Family Law

• Divorce
• Child Support
  The Employee Benefits practice with respect to welfare benefit plans involves a broad and diverse range of issues. At Foulston Siefkin, we assist employers, plan administrators, and service providers with the design, implementation and maintenance of various health and welfare benefit programs including flexible benefit (“cafeteria”) plans under Section 125, medical plans, disability plans, life insurance plans, health care flexible spending plans, dependent care flexible spending plans, educational assistance plans, transportation/parking expense plans, severance plans and items for reductions in force situations. We also have considerable experience in assisting our clients in operational issues related to welfare benefit plans such as COBRA health care continuation issues, the tax implications of fringe benefits, the use of funding vehicles for welfare plans, compliance with the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (“HIPAA”), coordination of benefits issues, qualified medical child support orders, compliance with the Mental Health Parity Act, issues, and compliance with the various laws and regulations prohibiting discrimination as they relate to welfare benefits.
• Adoption
• Premarital Agreement
• Guardianship
  Although a disability can occur at any age, as the average age of our population has continued to rise, so has the frequency of disabilities. Our estate planning department advises our clients on properly and comprehensively planning for a disability which may leave them with insufficient mental capacity to manage their property or health needs. In the absence of a then existing estate plan which adequately addresses such circumstance, a judicial guardianship (with regard to personal care) or conservatorship (management of assets) proceeding is likely to be required before any other person or entity (such as a bank or trust company), including a spouse, would possess the legal authority to act on such disabled person’s behalf in their personal care and financial matters. Such proceedings can be quite expensive, typically require an annual fee for posting an insurance bond with respect to the management of the disabled person’s property, are a matter of public record, can create considerable anxiety and divisions among family members in the judicial process required to appoint a guardian or conservator, and demand annual accountings and reports to the court regarding the appointed guardian’s and conservator’s exercise of their duties.
• Spousal Support
  We unquestionably live in an increasingly litigious society that exposes a person’s assets to the claims of creditors, spouses, tort plaintiffs, and the claims of governmental entities such as state and federal taxing authorities. Our attorneys assist clients in protecting their assets from the claims of creditors and spouses through a variety of estate planning techniques. With respect to protecting their assets from the claims of their spouses, we advise clients with respect to both pre-marital and post-marital agreements to protect against a spousal claim upon a divorce or other dissolution of marriage from a claim for alimony or division of marital property, as well as an inheritance claim following death.

Criminal Law

• Criminal Defense
  We represent clients in federal criminal defense and federal and state civil defense, including actions brought by the United States Attorney, the United States Department of Justice, the State Attorney General, and local district attorneys. Where possible, we negotiate pre-trial resolutions of charges filed by agencies such as the SEC and FDA and if necessary aggressively defend clients in litigation involved with Federal and State investigations involving the False Claims Act, Alien Tort Claims Act, The USA Patriot Act, wire and mail fraud, theft of trade secrets, and private securities class action suits. We routinely represent the aerospace, health care, oil and gas, financial, higher education, government entities and public officials, and other industries in defending against investigations and prosecutions by government agencies and attorneys, such as the Department of Justice (DOJ) (both Washington, D.C. and the U.S. Attorney); the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI); various Offices of Inspector General (OIG); Defense Contract Administration Services (DCAS) and Defense Criminal Investigative Service (DCIS); the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA); the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA); and the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) (Special Agents).
• Fraud
  Defense counsel in successful 1998 trial and subsequent appeal in Koch, et al. v. Koch Industries, Inc., 203 F.2d 1202 (10th Cir. 2000) (claims for more than $1 billion in damages for alleged breach of contract, breach of fiduciary duty, and securities fraud).
• White Collar Crimes
• Theft
• Embezzlement
• Identity Theft
  Advising clients on data privacy and security laws and regulations in regulated industries and practices, including the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act, USA Patriot Act, Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA), the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act, and the Federal Trade Commission’s (FTC) Identity Theft Red Flag Rules and other federal and state laws.
• Restraining Order
  Located in Wichita, Kansas City, and Topeka, Foulston Siefkin’s attorneys have extensive experience in local, state, and federal trial and appellate courts, as well as in many types of administrative and specialty proceedings. They are equally adept at providing strategic litigation-avoidance counsel and negotiating favorable out-of-court resolutions through alternative dispute resolution. The practice is known for its rapid response to emergency litigation, such as obtaining or defending against restraining orders and injunctions; its robust e-discovery capabilities; and the ability to draft and argue persuasive motions.
• Money Laundering

