SENIOR ASSOCIATE ATTORNEY
Family Law & Civil Litigation | Kansas City Metro | Full-Time, In-Office
About Us
Founded in 1998 by William H. "Bud" Reynolds, The Reynolds Law Firm is an award-winning Kansas City boutique handling complex family law and civil litigation across Missouri and Kansas. A single core philosophy defines us: we teach our clients to respond rather than react. By focusing on deliberate, goal-oriented decisions over emotional reactions, we consistently deliver better legal outcomes and serve as a calming presence during our clients' most difficult chapters. On September 1, 2026, we are moving our primary operations to a new Class A office at 4001 W. 114th Street, Leawood, Kansas, while maintaining an appointment-only space in Kansas City, Missouri on the Country Club Plaza.
About the Role
We are hiring our next Senior Associate. This is a career role — not a stop on the way to somewhere else.
You will work directly with Bud on high-net-worth family law matters and significant civil litigation files. Over time, you will become the day-to-day point of contact for many of those clients, with Bud setting strategy and remaining in the chair for trial. The firm is building toward a team of five attorneys and five support staff. The associate we hire today will be the senior trial lawyer at that firm tomorrow.
This is not a paper-pushing seat. On day one, you will have active cases, conduct depositions, examine witnesses, lead mediations, and try cases. You will be supported by paralegals, attorney colleagues, and a managing partner who is available to help set strategy.
What You Will Own
- Lead Case Representation: Day-to-day handling of high-net-worth family law matters (divorce, custody, modifications, paternity, premarital agreements) under the managing attorney's strategic direction.
- Complex Asset Management: Asset characterization and division involving closely-held businesses, real estate portfolios, executive compensation, and multi-entity estates, including negotiating business operations during pendency.
- Civil Litigation Files: Carrying a meaningful share of our civil practice (approximately one-third of the firm's work), focusing on personal injuriy, small business contract disputes and real estate matters.
- Courtroom Advocacy: Running depositions, motions practice, mediations, settlement conferences, and trials. Bud will second-chair you when it makes sense and stay out of your way when it doesn't.
- Drafting & Review: Producing pleadings, motions, discovery, and agreements.
- Client Counseling: Providing steady, calm, candid guidance. You will be responsible for telling clients what they need to hear, not what they want to hear, during highly consequential life chapters.
- Mentoring & Supervision: Providing strategic oversight of paralegal work product and coaching younger associate attorneys on matters of varying complexity.
Who You Are
- Experienced & Licensed: Minimum of 7 years of substantive litigation experience (family law strongly preferred; civil litigation is a real plus). Admitted in Missouri and Kansas, or willing to seek dual admission within the first 90 days.
- Pedigreed: A history of carrying real weight at prior firms, not just a credentials-only résumé. Prior exposure to business valuation or transactional work is a meaningful bonus.
- Emotionally & Intellectually Agile (High EQ/IQ): You have the empathy to sit with people in their hardest moments and help them see clearly, combined with the rigorous intellect to master legal nuances and grind until you have the right answer.
- Curious: You want to figure things out. You seek to educate yourself before asking for help, but you ask questions to clarify your thought processes because you would rather be right than be done.
- Quietly Confident: You hold the line for client objectives without performative dominance. You are respected for aptitude, not attitude, and can remain calm in a room full of people who aren't.
- Philosophically Aligned: The "respond-versus-react" framework is not a slogan to you; it is how you naturally advocate, counsel, and operate within a team.
- Upwardly Mobile: You are not satisfied with your current station. You are driven to grow into a senior trial attorney and, in time, into a firm leadership role.
Note: No portable book of business is required; we hire for capability and character, not portable revenue.
What We Offer
- Compensation: Base salary of $125,000 to $175,000 (commensurate with experience), plus origination and performance-based bonuses.
- Benefits: Comprehensive health, dental, and vision coverage, short- and long-term disability, life insurance, and a 401(k) plan.
- Mentorship: Direct, sustained access to a managing attorney with 30 years of trial, high-net-worth, and closely-held business experience, and civil litigation experience.
- Caseload Quality: An intake process calibrated to ensure we represent coachable, responsive clients. We do not take work just for the sake of work.
- Support Infrastructure: Dedicated support from two elite paralegals (20+ years of experience each), a legal administrative assistant to handle scheduling and logistics, and a modern tech stack (Clio, Westlaw, Slack, Vincent AI, Claude, etc.) so you can focus on practicing law.
How to Apply
Submit the following to Nicole Bechard, at [email protected]:
- A current PDF résumé.
- A PDF cover letter tailored, in your own words, to answer the following three (3) questions:
- Tell us about a case or client objective where you held the line when it would have been easier to concede. What did you do, what did it cost, and what did you learn?
- What does "respond, not react" mean to you as an advocate for a client in the most emotional chapter of their life? Where have you seen this distinction make a practical difference?
- Why this position at this law firm? What makes you confident that we are the right employer and you are the right fit for this seat?
Applications that are not sent to Nicole as specified above, including a PDF of both your resume and the job-specific cover letter that addresses the three questions, will not be considered.
Equal Opportunity
The Reynolds Law Firm, LLC is an equal opportunity employer. We do not discriminate based on race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, age, disability, veteran status, or any other status protected by applicable law. We are committed to building a team that reflects a diverse range of backgrounds, experiences, and perspectives.
Pay: $125,000.00 - $175,000.00 per year
Benefits:
- 401(k)
- 401(k) matching
- Dental insurance
- Health insurance
- Life insurance
- Paid time off
- Retirement plan
- Vision insurance
Work Location: In person
