James R. Orr

Westwood, Kansas
Phone: 913-262-7710
Fax: (913) 262-7896
Email: Contact Me

Areas of Practice

• General Litigation and Appellate Practice
• Corporate and Business Law
• Business Litigation
• Municipal and Public Law
• Planning
• Zoning
• Land Use
• Water Appropriations
• Stormwater Issues
• Development Law
• Family Law
• Asset Division
• Spousal Maintenance
• Child Custudy, Support, and Parenting Issues

Bar Admissions

• Kansas
• Missouri

Education

• University of Kansas School of Law, Lawrence, Kansas, 1981
  Doctor of Jurisprudence
  Honors: National Moot Court Team
  Honors: American Jurisprudence Award for Appellate Practice and Procedure
• University of Kansas, Lawrence, Kansas, 1978
  B.A., With Distinction
  Honors: Member, Phi Beta Kappa
  Honors: Member, Phi Kappa Phi
  Honors: Member, Omicron Delta Kappa
  Honors: Member, Owl Society (Junior Men's Honorary)
  Honors: Sachem Circle (Senior Men's Honorary)
  Major: English
  Major: Economics

Published Works

• Guest Editor, Kansas City Star Newspaper

Representative Cases

• In the Matter of Crane, 39 Kan.App.2d 677, 143 P.3d 87 (2006)

Representative Clients

• City of Westwood Hills, Kansas
• Midwest Office Technology
• Merriam Drainage District
• Beaver Creative Environments, Inc.

Honors and Awards

• National Moot Court Team, University of Kansas, School of Law
• American Jurisprudence Award for Appellate Practice and Procedure, University of Kansas School of Law
• Phi Beta Kappa Honor Society
• Phi Kappa Phi Honor Society
• Omicron Delta Kappa Honor Society.

Past and Current Professional Associations and Memberships

• City Attorney, Westwood Hills, Kansas
• City Attorney, Westwood, Kansas, 1990 - 2008
• District Court of Johnson County , Kansas, 2006
  Special Master
• City of Leawood, Kansas
  Judge Pro Tempore
• Kansas Bar Association
• Missouri Bar Association
• Johnson County Bar Association
• City Attorneys Association of Kansas
• Kansas City Chamber Orchestra
  President and Member, Board of Directors
• Westwood Foundation
  Member, Board of Directors
• House Corporation Board, Phi Kappa Psi Fraternity
  Member, Board of Directors
• PTA
  Vice-President
• Westwood View School
  Legislative Committee Chair
• University of Kansas Alumni Association
  Life Member
• Phi Kappa Psi Fraternity Kansas City Alumni Association

Past Employment Positions

• Bennett, Lytle, Wetzler, Winn & Martin (Later Bennett, Lytle, Wetzler, Martin & Pishny, L.L.C.), Partner, 1987 - 1997
• Bennett, Lytle, Wetzler, Winn & Martin, Associate, 1981 - 1986

Pro Bono Activities

• Kansas City Chamber Orchestra
• Studio 804, Inc. (Design-Build Studio affiliated with the University of Kansas School of Architecture)
• Former Counsel Mission Area Chamber of Commerce
• Guest instructor at the Kansas Law Enforcement Training Academy in Hutchinson, Kansas

Fraternities/Sororities

• Phi Kappa Psi social fraternity
• Phi Beta Kappa
• Omicron Delta Kappa
• Phi Kappa Phi

Birth Information

• January 7, 1956, Kansas City, Kansas, United States of America