Business and Corporate Law

• Corporate Law
  The diverse challenges in this area are met by lawyers experienced in software and technology law, intellectual property, corporate law, telecommunications, taxation, employment law, antitrust and complex litigation. Two examples illustrate part of what we do...
• Mergers and Acquisitions
  Foulston Siefkin attorneys have the experience and specialized knowledge to understand the related issues to help clients comply with federal and state laws on workplace safety and health. By choosing Foulston Siefkin, a full service law firm, clients will have access to attorneys with extensive OSHA experience along with other attorneys across several related practice areas including agribusiness, litigation, construction, employment and labor, environmental law, mergers and acquisitions, and energy.
• Business Formation
  From idea through entity selection and business formation to intellectual property, employment agreements and policies and real estate decisions, our lawyers understand the steps necessary to help a startup succeed. Later-stage matters might include private equity and debt financing, negotiating strategic partnerships, supply chain management and contracts, mergers and acquisitions, public offerings, private placement of securities, and management succession planning. All along the way, Foulston’s team can help a young company or entrepreneur navigate a sometimes-rocky path.
• Business Disputes
• Business Transactions
  Second, Foulston Siefkin has direct experience in e-Business. In addition to the use of cutting-edge litigation software and electronic document generation for use in business transactions, Foulston Siefkin’s in-house staff has developed and used a secured intra- and extranet in a nationwide class action that allows clients and supporting counsel across the country to view information and documents and contribute their information and documents in an on-line database. This gives us insight into the problems and pitfalls faced by businesses as they exploit these interesting technologies.
• Limited Liability Companies
  There is hardly any estate planning task that is more emotion-laden and complex than succession planning in the passing of family farms and other businesses to family members both during lifetime and at death. It involves the use of extensive and creative estate planning and business planning techniques that ensure continuity of the business enterprise in a manner that is efficient, preclude unwanted individuals or parties from participating in the farm or business decisions, and achieve other estate planning goals and maintain family harmony in the process. Our attorneys are quite knowledgeable and highly experienced in this area. Frequently, entities such as limited liability companies, buy/sell agreements, and mediation and arbitration provisions are essential components of this process.
• Construction Contracts
• Trade Secrets
• Intellectual Property
  Litigating cases involving intellectual property infringement and information and data misappropriation suits, including obtaining preliminary and permanent injunctions.
• Unfair Competition
  The firm’s antitrust lawyers represent clients in administrative matters involving the statutes and regulations enforced by the Federal Trade Commission. These include consumer protection laws and Section 5 of the Federal Trade Commission Act, which prohibits unfair and deceptive trade and advertising practices and unfair competition.
• Antitrust
  The Foulston Siefkin antitrust practice embraces the legal issues that arise when businesses compete or agree not to compete. Foulston handles a full range of antitrust and trade regulation matters, including civil litigation and counseling on mergers, joint ventures, distribution and franchising issues, and premerger notification.

Employment Law

• Workers Compensation
  Employment and Labor Affirmative action plans; employee relations; employee benefits, Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA); employment contracts and non-compete agreements; employment discrimination defense; immigration; National Labor Relations Board representation; organized labor; Occupational Safety and Health Administration(OSHA); wage and hour; and workers compensation.
• Wrongful Termination
  Plaintiff’s counsel in trial of wrongful termination claim for corporate president, resulting in substantial actual and punitive damage award.
• Employment Discrimination
  Foulston Siefkin attorneys also regularly represent employers in state and federal court litigation, generally involving allegations of employment discrimination. These suits have included defending both individual and class actions.
• Employment Contract
  Preparing employment agreements and policies, including Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) policies and other issues related to employee-supplied smartphones and tablets.
• Employment Litigation
  Advising clients on employment issues regarding employee data privacy, including nondisclosure of confidential and proprietary information and competitive intelligence and trade secrets.
• Non-compete Agreement
• Severance Agreement

Property Law

• Real Estate Litigation
  Decarbonizing Buildings to Combat Climate Change:Part of Your Commercial Real Estate Law Practice?-The ACREL Papers, The American College of Real Estate Lawyers, Fall 2022
• Premises Liability
• Construction Litigation
  The firm’s Construction Practice Group offers a full range of advisory, transactional, and litigation services to contractors, subcontractors, architects, design professionals, builders, suppliers, public institutions, company owners, and project managers. The practice, one of the largest and most comprehensive in Kansas, has earned a national reputation for excellence and a place among the first-tier firms for construction law as ranked by
• Real Estate Transactions
  Foulston real estate attorneys understand both the multidisciplinary and local business nature of real estate transactions. We regularly represent clients in acquisitions and dispositions, financing, development, land use, leasing, restructuring, and environmental matters in Kansas, Missouri, and across the United States. Our real estate attorneys advise and assist capital investors, developers, owners, lenders and other participants in a broad range of industries, including: agribusiness, construction, energy, health and senior care, retail, housing, education, and hotels & hospitality.
• Eminent Domain
  Our attorneys have litigated a range of issues involving Native American tribes and tribal members in both tribal and federal courts. We are currently handling a complex matter involving contract, eminent domain, and federal administrative issues. We have also had significant involvement in tribal water rights (called federally “reserved water rights” or “Winters Doctrine” water rights). Our attorneys have also defended product liability, medical malpractice, and personal injury cases in tribal courts.
• Easement
• Land Use and Zoning
  Trends, Forecast and Unique Topics in Large Scale Rural Solar and Wind Land Use Planning and Approvals, with Steve Romine (American College of Real Estate Lawyers (ACREL) Land Use and Environmental Committee)
• Property Damage
  We have represented businesses, agriculture, trustees and other individuals in a variety of toxic tort and property damage litigation, ranging from "sick building" cases to the defense of environmental property damage class actions.

