Amanda Pennington Ketchum

Shareholder/Director

aketchum@dysarttaylor.com                      Legal Assistant: Jessica Scheibler
816-714-3066                                                   816-714-3054
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“When she speaks, people listen and respect what she has to say. I think this is why she was such an effective leader of the Council as well as in her firm.”

Bio

Mandy’s practice focuses on a variety of civil litigation ranging from representing trucking companies in catastrophic injury claims and retailers in slip-and-fall claims to helping professionals navigate a malpractice claim. Using her extensive experience, she meticulously investigates accidents and works with clients to strategically litigate cases through trial.

Mandy served as the firm’s managing director from 2015 through 2021 – far longer than any other director in the firm’s history. In her role, she successfully focused her efforts on a diversity initiative within the firm but her diversity efforts extend beyond the firm and into the community. She serves on the Missouri Bar Board of Governors and is Vice-Chair of the Tort and Transportation Law Committee of the Missouri Bar. Mandy serves as Chair of the USLAW NETWORK, and she is a member of that organization’s Diversity Council. She serves as the Secretary of the Association for Women Lawyers Foundation. In addition, Mandy is highly involved in various industry groups, including the Transportation Lawyers Association.

 

Experience

  • Successfully co-chaired jury and bench trials leading to verdicts in favor of clients.
  • Obtained dismissal with prejudice of transportation company and its driver following depositions of Plaintiffs, with no monetary payment.
  • Obtained dismissal of restaurant following deposition of Plaintiff alleging food poisoning, with no monetary payment.
  • Obtained new trial on successful motion for new trial following jury trial.
  • Negotiated numerous settlements in wrongful death actions with punitive damage claims on behalf of transportation companies and their drivers.
  • Successfully negotiated settlement of wrongful death claim involving pedestrian for less than medical bills presented.
  • Successfully represented defendants in personal injury claims, including slip-and-fall injuries, wrongful death actions, automobile collisions, and allegations of food-borne illnesses.
  • Successfully represented clients from various professions, including attorneys, architects, and real estate brokers, in the defense of professional liability claims.
  • Successfully represented numerous clients before the EEOC, MCHR and KHRC with regard to unlawful employment practices.
  • Counseled clients regarding noncompete agreements and separation agreements.

Activities

PROFESSIONAL
  • The Missouri Bar
    • Board of Governors, District 12, 2014-present
      • Committee/Division Assessment Committee, Vice-Chair, present
      • Resolutions Committee, present
    • Tort and Transportation Law Committee, Vice-Chair, 2013-2021
    • Special Committee on Lawyers of Color, 2021-2023
    • Young Lawyers Council, 2005-2014
      • Chair, 2012-2013
      • Immediate Past Chair, 2013-2014
    • Appointed by the Missouri Bar President to serve on the Special Committee on Select State Bar Committees
    • Mentor to newly licensed attorneys in the area
  • Association for Women Lawyers of Greater Kansas City
    • Former President, 2016
    • Board of Directors, 2004-2017
    • Former editor of The Link
  • Association for Women Lawyers Foundation
    • ​Board of Directors, 2016-present
    • Secretary, 2019-present
  • USLAW NETWORK
    • Secretary, Women’s Connection, 2023-present
    • Immediate Past Chair, 2023-2024
    • Chair, 2022-2023
    • Vice Chair, 2021-2022
    • Secretary/Treasurer, 2019-2021
    • Executive Committee, 2018-present
    • Board of Directors, 2017-present
    • Board of Directors, Client Liaison Director,
      2017-2019
    • Managing Directors Steering Committee, 2016-2018
    • Diversity Council, 2017-present
  • American Bar Association
  • Delegate of The Missouri Bar
  • Kansas City Metropolitan Bar Association
    • Lawyers Encouraging Academic Performance, Vice President, 2023
    • Lawyers Encouraging Academic Performance, Secretary, 2021
    • Board of Directors, 2017-present
    • Young Lawyers’ Section, Board of Directors,
      2004-2011
    • Strategic Planning Committee, former member
    • Leadership Academy, 2008-2009
  • Supreme Court of Missouri
    • Disciplinary Hearing Officer, 2019-present
  • Visitation Racial Justice Committee
  • Transportation Lawyers Association
  • Former editor of The Addendum, Dysart Taylor’s past newsletter
COMMUNITY
  • Drinks Among Friends, a professional development organization for women lawyers
  • Lawyers Encouraging Academic Performance (LEAP)
    • Vice President, 2023
    • Board of Directors, 2012-present
    • Secretary, 2021-2023
    • Fundraising Chair, 2019-2023
  • Operation Breakthrough
    • Grapeviners member
  • Visitation Parish
    • Volunteer volleyball coach
    • Volunteer basketball coach
    • Racial Justice Committee member
EDUCATION
  • University of Missouri School of Law, J.D., 2001
  • William Jewell College, B.A., magna cum laude, 1998
HONORS
  • The Best Lawyers in America, 2019-present
  • Missouri & Kansas Super Lawyers, 2013-present
  • Top 50 Super Lawyers in Kansas City, 2016-present
  • Top 100 Super Lawyers in Missouri and Kansas, 2014, 2016-present
  • Top 50 Women Super Lawyers in Missouri and Kansas, 2014-present
  • Kansas City Business Journal’s Best of the Bar, 2009-2019
  • Missouri Lawyers Weekly Rising Star, Women’s Justice Awards, 2017
  • Missouri Lawyers Weekly Law Firm Leader, Up & Coming Awards, 2016
  • Kansas City Metropolitan Bar Association’s Distinguished Counselor Award, 2016
  • Missouri Lawyers Weekly’s Up & Coming honoree, 2013
  • Super Lawyers – Missouri & Kansas Rising Stars, 2009-2012
  • Kansas City Metropolitan Bar Association’s Young Lawyer of the Year, 2010
SEMINARS / PUBLICATIONS
  • “How To Make Rain”, USLAW Women’s Connection Business Development Forum, October 2023
  • “Defining Corporate Social Responsibility and the Role That Chief Legal Officers and In-House Counsel Play in Protecting Your Company’s Reputation and Its Future,” Facilitator, USLAW Fall Client Conference, September 2021
  • “Bridging the Wage Gap,” USLAW Women’s Connection, June 2021
  • Defining Corporate Social Responsibility and the Role That General Counsel Play,” USLAW Worldwide Virtual Retreat, October 2020
  • “Women in Law Firm Management: A View from the Managing Partner’s Chair,” USLAW Women’s Connection, June 2018
  • “Identity Crisis: Are You a Retailer or a Manufacturer?” USLAW Retail & Hospitality Law/Complex Tort & Product Liability Exchange, Oct. 2017
  • Mizzou Women’s Law Association Symposium, panelist, April 2017
  • “Cyber Exposure for Law Firms: Recent Trends in Litigation and Insurance Coverage,” USLAW Managing Partners Forum, Feb. 2017
  • “Wrecking Ball: Creating a Crisis for Your Opponent,” USLAW Women’s Connection, June 2016
  • Drinks Among Friends Kansas City Launch and Panel Discussion, moderator, 2015
  • “New Lawyer Challenges,” The Missouri Bar Professionalism Program, University of Missouri-Kansas City School of Law, March 16, 2013
 

 

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Kansas City, MO 64112

Phone: 816.931.2700
Fax: 816.931.7377

  

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