RALPH A. MONACO II - Born Kansas City, Missouri, April 19, 1956; admitted to bar, 1981, Missouri; admitted 1981, U.S. District Court for the Western District of Missouri.

Education - Raytown High School (Student Body President 1973-1974); Rockhurst College (B.A., history & political science, summa cum laude, 1978); University of Missouri-Kansas City School of Law (J.D. 1981); Phi Alpha Delta Law Fraternity; Alpha Sigma Nu Jesuit Honors Fraternity

Languages - Spanish

Current Bar Memberships - The Missouri Bar; U.S. District Court for Western District of Missouri; and Phi Alpha Delta Alumni Law Fraternity Member (Past Alumni Chief-Justice)

Current Civic Memberships - Commissioner to Jane Fifield Flynn Historic Resource, Jackson County, Missouri; Jackson County Historical Society (Director 1997-2002 & 2004-Current, Vice-President 2007-2008); Board of Trustee of Elmwood Cemetery; Stepping Stones Board of Director; Kentucky Colonel; Jackson County Parks & Recreation Volunteer Heritage Programs & Museums; St. Mark's Catholic Church, Independence, Missouri; Knights of Columbus St. Pius X Chapter; Masonic Blue Lodge of Independence, Missouri; Raytown Area Chamber of Commerce; and Member of Raytown Historical Society and Cave Spring's Historic Site.

Former Elected Positions Held - Missouri House of Representatives 1996-2002 (Chairman, House Judiciary Committee 2001-2002; Vice-Chairman, House Civil Law Committee 1998-2000, Co-Chairman Tobacco Securitization Committee 2001-2002, and Treasurer of the House Democratic Campaign Committee 1997-2000); Raytown, Missouri Consolidated School District #2: School Board Member 1991-1997 (President 1995-1997; Vice-President: 1994-1995; Treasurer 1993-1994)

Past Memberships - Independence Chamber of Commerce; South Kansas City Chamber of Commerce; Christy Henrich Foundation (Charter Member, Board of Directors and Past President); Rice-Tremonti Historic Cite (Board of Director); Keith Worthington Chapter of ALS (Board of Director); Missouri Association of Trial Attorneys; Italian-American Bar Association; American Bar Association; Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic Church-Religious Education Instructor 1984-1996; St. Marks Catholic Church-Confirmation Instructor, 2002-2005; Park Lane Foundation, Board of Director & Past Treasurer (1995-1997); and Past Chairperson for the Y.M.C.A. Community Center Project for the Raytown Community (1996-1997)

Awards - Phi Alpha Delta Brown Bottle Lawyer of the Year Award for 2007, Missouri Bar Legislator of the Year 1997, 2002; Missouri Judiciary Legislator of the Year 1997-2002; NAMI of Greater Kansas City Legislator of the Year Award 2001; MNEA Legislator of the Year Award 1997 & 1998; Missouri Association of Trial Attorneys' Champion of Justice Award 1999; Jackson County, Missouri Outstanding Volunteer Service Award 1991, 2000; Missouri Association of Probate and Associate Circuit Court Judges Legislator of the Year Award 2001; Western Missouri Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty Legislator of the Year 2001; Association of Retarded Citizens of Missouri Friend of the ARC Legislator of the Year 2001; Jackson County Historical Society Making History Come Alive Award 2001; Acorn Lifetime Membership Award Missouri Parents-Teachers Association 2000; Pioneer of Harrodsburg, Kentucky 1991; U.M.K.C. School of Law Bovine Scoop Award 1981; Who's Who in American Colleges & Universities 1978; and Outstanding Citizenship Award 1974.


DAN CRANE SANDERS - Born Kansas City, Missouri March 20, 1958; admitted to bar 1986, Missouri, U.S. District Court for Western District of Missouri; 1996, Kansas, U.S. District Court for Kansas.
Education - University of Kansas (B.A., 1982); St. Louis University (J.D., cum laude, 1986).
Member - The Missouri Bar; Kansas City Metropolitan Bar Association.
Awards - The Kansas City Business Journal Best of the Bar 2002, 2003.

WILLIAM J. GOTFREDSON - Born Omaha, Nebraska, May 27, 1945; admitted to bar, 1970, Nebraska, Missouri, U.S. District Court, Western District of Missouri; 2000, U.S. District Court, Kansas; 2006, Kansas.

Education - University of Nebraska (B.S.B.A., 1967); University of Nebraska College of Law (J.D., 1970). Phi Delta Phi.

Member - Kansas City Metropolitan, Nebraska State, Kansas and American (Member Property Insurance Law of Tort and Insurance Practice Committee) Bar Associations; the Missouri Bar. International Association of Arson Investigators; Professional Fire and Fraud Investigators Association. Workshop Panelist Property Loss Research Bureau. National Association of Subrogation Professionals. Loss Executives Association. Foundation for Center Education (Chairman).

