Civil Rights Lawyers in Kansas City
327 verified civil rights attorneys in Kansas City. Find experienced Civil Rights counsel to evaluate your case, explain your options, and represent you through every stage of the legal process. Compare civil rights experience, read verified client reviews, and book a free consultation with local Kansas City counsel — AttorneyQnA never charges clients to connect with an attorney.
Recipient: "Top 100 Power List," Mo. Lawyers Media, 2022-2025; "The Power List: Appellate Law," Mo.
Timothy Joseph Mudd is a lawyer practicing criminal defense, wrongful death, civil rights and 17 other areas of law. Timothy received a B.A. degree fr...
Joseph M. Feierabend is a lawyer practicing banking litigation, commercial litigation, class-action lawsuits and 8 other areas of law.
Kevin Wayne Puckett is a lawyer practicing family law, divorce, child custody and 10 other areas of law. Kevin received a B.S. degree from Missouri We...
Mandee Rowen Pingel is a lawyer practicing family law, matrimonial law, divorce and 10 other areas of law. Mandee received a B.S. degree from William ...
Stephanie Bryant Holland is a lawyer practicing affirmative action, alternative dispute resolution, americans with disabilities act and 10 other areas...
Rebecca M. Randles is a lawyer practicing civil rights, discrimination, sexual harassment and 6 other areas of law.
M. Errol Copilevitz is a lawyer practicing constitutional law, tax exempt organization law, civil litigation and 3 other areas of law.
Trial attorney Doug Carter originally hails from Willow Springs, a small town in south central Missouri. When his father, a Missouri State Highway Pat...
Teresa Ann Woody is a lawyer practicing civil rights, litigation (commercial & business), business litigation and 4 other areas of law. Teresa receive...
Cheryl Ann Pilate is a lawyer practicing criminal defense, civil litigation, appellate practice and 2 other areas of law. Cheryl received a M.S.W. deg...
Annette Marie Gifford is a lawyer practicing workplace harassment, workplace discrimination, sexual harassment and 14 other areas of law. Annette rece...
Carrie Ann McAtee is a lawyer practicing discrimination, class actions & complex litigation, employment litigation & policy. Carrie received a B.A. de...
Atty. Paul S.
Omicron Delta Kappa; Phi Delta Phi; Phi Theta Kappa. Author: "Criminal Corrections: Reform in the Community," The UMKC Business and Public Administrat...
James Edward Bird is a lawyer practicing chapter 11 bankruptcy, chapter 7 bankruptcy, chapter 13 bankruptcy and 3 other areas of law. James received a...
Stephen C. Thornberry is a lawyer practicing employment discrimination, civil rights litigation, personal injury litigation and 1 other area of law.
Mr James H. Ensz is a lawyer practicing civil rights, insurance, civil litigation.
Mr. Alan Lloyd Rupe is a lawyer practicing employment law, labor law, business and class action litigation and 13 other areas of law.
Michael D. Fitzgerald is a lawyer practicing appeals, civil rights, elder law and 3 other areas of law.
Melissa Lauren Holtzer-Jonas is a lawyer practicing littler casesmart, discrimination and harassment, leaves of absence and disability accommodation a...
Jack L. Whitacre is a lawyer practicing labor and employment, civil rights, litigation.
Brett D. Anders is a lawyer practicing bankruptcy, creditors' rights, business litigation and 1 other area of law.
Kristi Lynn Kingston is a lawyer practicing employment & labor, sexual harassment, discrimination and 2 other areas of law. Kristi received a B.A. deg...
John Roosevelt Campbell is a lawyer practicing personal injury, commercial and civil litigation, commercial collections and 10 other areas of law. Joh...
Jill Allison Morris is a lawyer practicing employment & labor, discrimination, lawsuits & disputes and 2 other areas of law. Jill received a B.A. degr...
John C. Noonan is a lawyer practicing civil rights, litigation.
Brenda Gaye Hamilton is a lawyer practicing commercial litigation, business torts, insurance coverage and 41 other areas of law. Brenda Gaye received ...
James David Jenkins is a lawyer practicing constitutional, debt collection, chapter 7 bankruptcy and 5 other areas of law. James received a B.A. degre...
David Aronoff is a lawyer practicing entertainment litigation, copyright litigation, trademark litigation and 2 other areas of law. David received a B...
S. Russell Headrick is a lawyer practicing media law, first amendment law, life insurance defense and 12 other areas of law.
