|
News & Events |
 |
 |
David Seely has been elected chairperson of
the Kansas Continuing Legal Education Commission. The Commission
administers the rules for continuing legal education in Kansas,
including program accreditation and attorney compliance. Mr. Seely
was appointed to the Commission in 2002 by the Kansas Supreme
Court.
 Congratulations to Cheryl Clark, who was
presented with an Outstanding Contribution Award by the National
Association of Legal Assistants (NALA) at their annual meeting in
Tampa, Florida. Many of you know Cheryl, who has been with
Fleeson, Gooing, Coulson & Kitch, L.L.C. since April 16, 1997,
from her tireless work in assisting the firm’s attorneys in
contested litigation matters. The NALA award recognizes Cheryl’s
efforts on behalf of that organization’s Kansas affiliate, which
Cheryl has served as a board member and as chair of several
committees. Her interest in professional education led to a
request from the American Bar Association Committee on Paralegals
for Cheryl’s assistance in the recertification of Washburn
University’s legal studies program, at the conclusion of which she
was asked to assist with future recertification. She has also
worked closely with the legal assistant programs at both Wichita
State University and Newman University. We are extremely proud of
Cheryl, not only for the professional recognition she has received
but for the outstanding skills and attitude she brings to work
every day on behalf of our clients.
-
Steve M. Stark presents at
Hot Topics in Real Estate Practice
Seminar
Steve Stark recently presented
at the Hot Topics in Real Estate Practice Seminar sponsored by
the Wichita Bar Association. Steve spoke on issues
relating to the innocent purchaser defense and environmental due
diligence in real estate transactions. For more
information on this topic, please click the links below.
-
Kent Meyerhoff receives President's Award from Wichita Bar
Association
Kent Meyerhoff received a
President's Award from the Wichita Bar Association (WBA) during
the WBA's annual Installation and Awards Dinner June 15.
Meyerhoff received the award, which is given in recognition of
outstanding service to the WBA, for his work on the Building
Management Committee of the Sedgwick County Law Center.
Meyerhoff, who joined the firm in 1994, chairs the firm's
Business Practice Group and works primarily in the areas of
estate planning, trademark and copyright law, and business law.
-
William L. Townsley, III
installed as President-Elect for
Wichita Bar Association
Bill Townsley was installed as
the President-Elect of the Wichita Bar Association during its
annual Installation and Awards Dinner June 15. Townsley,
who joined Fleeson, Gooing, Coulson & Kitch in 1989, chairs the
firm's Litigation Practice Group. Townsley will serve as
President-Elect during 2006-07 before serving as President of
the WBA in 2007-08.
-
Fleeson Named One of the Top
Ten Small Businesses in Wichita
The Wichita Area Chamber of
Commerce has selected Fleeson as one of its top 10 small businesses
of the year. Fleeson was chosen from nearly 200 nominated
businesses to receive this honor. Businesses were judged on
growth, financial strength, employee relations, community service
and company history.
Visit the
Wichita Metro Chamber of Commerce website to learn more
about this award.
-
Townsley Elected WBA President
The members of the Wichita Bar
Association (WBA) have named Bill Townsley to serve as the
organization’s president-elect for 2006-07. Townsley, who joined
Fleeson, Gooing, Coulson & Kitch in 1989, chairs the firm’s
Litigation Practice Group.
This is only the most recent of
several leadership roles Townsley has filled in local and state bar
organizations. He has served as president of both the Litigation
Section and the Insurance Law Section of the Kansas Bar Association,
and currently serves the WBA as vice president.
The WBA is a voluntary association
consisting of 1,281 members. Townsley is the first member of the
firm elected president since Tom Lasater, who served in 1999-2000.
-
Cheryl Clark selected to participate in the
recertification of Legal
Studies program at Washburn University
Cheryl L. Clark, CLA was selected by the
American Bar Association Committee on Paralegals to be the paralegal
member of an attorney/paralegal team that conducted a site visit
at Washburn University in Topeka, Kansas. The site visit was a part
of the process for the ABA’s recertification of the Legal Studies
program at Washburn.
The site team spent two days meeting with
the President of the University, the Program Director of the Legal
Studies program, faculty, students and alumni. During the visit, the
team reviewed the structure and administration of the program to
ensure the curriculum continues to satisfy the ABA requirements for
certification.