Author and Speaking Engagements - Contributing Editor: Property Insurance, Fire and Extended Coverages, 3rd Ed., Committee on Property Insurance Law, Tort and Insurance Practice Section, American Bar Association. Speaker: "The Appraisal Process", National Meeting, Fireman's Fund Executive General Adjusters, August 1999. "Building a Claim File to Comply with the Unfair Claims Practices Act", Kansas Fair Plan, April, 1999; Workshop and Case Studies, Fire and Property Law, Kansas City Property Claim Managers Association, November, 1998; "Building a File for the Defense of Arson on a Fire Insurance Claim", Kansas Fair Plan, March, 1998; Kansas City Property Claims Managers Association, Update Fire Insurance Cases, Missouri and Kansas, October, 1997; Instructor: Preparation and Prosecution of Arson Trials for Prosecutors, Kansas City Arson Task Force, August, 1995.

AARON J. RACINE - Born St. Louis, Missouri, August 2, 1970; admitted to bar, 1996, Missouri, U.S. District Court for Western District of Missouri; 1997, Kansas, Illinois, U.S. District Court for Kansas.

Education - Stanford University (B.A., with honors, 1993); University of Melbourne, Australia Faculty of Law, University of Illinois College of Law (J.D., 1996); Theta Xi.

Languages - German

Member - The Missouri Bar; Kansas Bar Association; Illinois State Bar Association; Kansas City Metropolitan Bar Association; Bar Association of Metropolitan St. Louis; Foundation for Center Education (Director).

DAVID L. BARBER - Born Kansas City, Kansas, May 3, 1954; admitted to bar, 1980, Kansas; 1982, Missouri.
Education - University of Kansas (B.A., 1976); Washburn University (J.D., with honors, 1980); Georgetown University (LL.M. in Taxation, 1982).

Member - Kansas Bar Association; The Missouri Bar. Board of Editors, Washburn Law Journal, 1979-1980. Author: "Rule Against Perpetuities in Kansas," 19 Washburn Law Journal 284, 1980. Formerly served as Co-Chairman of Heart of America Tax Institute, President of Spencer Museum Friends of the Art Museum, and President of the Carriage Club.
Currently Serving as Consular Representative of Belgium


DANIEL H. BOWERS - Born Macomb, Illinois, August 6, 1959; Admitted to Missouri Bar, 1986.
Education - The University of Kansas, Lawrence, Kansas (B.S., 1982); (J.D., 1985).

Profesional and Community Memberships - The Missouri Bar (Family Law Section); American Bar Association (Family Law Section); Kansas City Metropolitan Bar Association (Family Law Committee, Former Chair; Lawyers For Children Public Service Committee); American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers (Treasurer, Missouri Chapter); Legal Aid of Western Missouri (Volunteer Attorney Project); Association for Women Lawyers; Circuit Court of Jackson County

Committees - Family Court Case Management Committee, 2000-2001; Family Court Liaison Committee; Parenting Education Program for Divorced Parents (FOCIS), 1995. St. Elizabeth School Board (Former President); St. Elizabeth Athletic Association; Troop Committee Member, Boy Scout Troop 16; William Jewell Fine Arts Program - Second Generation.
Author and Speaking Engagements - "Family Law for Paralegals," August, 2006; Legislative Update, KCMBA, 2004; "Hot Topics in Child Support and Custody", University of Missouri - Columbia, 1998; Recent Missouri Trends in Spousal Maintenance, (KCMBA), 1997; "Difficult Issues in Missouri Dissolution Proceedings", Kansas City Metropolitan Bar Association (KCMBA), 1996; "Evidentiary Issues in Family Court Proceedings, KCMBA, 1996; "Psychological Assessment in Custody Cases", University of Missouri-Columbia, 1996; Contributing Author, "Family Court Handbook", KCMBA Young Lawyer's Section, 1996; "Time Requirements for Family Court Cases in Jackson County", KCMBA, 1995; "Recent Cases and Developments in Family Law-1991" Missouri Bar, 1991; "Qualified Domestic Relations Orders", Missouri Bar, 1990. Frequent speaker at High School and Community Educational Programs on Legal - Related topics.

RUSSELL L. POWELL - born April 21, 1970 in Benton, Arkansas; admitted to the bar, 1998, Missouri, U.S. District Court for the Western District of Missouri, 1999 Kansas, U.S. District Court of Kansas, 2004, Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals.

Education - University of Oregon (B.A. 1992); University of Arkansas (J.D. 1998).