Denise K. Drake is a lawyer practicing workers' compensation, discrimination and harassment, complex litigation and jury trials and 2 other areas of l...
Kimberley A. Gale is a lawyer practicing local government law, state government law, township law and 15 other areas of law.
David Phillip Madden is a lawyer practicing general tort, negligence litigation, product liability litigation and 3 other areas of law. David Phillip ...
Victor Felix Weber is a lawyer practicing insurance defense law, general civil and trial practice, workers' compensation and 5 other areas of law. Vic...
William C. Partin is a lawyer practicing general civil practice, personal injury law, wills and 4 other areas of law.
Mr Paul Davin Sinclair is a lawyer practicing commercial, general practice, antitrust & trade law and 6 other areas of law. Paul received a A.B. degre...
Robert Kent Sellers is a lawyer practicing business litigation, civil rights, appellate practice and 2 other areas of law. Robert received a B.A. degr...
Kelly Wall Schemenauer is a lawyer practicing commercial litigation, bankruptcy, creditors' rights and 3 other areas of law. Kelly received a M.B.A. d...
Douglas Dean Silvius is a lawyer practicing business law, commercial, construction and 39 other areas of law. Douglas received a B.S. degree from Cent...
Richard H. Ralston is a lawyer practicing litigation, civil rights, antitrust / trade law and 1 other area of law.
Lisa Broman Haines is a lawyer practicing real estate development, real estate secured lending, creditors rights and 1 other area of law. Lisa receive...
Russell D. Jacobson is a lawyer practicing appellate practice, constitutional law, civil litigation and 6 other areas of law.
Fred L. Slough is a lawyer practicing personal injury, criminal defense, civil rights and 3 other areas of law.
Robert B. Sullivan is a lawyer practicing insurance, business law, estate planning and 2 other areas of law.
James C. Sullivan is a lawyer practicing business/commercial litigation, labor and employment, transportation and 2 other areas of law.
Claudia Jean York is a lawyer practicing civil rights, criminal law, family law. Claudia received a B.A. degree from University of Missouri-Kansas Cit...
Lawrence Michael Maher is a lawyer practicing business litigation, employment litigation, life and health insurance and 2 other areas of law. Lawrence...
John M. Kilroy is a lawyer practicing medical malpractice, products liability, general practice and 4 other areas of law.
Daniel J. Flanigan is a lawyer practicing financial services law, creditors rights, bankruptcy and 1 other area of law.
John Wray Kurtz is a lawyer practicing wrongful death, products liability, malpractice and 2 other areas of law. John received a A.B. degree from Univ...
Reginald Craig Giffin is a lawyer practicing alternative dispute resolution, arbitration, bonds securities and 15 other areas of law. Reginald receive...
Julie E Sacks Levin is a lawyer practicing housing law, low income housing, complex litigation and 1 other area of law. Julie received a B.A. degree f...
Mark D. Katz is a lawyer practicing litigation, civil litigation and appeals, commercial litigation and 14 other areas of law.
Michael Joseph Svetlic is a lawyer practicing municipal law, domestic relations law, probate law and 4 other areas of law. Michael received a B.A. deg...
Pieter A. Brower is a lawyer practicing civil litigation, personal injury law, product liability law and 5 other areas of law.
Jamie Kathryn Lansford is a lawyer practicing ethics & professional responsibility, constitutional, civil rights law and 2 other areas of law. Jamie r...
Arthur A. Benson is a lawyer practicing probate, legal malpractice, constitutional law and 3 other areas of law.
James W. McManus is a lawyer practicing automobile accidents, civil, contracts and 57 other areas of law.
Patrick Gerard Reavey is a lawyer practicing general practice, employment law, wrongful termination and 9 other areas of law. Patrick received a B.S. ...
What is Civil Rights?
Civil Rights is the branch of law that governs the rights, obligations, and disputes that arise within its subject matter. In the United States, civil rights sits at the intersection of statutes enacted by Congress, the regulations issued by federal agencies, the laws passed by all fifty state legislatures, and the body of judge-made decisions known as the common law. Because every state writes its own version of the rules, the way civil rights works in one jurisdiction can look noticeably different from how it works in another, and that is one of the main reasons attorneys in this area focus their practice geographically — to stay fluent in the local statutes, court rules, and judicial preferences that shape outcomes.
