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Top-Rated
Law Firm in KC
Collected Over
$1.5 Billion for our clients
Trusted By
40,000+ Clients

Kenneth B. McClain

Kenneth B. McClain

Partner Attorney
Kenneth B. McClain is a nationally known personal injury trial lawyer and shareholder in the Independence, Missouri law firm of Humphrey, Farrington & McClain. In a career that has spanned more than 30 years, he has tried many high-profile cases and won numerous multi-million dollar verdicts several of which have made the National Law Journal’s annual Top 100 Verdicts list. Mr. McClain’s total amount of awarded verdicts and negotiated settlements since 1986 exceed $1 billion.

Mr. McClain has pioneered litigation against asbestos suppliers, the tobacco industry and artificial butter flavoring manufacturers and suppliers in the microwave popcorn industry. He has won verdicts totaling more than $100 million for several workers at microwave popcorn factories who were exposed to diacetyl, a chemical used to make the butter flavoring, and suffered debilitating lung diseases.

In 2016, a jury in Springfield, MO awarded one of Mr. McClain’s clients $20.6 million in damages after she developed an autoimmune disorder from exposure to a toxic chemical that had been dumped on land near her home by a Missouri ball bearings manufacturer. He also secured a landmark settlement in a wrongful death lawsuit by the family of a Maryland college football player who died from concussion-related injuries. The $1.2 million settlement reached with the college, NCAA and two helmet manufacturers contained significant non-monetary provisions aimed at reducing the occurrence of concussions among college athletes.

Most recently, Mr. McClain won a $60 million verdict in New York for a husband and wife business ownership team in a breach of contract case against HMS Holdings Corp.

Highlights

2017: $60 million – Demetre v. HMS Holdings Corp.
2016: $20.6 million – Missouri Lawyers Weekly
2013: $28 million – Missouri Lawyers Weekly
2010: $32.25 million – Missouri Lawyers Weekly
2010: $30.4 million – Missouri Lawyers Weekly & Verdict Search
2009: $7.9 million – Verdict Search
2008: $15 million – Missouri Lawyers Weekly
2005: $15 million; $15 million (2) – Missouri Lawyers Weekly Top 100 Verdicts Top 100 Verdicts
2005: $22 million – Missouri Lawyers Weekly Top 100 Verdicts
2004: $20 million – Missouri Lawyers Weekly Top 100 Verdicts
2002: $15 million – Missouri Lawyers Weekly
2000: $90 million – The National Law Journal
1993: $19.7 million – The National Law Journal
1991: $14.25 million – The National Law Journal
2016 Top Plaintiff Verdict – Missouri Lawyers Weekly and National Law Journal
2013 Top Plaintiff Verdict – Missouri Lawyers Weekly
2010 Top Plaintiff Verdict – Missouri Lawyers Weekly
2005 Missouri Lawyer of the Year – Missouri Lawyers Weekly
“Best of the Bar” – Kansas City Business Journal
“Best Lawyers in America” – U.S. News and World Report
“Best Lawyers in Kansas City” – Ingram’s
Martindale/Hubbell Rating: AV
Missouri, 1982
U.S. Federal Courts, 1982
U.S. District Court Western District of Missouri
U.S. District Court District of Kansas
U.S. District Court Eastern District of Wisconsin
U.S. District Court District of Arizona
U.S. District Court District of Colorado
U.S. Court of Appeals 4th Circuit
U.S. Court of Appeals 7th Circuit
U.S. Court of Appeals 8th Circuit
U.S. Court of Appeals 9th Circuit
U.S. Court of Appeals 10th Circuit
Supreme Court of Missouri
Supreme Court of the United States of America
2018 – The Ingram’s 250
2017 – The Ingram’s 250
2017 – Harry S. Truman Award, Jackson County (MO) Democratic Committee
2017 – Power 100, Kansas City Business Journal
2016 – The Ingrams’s 250
2016 – Distinguished Non-Alumnus Award, University of Missouri School of Law
2016 – Power 100, Kansas City Business Journal
2015 – Power 100, Kansas City Business Journal
2014 – Power 100, Kansas City Business Journal
2012 – Lung Advocate Award, American Lung Association
2012 – Founder’s Award, Salvation Army
2010 – The Pitch’s Best Developer for work on reviving Independence Square, The Pitch
2009 – Cultural Arts Coalition of Eastern Jackson County, Kenneth B. McClain for Outstanding Cultural Development in Independence, Missouri
2007 – Citizen of the Year, Truman Heartland Foundation
2006 – Community Service Award Distinguished Service Award, Independence Chamber of Commerce
2005 – Lawyer of the Year, Missouri Lawyers Weekly
2004 – Distinguished Service Award, Graceland University Alumni Board of Directors
2003 – Hometown Hero’s Award – Revitalizing Independence Square, Jackson County Historical Society
1999 – Community Service Award Distinguishing Service Award, Independence Chamber of Commerce
The University of Michigan Law School, Ann Arbor, Michigan

J.D. – 1982
Editor, Journal of Law Reform

Graceland College, Lamoni, Iowa

B.A., Bachelor of Arts magna cum laude