Immigration Law

• Student Visas

Health Law

• Personal Injury
  Arbitration involves a hearing before one or more non-judges that results in a binding decision which may be judicially enforced. Less formal than court proceedings, arbitration is often quicker and more cost effective. Our lawyers have represented clients in arbitration in a wide variety of matters including business transactions and business torts, commercial disputes, employment controversies, insurance disputes, personal injury cases, securities disputes, aviation matters, computer law disputes, construction projects, and e-commerce matters.
• Medical Malpractice
  Healthcare Law Regulatory and corporate compliance programs; anti-kickback; electronic health records; EMTALA; fraud and abuse; government investigations; HIPAA Privacy and Security; licensing, accreditation, and certification; managed care; medical malpractice; peer review and risk management; professional liability defense; reimbursement; and Stark law.
• Medicaid Planning
• Disability Discrimination
  Foulston Siefkin's Employment and Labor lawyers advise and represent employers in the full range of issues arising from the employment relationship. The firm's diverse clientele includes private and public sector employers of all sizes, from Fortune 500 companies to small businesses and non-profit organizations. Our lawyers regularly defend wrongful and retaliatory discharge claims and race, age, gender, and disability discrimination claims at the administrative level and in state and federal court. We assist employers with OSHA investigations and citations, Department of Labor audits, and wage claims under state and federal wage and hour laws.

Trusts and Estates

• Estate Planning
  Foulston Siefkin estate planning attorneys at our three offices in Wichita, Topeka, and Kansas City handle the entire breadth of estate planning, probate and trust services.
• Wills
  Finally, we advise clients on provisions in Living Wills to incorporate their wishes should they wish to have no health care applied or medically assisted nutrition or hydration in the event they are unable to competently make that decision themselves and their health has deteriorated to where they have no quality of life from their particular perspective, e.g., terminally ill with no hope of improvement, a persistent vegetative state (PVS) or permanent coma, and even should they desire, a dementia or Alzheimer’s condition in which they consistently fail to recognize family or friends. Individuals in such conditions often desire to execute a Do Not Resuscitate (DNR) directive should they be in such a condition.
• Trusts
  Generally speaking, such techniques minimize taxation by avoiding capital gain on property contributed to charities, deferring income taxation on property contributed to charitable trusts, and leverage income, gift and charitable deductions. By reducing the actual “after tax cost” of charitable gifts by virtue of such tax benefits, the net effect is that the government is indirectly contributing part of the gift to charities. And because the “after tax cost” of the gift to the donor is less, the donor may choose to increase the amount of gifts the donor might have otherwise made.
• Power of Attorney
  To avoid such undesirable and costly consequences, our attorneys assist clients in planning for such an eventuality through a revocable trust or Durable Power of Attorney for Financial Decisions, appointing a Trustee of the Revocable Trust and Financial Agent, respectively, to attend to property matters on the disabled person’s behalf, and a health care agent under a Durable Power of Attorney for Health Care to act on such disabled person’s behalf with respect to personal care decisions. When comprehensively drafted to cover the financial and personal circumstances which might arise with respect to such disabled persons, such instruments ensure persons or parties of our clients’ choosing are legally authorized and entrusted with the management of their property and proper health care needs in the event of their disability without having to resort to the courts to secure such authority or having their actions subject to on-going and costly judicial supervision.
• Probate

Finance Law

• Bankruptcy
• Foreclosure
  Our practice group represents lenders and borrowers in out-of-court workouts and restructures of problem credits and represents lenders in receivership and foreclosure actions. We also represent clients in the acquisition and sale of assets of troubled companies in bankruptcy and receiverships.
• Tax Law
  Represented, as lead counsel, the purchaser, MV Pipelines, LLC, of PostRock KPC Pipeline LLC, a 1,120-mile interstate pipeline that carries natural gas from northern Oklahoma and western Kansas to Wichita and Kansas City. The firm’s role included negotiation and preparation of letters of intent, stock purchase and related transaction documents, business tax issues and a broad range of general corporate matters.