After the site visit the team submitted a
comprehensive report to the ABA regarding their findings and
conclusions. This report was utilized by the ABA in making its
decision regarding recertification. For further information
regarding the ABA’s certification of Paralegal programs, see the
recent article in Facts and Findings, the quarterly journal of the
National Association of Legal Assistants, entitled "Is ABA Approval
Worth It?" The article can be found at:
www.nala.org/Facts_Findings.htm
-
Class Action Settlement Brings Successful Conclusion To 11-year
Fight For Royalty Owners
On December 21, 2005, Judge David Dickinson of
the District Court of La Plata County, Colorado approved the
settlement of class action claims brought on behalf of approximately
5,000 royalty interest-owners against Amoco Production Company in
the case known as "Parry v. Amoco." The case was filed in May 1994.
Following a 2002 trial on liability issues, the Court ruled in 2003
that Amoco had improperly deducted gathering, treatment, and
compression charges when calculating royalty payments for coalseam
gas under oil and gas leases that did not expressly authorize such
deductions. The case was scheduled for a second trial in October
2005 to determine the amount of damages, when an agreement was
reached on the terms of settlement.
Amoco (now BP America Production Co.) will pay
in excess of $100 million to settle claims that it wrongfully
deducted gathering, treatment, and compression charges" from amounts
received from the sale of gas before calculating the royalties paid
to class members under leases that did not authorize deductions,
during the period from June 1991 to present. Perhaps more important,
Amoco will cease taking such deductions from all of its royalty
owners (regardless of lease provisions) beginning with May 2006
royalty payments (for March 2006 production). When these prospective
benefits are taken into account, the total present value of the
settlement to the royalty owners is well over $200 million.
Tom Kitch, Greg Stucky and Dave Seely of this
firm and G. R. Miller of Durango, Colorado, represented the
plaintiff class.
-
Three Attorneys
Present at Orientation to Kansas Practice for New
Lawyers
Three
attorneys from Fleeson, Gooing, Coulson & Kitch recently made
presentations to a large group of new lawyers at the Orientation to
Kansas Practice for New Lawyers hosted by the Wichita Bar
Association. This program consisted of a variety of lawyers
from different practice areas. Thomas J. Lasater spoke on the issue of stress management in
the practice of law. Charles
E. Millsap made a presentation on a variety of Civil
practice topics. And Lyndon W. Vix
spoke to the group on Appellate practice in Kansas.
-
Meyerhoff Presents
to Bar Association Groups
Kent A. Meyerhoff
recently presented at the Probate Practice Seminar sponsored
by the Wichita Bar Association. Mr. Meyerhoff spoke on
recent statutory and case law developments affecting probate
practitioners. He also recently spoke to the Probate
Committee of the Wichita Bar Association about important
changes implemented by the IRS earlier this year to Circular
230, which governs the conduct of tax professionals who
practice before the IRS.
-
Five Fleeson
Lawyers Named “Super Lawyers”
Law & Politics recently
recognized five Fleeson lawyers as among the best in their fields in
Kansas and Missouri. Only five percent of the lawyers in Kansas and
Missouri earned this distinction. The Fleeson lawyers named “Super
Lawyers” by Law & Politics were Charles E. Cole and Linda K.
Constable (Estate Planning/Trusts); Charles E. Millsap (Business
Litigation); Stephen E. Robison (Civil Litigation Defense); and
Stephen M. Stark (Real Estate Transactions).
-
Firm and Lawyers Recognized for Outstanding Work
Fleeson, Gooing, Coulson & Kitch, L.L.C. was recently
named by Chambers and Partners USA as one of the top law firms in
Kansas for real estate and corporate/commercial law matters. The
publication recognized member J. Eric
Engstrom for his individual expertise in the area of
corporate/commercial law, and member
Steve M. Stark for his abilities in the area of real estate.
The Chambers and Partners rankings are based on in-depth interviews
with clients and attorneys. In compiling its recent publication,
Chambers USA - America's Leading Business Lawyers 2004-05, Chambers
conducted more than 7,000 telephone interviews and collected tens of
thousands of comments. According to Chambers, the qualities on
which the rankings were based include technical legal ability,
professional conduct, client service, commercial awareness,
astuteness, diligence, commitment and other qualities most valued by
clients.
-
Kansas Continuing Legal
Education Commission
Appointments Made
David Seely
was
recently appointed by the Kansas Supreme Court to serve as a member of
the Kansas Continuing Legal Education Commission. The Commission
oversees the accreditation of continuing legal education programs and
the enforcement of the continuing legal education requirements
established by the Kansas Supreme Court. Dave has been actively
involved in continuing legal education matters, having served as a
speaker and moderator at continuing legal education programs, and as a
member and past chairperson of the Wichita Bar Association’s
Continuing Legal Education Committee.
|
|
|
|
