John Phillips joined forces with former judges Jay Daugherty and Bob Schieber at the end of 2018 after leaving his active trial practice of over 40 years with the Husch Blackwell law firm. His practice there grew from general litigation to include commercial, class actions, employment and health care including both hospitals and med mal defense work. The latter portion of his litigation career he became well known as one of the most prominent employment litigators in the Midwest. He became a Fellow in the American College of Trial Lawyers in 2003. Starting in 1992, after serving on a specially funded federal court committee to establish mediation procedures in federal courts, he received early training as a mediator and became nationally recognized for his mediation skills and broad subject matter knowledge while maintaining an active trial docket. He became an active member of the national ABA Section of Dispute Resolution, serving on the Council and as Chair in 2012-13 leading the ABA Mediation Conference in Vietnam and Thailand in 2014. He also has been a Distinguished Fellow and Board member of both the International Academy of Mediators and the College of Commercial Arbitrators.

John has conducted in excess of 2,000 mediations in his career in most areas of the law.

• J.D., University of Missouri at Columbia, cum laude, 1971
  - Order of the Coif, Honorary Barrister
• B.S., University of Missouri at Columbia, cum laude, 1968 - Business Administration
• UMKC Peking University Law School, Summer Program, 2000
• UMKC Oxford Summer Program, 1988

ADR TRAINING:

• Co-chair ABA Fifth Annual Arbitration Institute, San Francisco, 2/09
• Faculty - ABA Fourth Annual Arbitration Institute, Los Angeles, 2/08
• Faculty - AAA Arbitration Training Workshop, Kansas City, 2008
• Harvard Negotiation Initiative Institute Fall Learning Program, La Jolla, 11/07
• Faculty - ABA Sixth Mediation Training Institute, San Antonio 2/07 and Philadelphia 2/08
• Faculty - ABA Third Annual Arbitration Training Institute, New York 2/07
• Harvard Negotiation Initiative Institute Summer Learning Program 06/06

• CPR US/China Mediation Training Beijing 10/04

• American Bar Association, Dispute Resolution Section Council Member and Secretary
• Center for Alternative Dispute Resolution at University of Missouri at Columbia, Advisory Director
• Center for Public Resources (CPR)
• Fellow in American College of Trial Lawyers, Member, National Fellowship Committee and State Committee, 2008-present
• Fellow and Member of the Board of International Academy of Mediators
• Fellow in College of Labor & Employment Lawyers
• Fellow in ABA Foundation
• Kansas City Metropolitan Bar Association, Former Chair Managing Partners and ADR Committees
• Missouri Supreme Court, Automation Committee, 1992-1998; ADR Committee 1992-present
• Society for Human Resource Management, former State Council Legislative Affairs Director
• U.S. District Court, Western District of Missouri, Civil Justice Advisory Committee, 1990-1994

The billing rate is $425 per hour for preparation and conducting most mediations. However, the rate is $495 per hour for class action/multiparty cases if the mediation involves 4 or more parties. If the matter does not settle as a result of the mediation, our Mediators will continue to mediate the case by phone as long as there is any possibility mediation can resolve the case. There is no charge for follow up services unless the follow-up sessions are very time consuming and the time results in a settlement. For mediations requiring travel outside of the metropolitan area, any travel time is billed at 1/2 the hourly rate plus reasonable expenses for lodging, food and air. The parties to the case will share all mediation fees and expenses equally, unless otherwise agreed.