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Fisher Patterson Sayler & Smith
J. Steven Pigg
Partner


spigg@fisherpatterson.com


Topeka Office
3550 SW 5th Street
P.O. Box 949
Topeka, KS 66601


Telephone: (785) 232-7761
Fax: (785) 232-6604

J. Steven Pigg

Pigg is well known for his experience in the defense of constitutional and civil rights claims against cities, counties and school boards. For decades, he has defended employment claims against public entities and private industries. He has litigated claims of employment discrimination, sexual harassment, First Amendment violations, false arrest and excessive force by law enforcement officers, deprivation of due process and denial of equal protection, as well as street defects and other tort claims. He focuses on defense of claims under Title VII, ADA, ADEA, FLSA, FMLA, and Kansas law retaliatory discharge and breach of implied employment contract claims. He also serves as a private mediator in civil cases. For more than 10 years he has been recognized as one of the Best Lawyers in America in the areas of municipal law and labor and employment law. He has been named to the list of Super Lawyers in Kansas.

Pigg is a graduate of the International Association of Defense Counsel Trial Academy and the National Institute of Trial Advocacy Teachers Training Skills Program. He is past president of the Kansas Association of Defense Counsel and continues to serve as chair of its Amicus Curiae Committee. He served on the Bench-Bar Committee of the United States District Court for the District of Kansas for 2001-2003.

AV® - Preeminent Rated. (AV® - Preeminent™ is a certification mark of Reed Elsevier Properties, Inc., used in accordance with the Martindale-Hubbell certification procedures, standards and policies.)

EDUCATION
  • Washburn University of Topeka, B.A. (summa cum laude, 1972)
  • Washburn University, J.D. (1976)
    • Scholastic Honors - Phi Kappa Phi

BAR ADMISSIONS

Kansas (1976)
United States District Court for the District of Kansas (1976)
United States District Court for the Western District of Missouri (2001)
Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals (1976)

PROFESSIONAL ACTIVITIES
  • Recognized as Super Lawyer in Missouri/Kansas Super Lawyers
  • Kansas Bar Association
    • Ethics Committee (1991-2008)
    • Employment Law Section (1995- )
    • Legislative Liaison (1997)
  • Topeka Bar Association
    • Ethics Committee (1984- )
  • Kansas Association of Defense Counsel
    • Chairman, Amicus Curiae Committee (1991-1995, 1999-2007)
    • Board of Directors (1991-1994)
    • Secretary/Treasurer (1995)
    • President Elect (1996)
    • President (1997)
  • Defense Research Institute (1994- )
  • Sam A. Crow Inns of Court (1993- )
    • Program Chair (1996)
  • Topeka Lawyers Club, President (2007)
  • Bench Bar Committee of the United States District Court for the District of Kansas (2001-2003)
PUBLICATIONS AND PRESENTATIONS
  • Key Considerations for County Personnel Policies, 34th Annual Conference, Kansas County Commissioners Association, May 5, 2010.
  • Civil Trial Practice in Federal Court, Seminar Materials, Kansas Attorney General Call, February 4, 2010.
  • Police Liability Seminar, Lorman Education Services, April, 2009.
  • KBA Kansas Annual Survey of Law Handbook – co-author of chapter on Civil Rights - 2006, 2007 and 2008 editions.
  • Employment Law Seminar by Kansas State Council for Human Resource Management – author and presenter of section on Employers Handling of First Amendment and § 1983 Claims - February 2008.
  • 2004 - KBA Continuing Legal Education – The Role of the Governmental Attorney – co-author and presenter of section on Agency Counsel’s Role and Relationship with Insurance Defense Counsel: Perspectives from the Outside and the Inside.
  • The Defense Perspective: Common Mistakes Plaintiff Lawyers Make, Basic Trial Skills, Trial Techniques Institude, Kansas Trial Lawyers Association, Seminar Materials, March 2000.
  • Getting the Goods for the Employer: Discovery in Employment Cases, Annual Employment Law Institute, Kansas Bar Association Seminar Materials, September 2000
  • Besieged: Bewildered: Defense Lawyers and Third-Party Audits, Seminar Materials, Kansas Association of Defense Counsel Annual Seminar, December 1999
  • Hiring and Firing: Guidelines for Avoiding Liability and Litigation, 89th Annual Conference Seminar Materials, League of Kansas Municipalities, October 1999
  • Cold Calls & Ambulance Chasing: In Person Solicitation Still Prohibited, KADC Legal Letter, Summer 1999
  • Analysis of § 1983 Claims in Employment Cases, Annual Employment Law Institute, Kansas Bar Association Seminar Materials, September 1998.
  • Pretrial Discovery Issues, Nuts & Bolts of Employment Law, Litigation & Trial of the Employment Law Claim, Kansas Bar Association Seminar Materials, March 1998.
  • Checklist of Defenses to ADA Claims, Employment Law Institute Seminar Materials, Kansas Bar Association, September 1995.
  • Overview of Employment Concerns, Thirty-Fourth Annual Law Institute, Washburn University School of Law Seminar Materials, March 1992.
  • Excessive Force Claims After Graham v. Connor, I.A.D.C. Civil Rights and Municipal Law Committee Newsletter, April 1990.
Attorneys
Donald Patterson
E. Dudley Smith
Larry G. Pepperdine
James P. Nordstrom
Justice B. King
J. Steven Pigg
Steve R. Fabert
Michael K. Seck
David R. Cooper
David S. Baker
Kelly A. Ricke
Teresa L. Watson
Daniel C. Estes
Peter T. Maharry
Nicholas J. Meinheit
Terelle A. Mock
Vincent M. Cox
Jill Waldman