At a practical level, Civil Rights attorneys spend their time on three categories of work. The first is advice and prevention: counselling clients on how to structure transactions, draft documents, and conduct business so that legal risk is minimised before a dispute ever begins. The second is transactional execution: producing the contracts, filings, notices, and registrations that the law actually requires to make a decision legally binding. The third is contested representation: defending or pursuing a client's interests when a dispute escalates to negotiation, regulatory enforcement, arbitration, or litigation in court.
The clients who hire Civil Rights lawyers range from individuals navigating a single life event to multinational corporations with complex regulatory exposure. What unifies them is the need for an experienced lawyer who knows the relevant code sections, has appeared in the relevant courts, and can translate the strategic options into language a client can act on. AttorneyQnA currently lists 327 verified civil rights attorneys across the United States, each with a public profile showing their bar admissions, years in practice, and the kinds of matters they have handled — with the deepest concentration of practitioners in California.
When do you need a Civil Rights attorney?
Most people contact a civil rights lawyer for one of two reasons: something is about to happen that they want done correctly the first time, or something has gone wrong and they need it fixed before it gets worse. The earlier you involve counsel, the more options you usually have, and the lower the cost of getting to a resolution tends to be. The scenarios below are the ones we see most often on AttorneyQnA from prospective clients searching for civil rights representation.
Once your signature is on a contract, settlement, lease, or release, your bargaining leverage drops sharply. A short pre-signature review by a civil rights lawyer is the cheapest insurance you can buy.
Cease-and-desist letters, regulatory notices, and demand letters all start clocks. Missing the response window can convert a manageable problem into a default judgment or formal enforcement action.
Statutes of limitations, filing windows, and appeal periods are jurisdictional — courts cannot extend them as a favour. If you can identify a date that matters, you need a lawyer before that date arrives.
The moment opposing counsel appears, the conversation moves out of normal English and into procedural language. Continuing unrepresented usually means losing ground you cannot recover later.
Forming an entity, choosing a venue, structuring a deal, or selecting a remedy each has long-term consequences. A consultation at the planning stage is far cheaper than redoing it after the fact.
Multi-state matters bring conflict-of-laws questions that change which statutes apply and which court has authority. An attorney licensed in the right jurisdiction is not optional.
If any of the situations above describes where you are right now, the next step is a focused consultation. Use the Ask a Lawyer tool for short written questions, or browse the 327 civil rights attorneys listed above to book a paid consultation directly.
How to choose a Civil Rights attorney
The single biggest factor in choosing a civil rights lawyer is fit with your specific matter. A lawyer with twenty years of civil rights experience but no exposure to your particular sub-issue can easily be a worse choice than a five-year associate who has handled the same problem repeatedly. We recommend running every prospective lawyer through the same five-step checklist before signing an engagement letter.
- Bar admission in the correct jurisdiction. Confirm the lawyer is admitted in the state — and where relevant, the federal district — where your matter sits. The lawyer's profile on AttorneyQnA shows every bar admission on file, and the underlying state bar's "lawyer lookup" tool will confirm active standing in under a minute.
- Direct experience with your fact pattern. Ask plainly: "How many matters like mine have you handled in the last three years, and how did they resolve?" An honest answer reveals more than years-in-practice alone.
- A written fee agreement. Whether hourly, flat fee, contingent, or hybrid, the engagement letter should specify what is included, what triggers additional charges, and how disputes are handled. Avoid lawyers who resist writing the terms down.
- Communication cadence. Decide upfront how often you expect updates, who your day-to-day contact will be, and what response time is reasonable. The number-one complaint filed with state bar grievance committees is not malpractice — it is non-communication.
- Conflict check + reputation pulse. Make sure the lawyer has run a formal conflict check, then spend ten minutes reading independent reviews and any public disciplinary history. The state bar's website is authoritative for the second; the lawyer's AttorneyQnA profile collects the first.
Once you have a shortlist, schedule consultations with two or three. Lawyers vary widely in temperament, and the right strategic match for your case is sometimes the second or third lawyer you meet — not the first.
How much does a Civil Rights lawyer cost?
Legal fees in the United States are not regulated by a uniform schedule, so what you pay a civil rights lawyer depends on the billing model the lawyer offers, the complexity of your matter, and the local market. There are four billing structures used in this practice area; most engagements use one, but hybrid arrangements are increasingly common.
1. Hourly billing
The default model for most non-contingent matters. Rates for civil rights attorneys in the U.S. typically range from $150–$250/hour in smaller markets to $400–$700/hour in major metropolitan areas, with senior partners at large firms commanding $900/hour and above. Hourly billing is fairest when the scope of work is genuinely unpredictable, but it creates an incentive structure that the client has to monitor.
