Hans was raised in Savannah, Georgia. At age fifteen, he and his family moved to Kentucky to be closer to his mother’s family. Hans majored in finance and minored in philosophy while at the University of Louisville. He worked his way through college while working third-shift part time at United Parcel Service. Quickly promoted several times, by his senior year he had advanced to a full-time position as a financial analyst in United Parcel Service’s Air Group where he analyzed past aircraft fleet maintenance expenditures in order to make projections for the future.

While he certainly enjoyed putting his finance degree to work, Hans had already made plans to attend law school on scholarship. Law school was a natural fit for him and he made the Dean’s list all six semesters while at The Brandeis School of Law at the University of Louisville. During his second year, Hans was selected to be a member of the Brandeis Journal of Family Law. Also in his second year, Hans advanced to the semi-final round of the Pirtle-Washer Oral Advocacy Competition and tied for third with the woman whom he would later marry, Jeri Barclay. During his final year, Hans was selected to represent the law school at the prestigious Kauffman Securities Law Moot Court Competition in New York City. He and his teammate-and still good friend-Shane O’Bryan, made the best showing in the law school’s history by finishing third in the nation. Hans finished law school ranked in the top ten with a grade point average high enough to gain him membership into the nation’s oldest, largest, and most selective all-discipline honor society, The Honor Society of Phi Kappa Phi. Additionally, Hans was asked to join the most prestigious honor society at the Brandeis School of Law, the Brandeis Society.

Following graduation, Hans went to work for the small, well-respected plaintiff personal injury law firm where he had clerked during law school. Just two weeks after receiving his bar results, Hans, and the attorney with whom he worked, successfully tried a two-week medical malpractice case. He was hooked on trial work from that moment forward. Since then, he has been involved in a number of large jury verdicts and settlements, including serving as co-counsel on a $25,700,000 settlement arising out of childhood sexual abuse (this settlement consolidated 243 indivdual lawsuits alleging childhood sexual abuse against the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Louisville and was settled in 2003.  At the time, it was the second largest settlement against a diocese in US History.) To learn more about the case, you can read the Courier Journal Newspaper article here.

At only thirty-years of age, Hans made the decision to start his own firm. The dynamic success of The Poppe Law Firm comes as no surprise to anyone who knows Hans. He is passionate about the work he does and the people and small businesses he represents. Because of this, he chooses to limit his caseload to only twenty cases at any given time. This ensures he can give each of his clients the personal attention they need and deserve.