Top Kansas City, MO Employment Lawyers Near You

Kansas City Employment Law Information

Workplace Violence on the Rise

The workplace is increasingly the scene of violence, and employees are suffering injuries and death while on the job and experiencing emotional trauma from witnessing violence at work. Have you been threatened or physically attacked by a coworker? Consult a Kansas City attorney skilled in workplace violence law and find out what legal recourse is available to you.

Workplace Violence Law

Employers have a legal and ethical obligation to ensure the safety of employees, including implementing a plan to secure work facilities from dangerous intruders, securing tools and other objects that could be used a weapons, instituting a system of warnings and alerts when the workplace is threatened, and arranging for the safe removal of injured workers and summoning of medical and police assistance. Where an employer fails to provide and safe workplace, injured workers may bring legal action to recover for pain and suffering and other damages such as lost wages.

Top Questions to Ask When Hiring an Attorney

• How many years have you been practicing law? How long have you practiced law in the local area?
• How many cases similar to mine have you handled in the past?
• What is the likely outcome for my case?

In legal practice, experience matters. An experienced attorney will likely have handled issues similar to yours many, many times. Therefore, after listening to your situation, the attorney should have a reasonable idea of the time line for a case like yours and the likely resolution.

Tips on Approaching an Initial Attorney Consultation

• Use the consultation as a means of gaining a better understanding of your legal situation.
• Ask the attorney how many cases similar to yours he/she has handled. An attorney's experience and knowledge can speak to their expertise (or lack of) in addressing your situation.
• Your attorney should be able to articulate roughly how long a case like yours will take to resolve and what sort of procedures to expect.
• Determine how comfortable you are working with the lawyer and/or law firm.

Types of legal fees:

Bill by the hour: Many attorneys bill by the hour. How much an attorney bills you per hour will vary based on a number of factors. For instance, an attorney's hourly fee may fluctuate based on whether that hour is spent representing you in court or doing research on your case. Attorneys in one practice area may bill you more than attorneys in a different practice area.

Contingent fee: Some lawyers will accept payment via contingent fee. In this arrangement, the lawyer receives a percentage of the total monetary recovery if you win your lawsuit. In sum, the lawyer only gets paid if you win. Contingent fee agreements are limited to specific practice areas in civil law.

Flat fee: For "routine" legal work where the attorney generally knows the amount of time and resources necessary to complete the task, he/she may be willing to bill you a flat fee for services performed.

Common legal terms explained

Affidavit - A sworn written statement made under oath. An affidavit is meant to be a supporting document to the court assisting in the verification of certain facts. An affidavit may or may not require notarization.

Lead Counsel Rated Attorneys

Lead Counsel's objective process independently verifies attorney records, conferring with state bars across the country and conducting annual reviews to confirm that the attorney practices in the legal categories as indicated, possesses a valid bar license, and is eligible to practice in the specific jurisdiction.

Court Locations in Kansas City, MO