Attorney Profiles

Paula was born in Utah and has lived and worked in Missouri for more than 20 years. She graduated from the University of Utah with a degree in Mass Communications/ Broadcast Journalism. After a six-year career as an award-winning television news journalist, Paula moved to Kansas City where she attended the University of Missouri-Kansas City School of Law. Paula received several awards for academic excellence in law school and was a member of the Order of the Coif. Paula was Managing Editor of the UMKC Law Review and staff member of The Urban Lawyer. She also won the John L. Sheridan Appellate Advocacy Award and the Annette Moore Award. Paula's note on a Fourth Amendment search and seizure issue was published in the UMKC Law Review.

Paula began her legal career at a large defense firm where she gained extensive experience defending complex personal injury cases in jurisdictions all over the country. When she joined our law firm, Paula narrowed her focus to defending medical malpractice cases. Paula represents doctors, nurses and hospitals in all manner of claims, including birth injury, surgical error, misdiagnosis, failure to treat, and other forms of alleged negligence. Her cases have touched on a number of health care specialties, including obstetrics and gynecology, anesthesia, neurology, general surgery, neuro-radiology, ophthalmology, orthopedios, nursing, emergency medicine, internal medicine, family practice, pulmonology, neonatology, intensive care, wound care, and other areas.

Paula has both first- and co-chaired numerous medical negligence trials and has also successfully negotiated settlements for her clients. In addition to handling medical malpractice matters, Paula has defended multi-district products liability actions and premises liability lawsuits. Paula also represents individuals in disputes against insurance companies, in indemnification actions, and in personal injury lawsuits. She has experience in both federal and state court practice, as well as appellate practice.

Paula is married. She and her husband have two children, and they reside in Kansas City, Missouri. Paula is active in her church community. She has also served for several years on the Board of Directors of the Lawyers Association of Kansas City (LAKC), a community and professional service group. She served as LAKC's President from 2006 to 2007 and is a past President of the LAKC Foundation.