Chris Kopecky

Judge Kopecky holds the highest rating (A-V) a lawyer can hold for competency and integrity, and has done so for more than 25 years (Martindale and Lawyers.com). The Kansas Supreme Court appointed Judge Kopecky to the Municipal Court Judges Education Committee (and later made him the Chair) responsible for the education of judges across the state. Moreover, he was recently elected Northeast Director (KC Metro area) of the Kansas Municipal Judges Association. He has been a professor of law at several schools, including UMKC Law School, and Rockhurst University, where he taught litigation for more than 20 years. He has spoken regularly at continuing legal education seminars for the Kansas Municipal Judges Association, the KC Metropolitan Bar Association and UMKC Law School. He is currently the full-time presiding Municipal Court Judge for the City of Lawrence, Kansas after previously being part-time (Permanent Pro Tem) for the Cities of Overland Park and Olathe. He was also a Judge Pro Tem for Johnson County District Court, Lenexa Municipal Court, Lawrence Municipal Court, Shawnee Municipal Court, Merriam Municipal Court, Roeland Park Municipal Court, and Edgerton Municipal Court, among others. He is past chair of the Municipal Courts Committee of the KCMBA. Mr. Kopecky was recognized as "Best of the Bar" for over a decade by the Kansas City Business Journal, and was also in the first graduating class of the Greater Kansas City Bar Leadership Academy. He has been interviewed and quoted by NBC Action News, Fox 4 News, the Kansas City Star, The KC Business Journal, The KC Small Business Monthly, and Missouri Lawyer's Weekly. He has also been featured on several nationally syndicated call-in radio shows wherein the he took calls from around the country on issues such as whether the BAC should be changed to .05 nationally, and whether cities like Chicago should be allowed to do "E-warrants" for forced blood draws. He received his bachelor's degree from Rockhurst University with a triple major in Economics, Philosophy, and Psychology, and his law degree from Saint Louis University School of Law.