Daniel C Estes

Daniel Estes is a Kansas City based attorney advising and representing clients in critical business and personal transactions. At the core of his legal practice, he assists clients with the deals and contracts that often are the most important of their lives. Whether it is starting the business they have dreamed of or building their dream home, Daniel has built his near-solo legal practice with the core value of deliver great value to his clients.

Experience

For over 20 years, Daniel has represented clients in high-stakes litigation involving nearly every aspect of business. During that time, he became a partner in long-standing Kansas law that defended the clients of insurance companies and had primary responsibility for a wide range of lawsuits: auto accidents, catastrophic personal injury, employment, discrimination, contract, trademark & copyright, property damage and construction defects. Having started in the appellate public defender office out of law school, he has briefed and argued dozens of appellate cases. The majority of those cases were before the Kansas Court of Appeals, but he has also argued cases before the Kansas Supreme Court, the Missouri Court of Appeals and the 10th Circuit and 8th Circuit Courts of Appeals.

Almost 5 years ago, he left the law firm to start a small private practice with the flexibility to provide greater value to clients and freedom to represent plaintiffs in lawsuits. Leveraging his expertise in the areas of construction defect law and contract litigation, he partnered with another attorney and successfully represented homeowners, commercial building owners, and condominium community owners in suits seeks millions of dollars of damages. Working directly with clients on a shared goal developed in collaboration together and building personal relationships with clients has proven the desire to deliver greater value to more people.

Daniel has also served as corporate counsel in an outside-counsel capacity for Systemair MFG – a ventilation equipment manufacturer – for several years, providing a wide array of contract and transactional legal services. His transactional services has included simple contract drafting, business formation, trademark and copyright, business divorce, meters, acquisitions, assets sales, private placement advising and corporate governance. As corporate counsel, he provides guidance on risk assessment and mitigation for business owners appropriate to allow businesses to take smart risks in pursuant to greater opportunities.

Education

Daniel graduated from the University of Kanas Law School receiving his J.D. in 1999 where he focused on complex litigation and served on the Kansas Law Review and enjoyed an internship with the United States Attorney’s office in Topeka, Kansas. He received his undergraduate degrees also from the University of Kansas, earning a B.A. with honors in political science and a B.A. in communications in 1996.

Admissions

Kansas – 1999

Missouri – 2001

U.S. District Court for the District of Kansas

U.S. District Court of the Western District of Missouri

U.S. District Court of the Eastern District of Missouri

U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, 10th Circuit and 8th Circuit

Personal

Daniel is married to an attorney and together they have two children that fill all of their non-billable hours with dance and music lessons or school projects. After visiting for the first time in 2010, he became enamored with the Hawaiian islands reading about the history of the people, culture, food and music – going so far as to introduce friends to the true joy of huli-huli chicken. In 2020, the pandemic meant that he took on the role of lead substitute-teacher for his children, not a natural role, but one he could take on from home and still manage his law practice with the many virtual office management tools he has used for years.

Goals

Private, solo, law practice has been a rewarding challenge, but also brought into greater focus the ways in which the practice of law is not typically designed for personal or family enrichment. Law firms, opposing counsel and courts often force contentious attorneys into untenable positions of choosing between family, personal or business enrichment, improving service, finding alternative dispute resolutions and zealous advocacy in court without much regard to the consequences. Daniel wants to build a law practice that radically improve the service and value to clients without compromising her personal goals around raising his children and being present for his family. He hopes to be in a position to “retire” or transition out of the courtroom by providing high-value services to clients in more creative ventures from a “remote” location somewhere in the Hawaiian islands where he would like to learn to carve tikis, speak the Hawaiian language and become involved with teaching tourists about local history.