Member - Association of Trial Lawyers of America, Missouri Association of Trial Attorneys, The Missouri Bar, Kansas City Metropolitan Bar Association (Chairman, Ross T. Roberts Inn of Court, Board of Directors KCMBA Young Lawyers Section), Committee for County Progress (Board of Directors and Executive Committee Member).
Awards - The Kansas City Business Journal Best of the Bar 2004, 2006.

DENNIS J. BONNER - Born Springfield, Missouri March 14, 1964; admitted to bar 2003, Missouri, U.S. District Court for Western District of Missouri; 2003, U.S. District Court of Kansas, 2007.

Education - University of Missouri-Kansas City (B.A. History, 1992; M.P.A. 1994; J.D. 2001).

Member - Missouri House of Representatives, 1995-2003, Chairman Appropriations-General Administration 2001-03. Vice-Chairman Commerce 1996-2001; Missouri State Democratic Committeeman (District 11) 1994-1996; Charter Board Member, Northwest Communities Development Corporation, 1997-2001; Independence Masonic Lodge #76; The Missouri Bar; Kansas City Metropolitan Bar Association.

PATRICK M. REIDY - Born Roscrea, Ireland, December 23, 1953; admitted to bar, 1978, Wisconsin; 1980, Missouri; U.S. District Court, Western District of Missouri; U.S. District Court, District of Kansas; U.S. Court of Appeals, 8th and 10th Circuits.

Education - University of Notre Dame, B.A. 1975; University of Denver (J.D. 1978).

Member - The Missouri Bar; past president - Rockhurst High School Alumni Association; past president - Notre Dame Club of Kansas City; past president - St. Thomas More Home and School Association.

JOE L. RAMBOLDT - Born in and native of Lake of the Ozarks, MO; admitted to Missouri and Kansas Bar, admitted to the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Missouri and the U.S. District Court of Kansas.

Education - Loyola University-New Orleans, B.A.; University of Missouri-Kansas City (J.D.).

Member - The Missouri Bar; Kansas City Metropolitan Bar Association; Kansas Bar Association; Association of Trial Lawyers of America; National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers.

Author and Speaking Engagements - Bad Faith Litigation in Kansas, National Business Institute 2005; Liability in the Personal Training Industry, Pinnacle Career Institute 2006.


ANTHONY F. PORTO, III - Born Kansas City, Missouri, June 20, 1976; admitted to bar, 2002, Missouri; admitted to U.S. District Court for the District of Kansas.
Education - University of Missouri - Kansas City, J.D., 2002; Creighton University, B.A., 1998, honors.
Member - The Missouri Bar, The Kansas City Metropolitan Bar Association


MIKE H. TALBOY - Born Boise, Idaho on August 2, 1977; admitted to bar, 2002, Missouri.
Education - University of Missouri - Kansas City (B.A. Communications, 2000, J.D. 2002).
Member - Missouri House of Representatives-District 37, the Missouri Bar and Missouri Association of Trial Attorneys. He also is a member of the Board of Directors for the Kansas/Western Missouri chapter of the ACLU and is a member of the Committee for County Progress (Jackson Co) where he served on the Board of Directors.

KIRBY L. MINOR - Born in St. Joseph, Missouri, September 10, 1971; admitted to the bar, 2006, Missouri ; admitted to the bar of the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Missouri; admitted to the U.S. District Court for the District of Kansas

Education-University of Missouri-Kansas City (B.S. in Political Science); UMKC School of Law (J.D., 2004); Student Representative of UMKC Law School Information Technology Task Force; Languages-Japanese (Sankyu)

Memberhip-The Missouri Bar, American Bar Association, ABA Tort, Trial, and Insurance Practice Section, President of the U.S.-Japan Judo & Culture Exchange Program (current), Member of the Japan Exchange Teaching Program Alumni Association, Japan Exchange Teaching Program Member, Tochigi Prefecture, 1998-2001, Member of the U.S. High School Judo Team 1987-88, U.S. Judo Member-Sandan, Judo Black Belt Association-Sandan.

BRETT J. SHIRK - Born November 13, 1967, in Storm Lake, Iowa. Admitted to the Bar, 2007, Missouri, U.S. District Court for the Western District of Missouri.

Education- Northwest Missouri State University (B.S. 1990); Northwest Missouri State University (M.A. 1992); University of Memphis (Post-Graduate Studies in Political Science, History, and Journalism, 1994-1998); Washburn University School of Law (J.D. 2005).

Membership- Missouri Bar Association, Kansas City Metropolitan Bar Association, Missouri Association of Criminal Defense Attorneys, Former Executive Director of ACLU of Kansas and Western Missouri (current member), Greater Kansas City Democracy for America.

Awards/Activities - "Best of Kansas City - People" (The Pitch, 2006); General Counsel, Greater Kansas City Democracy For America; "Most Distinguished Masters Degree Thesis Award - 1992 (Northwest Missouri State University).