For over 30 years, Rick has guided his clients through all phases of litigation including trials, mediation, and appeals. He practices primarily in the areas of personal injury, wrongful death, traumatic brain injury, and business litigation.
First and foremost, Rick Morefield is a trial lawyer. For the past 30 years, he has handled lawsuits ranging from multi-million dollar business disputes to relatively simple auto accident cases. During that time, he has helped his clients obtain justice in cases involving breach of contract, fraud, breach of partnership agreement, wrongful death, traumatic brain injury, motorcycle accidents, trucking accidents, personal injury and premises liability. Rick has achieved success in settlement, mediation, trial and appeal. While national statistics show that most cases settle, it is important to hire an attorney who enjoys the courtroom. Rick is a lawyer who thrives in the courtroom environment. Rick has taught other attorneys at local and national continuing legal education seminars on topics ranging from insurance law to trial techniques and tactics. In 2019, he will serve on the faculty of the TIPS/ABOTA National Trial Academy where he and other experienced trial lawyers will teach less experienced lawyers how to succeed in the courtroom. He recently finished a term as the Chair of the 2000 member Litigation and Trial Practice Committee of the ABA Tort Trial and Insurance Practice Section. He is a trained mediator and serves on the approved mediator list for the United States District Court for the Western District of Missouri.
In His Own Words
I have two primary goals when representing my clients. First, I strive to help my clients get justice. Whether the case involves a business dispute or a personal injury, justice includes protecting or restoring my clients’ financial interests. But, justice is much more than that. Justice includes restoring relationships and protecting others from danger. My second goal is to help my clients recover in other ways as they go through the legal process. Clients who have suffered a personal injury need to recover their health, they need guidance and advice through sometimes complicated legal proceedings, and they need to regain as much of their former life as possible. I also enjoy helping my clients navigate the complexities of the legal system. A good lawyer serves as a guide, a confidant and a trusted adviser during difficult times. Litigation is inherently stressful and I strive to minimize that stress for our clients.
Seminars and Published Works
• Faculty Member – TIPS/American Board of Trial Advocates National Trial Academy, 2019
• Speaker – ABA/TIPS Section Conference, Los Angeles, California: Hey That Tweet Helps My Case: Presenting Social Media, Electronic and Demonstrative Evidence at Trial, 2018
• Speaker – A Five Star Review: Navigating the Pros and Cons of Crowdsourced Media for Your Clients and Firm, 30th Annual Media and the Law Seminar – The Fickle Future of First Freedoms, sponsored by Kansas City • Metropolitan Bar Association and the University of Kansas School of Law, May 2017.
• Speaker – “So You Want to Enhance your Insurance Defense Practice? Tips for Becoming a Valuable Partner to In-House Counsel”, at the ABA Tort Trial and Insurance Practice Section Conference, Philadelphia, PA, May 2015.
• Speaker – “The Art of Advocacy: Lessons From Preachers,” at The Louisiana Association of Justice’s Masters of Trial Seminar.
• Speaker – “The Art of Communication: Getting the Information You Seek,” at Heartland Paralegal Association’s Annual Fall Seminar.
• Speaker – “May it Please the Court” at the ABA/TIPS Toronto Annual Meeting and Seattle Fall Meeting
Community Involvement
• Gashland Evangelical Presbyterian Church, Gladstone, MO: Electric Guitar – Worship Team; EPC Ruling Elder (inactive)
• Alliance Defending Freedom: Allied Attorney, Pro Bono attorney
Hobbies and Interests
• Electric Guitar
• Fly fishing
• Reading
• Hiking
• Theology
Professional Affiliations
• American Bar Association (ABA)
- Tort Trial and Insurance Practice Section
- Past Chair, Litigation and Trial Practice Committee
- Editor, “The Brief” (quarterly law magazine)
- Past Co-Chair, Task Force on Fair Funding For Courts
- Past Chair, Standing Committee on Plaintiff’s Practice
- Faculty member, TIPS/ABOTA National Trial Academy
• Uniform Law Commission
- ABA Adviser to Drafting Committee on Unsworn Domestic Declarations
• Missouri and Kansas SuperLawyers (2005 – present)
• National Trial Lawyers
- Top 100 Trial Lawyers in Kansas
• National Academy of Personal Injury Attorneys
-Top 10 Personal Injury Lawyers – Kansas
• American Association of Justice
• Missouri Association of Trial Attorneys (MATA)
• Kansas City Metropolitan Bar Association (KCMBA)
• Johnson County Bar Association
