Armstrong Teasdale announces that Partner and Deputy General Counsel Tyson Ketchum has been named managing attorney of the firm’s Kansas City, Missouri, office effective Dec. 1, 2021. The firm’s Kansas City office opened in 1989 and today includes 60 attorneys and staff professionals. The firm’s broader footprint includes 13 offices throughout the U.S. and in the U.K., and more than 650 lawyers and staff.

Office managing attorneys are charged with driving growth and success in coordination with the firm’s overall strategic vision as determined by firmwide leadership and Managing Partner Patrick Rasche. Ketchum takes on this role as a successor to Partner Karrie Clinkinbeard, who has served in the office managing attorney capacity since 2016.

“Ty is an outstanding lawyer and leader, and he is well positioned to serve as office managing attorney,” said Rasche. “We thank Karrie for her service in the role as well, and just as she supported the firm’s growth and strategic vision, I know that Ty will do the same. Ty consistently brings creative solutions and opportunities to the table, and I am confident he will bring that energy to this new role.”

Ketchum’s work has long been recognized by his peers and the legal community. He has been named among The Best Lawyers in America® for Litigation - Labor and Employment and recognized as a Labor & Employment Star by Benchmark Litigation for 2022. He has been included on the Kansas City Business Journal's Best of the Bar list on multiple occasions and named a Missouri/Kansas Super Lawyer® annually since 2013.

Ketchum, who will maintain his active trial practice, primarily focuses on employment, insurance coverage, personal injury and commercial litigation cases. His practice is unique in that he has handled high-stakes cases for clients involving many different areas of law. In connection with this diverse litigation practice, Ketchum has tried cases to verdict before courts in Missouri and Kansas and has argued before the Missouri Supreme Court, Missouri Court of Appeals and the U.S. Court of Appeals, Eighth Circuit.

He has served as deputy general counsel at the firm since 2017, and in that role, is responsible for protecting the firm’s legal interests, maintaining its operations within the scope established by law, and providing guidance on risk management and related liability issues.

Active in the broader professional community, Ketchum was appointment by the Missouri Supreme Court to Disciplinary Committee for Region IV for a three-year term ending in 2024. He’s a member of The Missouri Bar, Missouri Organization of Defense Lawyers, Kansas Bar Association, and formerly served in leadership roles with the Kansas City Metropolitan Bar Association. Ketchum also previously sat on the Board of Directors for the Downtown Council of Kansas City.

Clinkinbeard will continue in her role as a trial lawyer, handling high-stakes fire and electrical liability matters at Armstrong Teasdale, as well as maintain her seat on the firm’s Executive Committee, which is responsible for driving the firm’s strategy internationally.

“Ty and I have worked together for more than 20 years and he will do a fantastic job continuing to guide our firm and our Kansas City office into the future,” said Clinkinbeard. “I am so appreciative of the firm’s trust in me over the past five years, and I am personally looking forward to the opportunity to get back in the courtroom and invest more time in trial advocacy.”