2. Flat fee
Increasingly used for well-defined transactions — incorporations, will drafting, single-issue filings, uncontested matters. A flat fee tells you exactly what the deliverable will cost, and the lawyer absorbs the risk of unexpected complexity. Ask whether the flat fee includes filing fees, third-party costs, and any post-filing follow-up.
3. Contingency
Where it is permitted by the rules of professional conduct — most often in plaintiff-side civil rights work involving monetary recovery — the lawyer is paid a percentage of the proceeds, typically 33% before suit is filed and 40% after. The client pays nothing if there is no recovery. Contingency fees align the lawyer's economics with yours, but the percentage compounds across time, so very strong cases sometimes do better on hourly billing.
4. Retainer / subscription
A monthly fee that buys a defined block of access or hours. This is common for businesses with ongoing civil rights needs — contract review, employee questions, regulatory check-ins. A subscription smooths out spending and gives the lawyer a reason to know your operation in depth.
Whichever model you choose, ask for an itemised written estimate before the engagement begins, and ask explicitly what is not covered. Surprise expenses are the most common source of attorney-client friction.
Frequently asked questions about civil rights
How quickly can a civil rights lawyer review my matter?
Most lawyers can schedule an initial consultation within 1–3 business days. Urgent matters — pending deadlines, time-sensitive notices, court-ordered hearings — should be flagged in your first message; many lawyers reserve emergency consultation slots for that reason. If you need a written answer faster, the Ask a Lawyer tool typically returns answers in under 24 hours.
Do I need a civil rights lawyer in my exact city, or anywhere in my state?
Bar admission is the controlling rule: any attorney licensed in your state can represent you in that state's courts and agencies, regardless of which city they're based in. Practical proximity still matters for in-person meetings, local court familiarity, and access to the local bench and bar. For state-level filings and remote-friendly matters, an attorney elsewhere in the same state often works fine.
Will an initial consultation cost me anything?
Many civil rights attorneys offer a free 15- to 30-minute initial consultation; others charge a flat consultation fee that may be credited against the engagement if you hire them. The lawyer's profile lists the consultation policy. Free does not always mean better — a fee-based consultation is sometimes the sign of a lawyer who treats their time, and yours, seriously.
What documents should I bring to the first meeting?
Bring every contract, notice, letter, filing, or written communication connected to the matter; a written timeline of events with dates; the names and contact details of every other party involved; and any deadlines or hearing dates you are already aware of. Even an incomplete file is more useful than a verbal summary alone.
Can I change lawyers if I am not happy with mine?
Yes. Clients can discharge their lawyer at any time, for any reason, by written notice. Your case file belongs to you and must be transferred to your new counsel. Any unpaid fees through the date of discharge remain owed; any unearned advance must be refunded. If you are mid-litigation, the court typically must approve the substitution, but approval is routine.
How long does a typical civil rights matter take?
It depends almost entirely on whether the matter is transactional or contested. A transactional matter — a contract, a filing, a single-step transaction — can resolve in days to weeks. A contested matter — anything involving disputed facts, court intervention, or regulatory action — typically takes months at minimum, and complex cases can run multiple years. Your lawyer should give you a realistic outside estimate at intake.
Are civil rights lawyer fees tax-deductible?
It depends on the nature of the matter and current tax law. Fees connected to producing or collecting taxable income, managing investment property, or operating a business are often deductible; fees for personal matters generally are not. Because rules change, confirm deductibility with a tax professional for the year in which the fees are paid.
What is the difference between civil rights and the related practice areas?
Civil Rights overlaps with several adjacent areas — see the related-practice-area grid below for direct links. Choosing the right lawyer often means picking the one whose primary focus matches the heart of your problem, even if multiple labels could technically apply. When you are unsure, list your situation in your own words to two lawyers from neighbouring areas and ask which one of them is the better fit; honest lawyers will tell you.
Find civil rights attorneys by state
Each state link below opens the civil rights roster for that jurisdiction, with the local statute of limitations, court-system overview, and verified attorneys.
Civil Rights Law Firms
Main Law Firm
Winter Park
Walton Law Firm
San Marcos
Bruner Law Firm
Fort Walton Beach
J&Y Law Firm
Los Angeles
West Law Firm
Charleston
John T. Floyd Law Firm
Houston
Civil Rights by State
All states →Find civil rights attorneys in every US state. Each state link opens a hub with verified attorneys, the state filing deadline, and a free attorney match.