searches; performing infringement risk analysis and portfolio management; prosecuting and maintaining U.S. and foreign copyright, trademark and patent applications; and negotiating licensing, supply, joint development and related agreements.
The Kansas City office also has extensive experience representing clients in all types of intellectual property litigation including suits involving patent infringement, trademark infringement and unfair competition, copyright infringement, and trade secret misappropriation.
The Kansas City Office possesses substantial capabilities and routinely advises clients on E-commerce and Internet law matters such as the policing of infringing trademark usages on websites. We have successfully handled numerous domain name dispute proceedings.
The Jordan Industries, Inc.: In connection with our role as general counsel for Jordan, we handle all aspects of the identification, protection, maintenance and enforcement of the approximate 100 Jordan companies.
Emerson Telecommunication Products, Inc.: We serve as outside intellectual property counsel to approximately 12 companies in this division of Emerson Network Power. Our role includes overseeing an extensive docket of U.S. and foreign patents and trademarks, and advising the operating companies on issues such as licensing, infringement analysis, advertising, and policing and enforcement of intellectual property.
Ivy Animal Health, Inc.: As part of our role as general counsel for Ivy Animal Health, we handle all aspects of Ivy's intellectual property portfolio including patent and trademark prosecution, both foreign and domestic. We also advise Ivy on its licensing and advertising issues as well as providing infringement analysis and enforcement of its various intellectual properties.
Chemidex, Inc.: We serve as outside intellectual property counsel to this Internet-based company and have handled all its patent and trademark matters. We also represented Chemidex in federal court litigation against Ventro Corporation in a case involving trademark infringement. After conducting a preliminary injunction hearing we negotiated a favorable settlement for our client.
Naturopathic Laboratories International, Inc.: We represent Naturopathic in complex patent infringement litigation against Dermal Research Laboratories, Inc. involving Naturopathic's Joint-Ritis analgesic formulation for treatment of, among other things, arthritis pain.
American Multi Cinema: We represent AMC Theatres as local counsel in trademark infringement litigation against American Movie Classics, a cable television channel, and its use of the trademark "AMC."
Taxation
- Federal and state tax planning
- Tax controversies and litigation
- International taxation
Representative Engagements
Provide federal and state tax advising and planning for individuals and entities.
Represent taxpayers in federal and state controversies, including audits, administrative proceedings and litigation.
Advise and represent clients on the tax aspects of business transactions, including the formation of a business, mergers and acquisitions, asset sales, partnerships and joint ventures, and business terminations.
Advise clients on international tax issues and expanding operations abroad.
Represent and advise tax-exempt entities.
Health Care
Representative Engagements
Ongoing representation of numerous physician groups in the metropolitan Kansas City area and other parts of the Midwest in all legal matters, including employment contracts, physician practice acquisitions, regulatory compliance, transactions with hospitals and credentialing matters.
Formation and restructuring of health care joint ventures, management arrangements and other relationships among different health care providers.
Clients include the largest cardiovascular practice in the State of Nebraska, a multi-hospital radiology group in Missouri, and the physician group managing the prestigious Mid-America Heart Institute in Kansas City.
Estate Planning—Trusts and Estates
Representative Engagements
Provide estate planning services to clients including tax minimization planning, use of disclaimers, life insurance planning, qualified plan distribution planning, generation-skipping tax planning, charitable planning, liquidity planning, asset protection planning and business succession planning.
Provide estate and trust administration services including all aspects of the probate process, advice regarding administration of trusts, preparation of federal and state income tax, estate tax and gift tax returns, and representation of individuals, trusts and estates in disputes with the IRS or state tax authorities.
Employee Benefits
- Executive compensation
- Employee stock ownership plans, other qualified retirement plans, and defined compensation arrangements
- ERISA governed and exempt governmental and church plans
- Employee benefit matters with respect to mergers and acquisitions
- Health and welfare plans
- HIPAA compliance
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