daniel blegan

Shareholder, since January 1, 2008
phone	816-471-7700
fax	816-471-2221
email	Email Me
vCard

You probably won't ever see a Jeopardy! category called "Industrial Piping for Paper Manufacturing". But if you did, Rouse Hendricks German May shareholder Dan Blegen would probably get all the answers (or questions) right. Same with "Stem Cell Cryogenic Preservation" or "Complex Financial Accounting Modeling". Why? These are just some of the areas Dan has become an expert in as a result of his litigation work for RHGM.

Of course, every attorney learns about the industries of the clients they represent. But Blegen and his colleagues at RHGM take that expertise to a different level.

"I love the challenge of a new client in a new area of business," Blegen says. "I've always been inquisitive, and it's fun to be constantly learning."

But this is more than just fun. Blegen says having an intimate knowledge of a client and their industry is critical in the courtroom.

"If you don't have an understanding of how the companies fit together and why, you're going to have a hard time examining your side and the opposing side to present the essentials of the case. We as a firm and we as lawyers are very good because we not only know the rules and know how to advocate on behalf of our client - we know the case better than anyone else in the courtroom."

And many times that can mean out 'experting' the experts. In many cases, law firms will bring in industry experts to help them present a case to a jury. They can be an invaluable tool to help explain a complex case. But Blegen says sometimes attorneys rely too heavily on those experts to help drive their approach.

"You can't just pay an industry expert to come in and tell you what questions to ask," Blegen says. "Many times I'll see attorneys who just don't drill down deep enough. These cases aren't simple car accident cases where the only issue is whether or not the light was green. You've got to become an expert yourself. That way if a case or a trial changes direction, you are better prepared to react. "

Which is why Dan's bookshelf is filled with things like an industrial piping manual.

"We had a situation where the design of industrial piping in paper manufacturing was critical to the outcome of a case," Blegen says. "So we became experts. And it was our intricate knowledge that helped us explain why the changes that occurred to that design were not the cause of the contractors added expense and it was, in fact, the contractor who misunderstood the design and underbid the project."

Industrial piping, computer forensics, complex accounting principles. That kind of knowledge may never help Dan Blegen win at Jeopardy! But it has served his firm, and his clients well.

Areas of Practice:

100% Complex Business and Commercial Litigation

Bar Admissions:

Missouri

Kansas

U.S. District Court District of Kansas

U.S. District Court Western District of Missouri

Education:

University of Missouri Columbia School of Law, Columbia, Missouri
J.D.
Honors: Order of the Coif
Honors: Order of Barristers
Law Review: Missouri Law Review, Layout and Design Editor

University of Missouri-Columbia, 1994
B.S.
Major: Political Science

Published Works:

Attorney's Fees Under the ADA: Heading for a Showdown, 55 Journal of the Missouri Bar 189

Would a Tax by Any Other Name Smell as Sweet? The Treatment of Special Assessments in Bankruptcy, 104 Commercial Law Journal 97

Oral Settlement Agreements: Just What Did I Agree To?, 55 Journal of the Missouri Bar 95

Seizures of Containers Using the Plain Feel Doctrine: Did Missouri Go Too Far?, 63 Missouri Law Review 243

The Constitutionality of Power of Sale Foreclosures by Federal Government Entities, 62 Missouri Law Review 425

Honors and Awards:

Order of the Coif

Order of Barristers

Professional Associations and Memberships:

K.C. Metropolitan Bar Association

Past Employment Positions:

Hon. Scott O. Wright, United States District Court for the Western District of Missouri, Judicial Clerk