Since 1976, Gene has been a partner engaged in firm litigation matters. He has appeared in various civil (products liability, professional liability and commercial litigation) and criminal cases in state and federal courts. He has also argued cases at all levels of the state and federal appellate systems, including the Supreme Court of the United States. In addition to his litigation practice, Gene is the firm’s vice chair and general counsel and a member of the firm’s Executive Committee.

Gene was elected and served as municipal judge in North Kansas City, Missouri, 1965-1966; elected and served as prosecuting attorney, Clay County, Missouri, 1967-1968; appointed as chief counsel, Criminal Division, Office of the Attorney General, 1969; and first assistant attorney general, State of Missouri, 1969-1973.

Gene served as chair of the Merit Selection Commission appointed by Senators Bond and Danforth, a member of the Law School Dean Search and Advisory Committee for the University of Missouri - Kansas City School of Law, the Supreme Court Committee on Approved Indictments and Informations, the Committee to Draft a Modern Penal Code, the Supreme Court Committee to Prepare a Trial Judges Bench Book, and the Missouri Council on Criminal Justice. In 1992, he was nominated by then-President George Bush to be a judge of the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Missouri (the nomination lapsed upon the adjournment of the U.S. Senate). He has been a speaker and participant in litigation and business litigation continuing legal education seminars sponsored by The Missouri Bar, the Kansas City Metropolitan Bar Association and the University of Missouri - Kansas City School of Law. He has been named to Missouri & Kansas Super Lawyers each year since 2005.

Gene is a member of the American Bar Association, The Missouri Bar, the Kansas City Metropolitan Bar Association, The Lawyers Association of Kansas City and the Missouri Organization of Defense Lawyers. He is a member of the Advisory Group appointed by the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Missouri under the Civil Justice Reform Act of 1990.

Gene is admitted to practice before the state courts of Missouri, the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Missouri, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth and Eighth Circuits, and the Supreme Court of the United States.

1964   LL.B., University of Missouri - Kansas City School of Law

1961   B.A., William Jewell College

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