Corporation and Business Law 
Taxation 
Real Estate Development and Construction
Employment

Environmental Law
Health Care Law
Intellectual Property
Education and School Law

Business law covers a broad spectrum of practice areas overlapping with banking, taxation, estate planning and litigation. Our firm uses a team approach so our clients can be assured that all aspects of business transactions, from the simple to the extremely complex, will receive the appropriate levels of required knowledge and experience.

For more than a century, this firm has provided quality legal service designed to meet the demands of the diverse Wichita business community.  Our lawyers are firmly committed to maintaining this historic quality of service and further expanding the Firm's role in Wichita's continued economic growth into this century and beyond. 

A significant portion of our firm's practice is devoted to business and business transactions. We have been privileged to counsel firms and institutions in activities that have shaped the economic landscape of Wichita and the State of Kansas.

We represent large, established corporations and assist in the growth and development of successful small businesses and entrepreneurial endeavors. We offer counsel on the choice and structure of organizations from both a business and taxation standpoint.

Representative services include:

• Formation, operation and liquidation of corporations (including C corporations, S corporations and professional corporations), partnerships, limited partnerships, limited liability companies, limited liability partnerships, joint ventures, or exempt organizations (including private foundations).

• Reorganization, merger, consolidation, recapitalization and restructuring of corporations, partnerships, limited liability companies and other entities, including redemption of interests.

• Mergers & Acquisitions

• Acquisition and disposition of stock and assets.

• Negotiation and preparation of contracts, commercial instruments and security agreements.

• Transactions involving the Uniform Commercial Code.

• Licensing, franchise and distribution arrangements.

• Technology and intellectual property licensing, including trademark and copyright protection, and computer hardware, software and service transactions.

• Employment matters, including contract review and preparation, counseling regarding disciplinary action and terminations, advice regarding discrimination claims, review of employment policies, including benefits packages, and advice on the Family and Medical Leave Act.

Our firm has an extensive and sophisticated practice in the areas of federal, state and local taxation, including income, estate and gift, sales, property and unemployment taxation. We advise individuals, partnerships, corporations, limited liability companies, trusts and other entities regarding planning strategies that suit their business goals and at the same time minimize their ultimate tax burden.

The firm’s attorneys possess extensive experience in filing administrative tax appeals before the Internal Revenue Service, Kansas Department of Revenue, Kansas Board of Tax Appeals, Kansas Department of Human Resources, local taxing authorities, and in litigating tax matters before state and federal district and appellate courts and the U.S. Tax Court.

Our tax litigation lawyers have been involved with issues as diverse as:

• Successfully challenging the constitutionality of the Kansas intangibles tax before the Kansas Supreme Court;

• Achieving property tax reductions and exemptions on business and educational property before the Kansas Board of Tax Appeals and state district and appellate courts; and

• Successfully challenging 35 years of U.S. Tax Court decisions and Internal Revenue rulings restricting the use of the income-forecast method of depreciation before the Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals.

Our more general taxation-related services include:

• Business tax planning;

• Accumulated earnings tax and personal holding company matters;

• Compensation and employee benefit matters, ERISA, IRAs, stock option and stock bonus plans, deferred compensation and salary continuation arrangements, health and accident and other related fringe benefit plans;

• Preparation of federal estate tax and federal gift tax returns and Kansas estate tax returns;

• Income tax matters involving trusts, estates, decedents and beneficiaries;

• Installment sales and tax accounting methods, as well as tax-free exchanges;

• Obtaining letter and revenue rulings from taxing authorities; and

• Taxation of tax-exempt entities.

The Firm’s lawyers assist clients in every phase of real estate and development matters, including environmental issues. We have been privileged to represent many of Kansas' foremost developers in notable projects throughout Kansas and the United States, including residential, commercial and industrial properties. We have appeared before federal, state, regional and local zoning and administrative bodies with respect to land use and other regulatory matters.

