Professional Profile

Tim's litigation practice focuses on representing corporations and other employers in a wide variety of employment and commercial litigation disputes. He has significant experience defending employers against discrimination, harassment, retaliation and breach of contract claims.

Tim is experienced in all phases of litigation but recognizes that avoiding litigation altogether is often a client's best business option. Tim routinely counsels employers on best practices to avoid litigation and assists clients in matters before the EEOC and various state and local human rights commissions.

As trial counsel, Tim has achieved defense verdicts in bench and jury trials in state and federal courts. Some examples of Tim's work include:

• Befort v. Dep't of Commerce; Tim achieved a complete defense verdict after a federal jury trial on employee's gender-based discrimination and retaliation claims.
• Three Kings Holdings and Cobra Crew v. Six; Tim achieved a complete defense verdict after a state court bench trial on behalf of law enforcement officials on the plaintiffs' claim that a poker-like card game was a game of skill and, therefore, legal.
• Gruenwald v. Maddox; Tim achieved a complete defense verdict after a federal jury trial on behalf of correctional officers accused of violating an inmate's constitutional rights during a physical altercation at a prison.
• Delano Enterprises, Inc. v. Six; Tim successfully defended against a claim for preliminary injunctive relief that would have prevented the Kansas statewide smoking ban from going into effect in Wichita, Kansas.

In addition to his trial work, Tim has authored briefs submitted to the United States Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit, the Kansas Supreme Court and the Kansas Court of Appeals.

Prior to joining Berkowitz Oliver, Tim served as an Assistant Attorney General in the Kansas Attorney General's Office and as an associate at Boies, Schiller & Flexner LLP in New York City and Shook, Hardy & Bacon LLP in Overland Park, Kansas.

Education

• Stanford Law School (J.D., 2004)
  • Public Interest Fellow
  • Stanford Journal of Int'l Law
• The London School of Economics and Political Science (M.Sc., 2001, with merit)
• Oxford University (M.Sc., 2000)
  • Marshall Scholar
• Kansas State University (B.S., 1998, summa cum laude)
  • Truman Scholar
  • Student Body President

Admissions & Qualifications

• Missouri, 2009
• Kansas, 2004
• U.S. District Court, Western District of Missouri
• U.S. District Court, District of Kansas
• U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit

Professional Memberships

• Missouri Bar Association
• Kansas Bar Association

Clerk Experience

• The Honorable Nanette K. Laughrey, United States District Court Judge, Western District of Missouri