Aaron is an associate in the Global Product Liability and Tort Divisions. Aaron defends companies against individual and complex cases, including those involving automobiles, alleged construction defects, residential and commercial security systems, sprinkler systems, and exposure to allegedly toxic products.

Since starting at SHB in 2008, Aaron has participated in all stages of litigation, including:

• Drafting dispositive motions, oppositions to class-certification motions, and appellate briefs;
• Preparing witnesses for depositions and trial;
• Taking depositions;
• Arguing dispositive motions in state and federal courts;
• Attending mediations; and
• Negotiating settlements.

Aaron also takes an active role in pro bono opportunities. For example, Aaron has represented numerous juveniles at hearings to advocate for the proper placement of a minor following an arrest. He recently represented a defendant in a federal mortgage fraud case in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Missouri. He also frequently presents to students at UMKC School of Law on various topics he encounters in his practice and judges moot-court competitions.

In addition to his practice, Aaron has co-authored an article on the Class Action Fairness Act and assists in preparing presentations on various class action topics. He also serves as a member of SHB's Mentoring Task Force and Professional Development Committee. He recently implemented and chairs SHB's Legal Tech Team Subcommittee.

Aaron is a member of The Missouri Bar, American Bar Association, Missouri Organization of Defense Lawyers and Kansas City Metropolitan Bar Association.

During law school, Aaron served as editor-in-chief of the UMKC Law Review. He also served as a student clerk to Judge Scott O. Wright of the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Missouri. In his second and third years of law school, Aaron was a teaching assistant in UMKC School of Law's Legal Research and Writing Program.

Scott Kaiser and Aaron Kirkland, Federal Courts Retain Jurisdiction over Individual Claims after Removal of Mass Action, Mass Torts Litigation (ABA Section of Litig., Chicago, Ill.), Fall/Winter 2009, at 26 View

Aaron Kirkland, "You Got Fired? On Your Day Off?!": Challenging Termination of Employees for Personal Blogging Practices, 75 UMKC L. Rev. 545 (2006)

Aaron is admitted to practice before the state courts of Missouri and the U.S. District Courts for the Western District of Missouri and Western District of New York.

2008   J.D., summa cum laude, University of Missouri-Kansas City

2004   B.A., University of Nevada-Las Vegas