A major emphasis of our real estate work is on behalf of institutional lenders in connection with complex commercial real estate mortgage loans. (Representative of our service in this area is our active, counsel to the commercial real estate department of the largest bank in Kansas.)

Since our firm's earliest days, we have provided quality representation to the construction industry. At present, we serve as counsel to one of the largest general contractors in the Midwest as well as numerous architects, engineers, contractors and subcontractors. Our involvement extends from the beginning stages of contract negotiations through the construction process, post-completion problems and the resolution of controversies by arbitration or litigation, if necessary.

Examples of our services include:

• All phases of retail shopping center, office and other commercial development from initial land acquisition, lease negotiation and integration, reciprocal easement preparation, construction and financing through ultimate sale;

• Construction and development legal services for residential properties, condominiums, office buildings, subdivisions and developments;

• Preparation and negotiation of lease agreements and financing agreements;

• Representation before agencies, administrative boards and commissions at all levels on zoning, land use, regulatory and other administrative matters;

• Counseling, negotiation and drafting of construction contracts including owner/architect agreements, construction management agreements, bidding practices and procedures, and specialized construction formats; and

• Representation of those entitled to enforcement of Kansas lien laws.

Our insight and knowledge in the changing field of health care is based on our representation of physicians, hospitals, and other health care providers. We are committed to staying abreast of the complex developments currently altering the medical profession.

Our lawyers are experienced in health care related litigation and have represented doctors, hospitals and HMOs in matters ranging from licensing disputes and HMO policy and coverage issues to the prosecution of an antitrust claim against the state's largest health insurer.

Our lawyers are routinely involved with a variety of employment matters, including preparation and review of employment contracts for both employers and employees, counseling employers on disciplinary actions and terminations, review of employment policies, advising on various benefits packages, planning and training for the prevention of discrimination problems, preparing for reductions in force, providing advice and representation of employers in  defense of administrative and discrimination claims, and litigation of employment claims involving contracts, torts workers’ compensation and discrimination claims. 

Assessing and allocating environmental liability is crucial in a wide range of business transactions—corporate acquisitions, mergers and the purchase and sale of commercial real estate, just to name a few. The potentially staggering costs of compliance with governmental regulation and mandatory cleanup efforts have caused many transactions to be completely re-evaluated. Litigation arising from environmental concerns continues to increase.

Our lawyers continue to play a substantial role in the development of this area of law. We have represented numerous clients in court and before state and federal environmental regulatory bodies. As a result, we have gained a working understanding of the legal and technological issues critical to successful representation. We also are experienced in liability insurance coverage disputes which are often incidental to environmental claims.

Intellectual property is often-times a business’s most valued asset which must be protected. The Firm’s intellectual property litigation practice includes representing clients in a broad spectrum of intellectual property matters, including disputes regarding names and logos, confidentiality agreements, licensing agreements, intellectual property transfer agreements, unfair competition and enforcement of trademark, copyright and trade secret rights.

Our firm has an extensive and comprehensive practice in the area of education and school law. We have the privilege of representing and counseling Kansas public school districts in a variety of areas including:

Employment law

Teacher tenure

Employment contracts and due process law

Evaluations

Americans with Disabilities Act - ADA

Family and Medical Leave Act - FMLA

Civil Right Laws

Age Discrimination in Employment Act - ADEA

Fair Labor Standards Act - Wage and Hour

Student suspension and expulsion law

Discrimination laws

Acquisition and sale of real and personal property

Negotiation of vendor contracts

Kansas Open Meetings Act - KOMA

Kansas Open Records Act - KORA

Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act - FERPA

Special Education

Individuals with Disabilities Education Act - IDEA

Disabled Students - Section 504

The Elementary and Secondary Education Act

Harassment and discrimination investigations

Elections

Board policy development

Equal Access Act

Labor and Negotiations - Professional Negotiations Act

Religious issues