About me
Patricia is a member of the Kansas Bar Association and is Past President of the KBA Bankruptcy & Insolvency Section. Patricia is also a member of the United States Bankruptcy Court Bench-Bar Committee, Topeka Bar Association, Topeka Area Bankruptcy Council, Kansas City Bankruptcy Bar Association (President, 1996-2003), the Kansas Women Attorneys Association, the National Association of Bankruptcy Trustees, the American Bankruptcy Institute, and the Missouri Bar. Patricia served on the United States District Court Bench-Bar Committee (2019-2022) and the Bankruptcy and Insolvency Committee of the Kansas City Metropolitan Bar Association (1996 to 2004). Patricia also served as a Member of the Local Rules Committee for the United States Bankruptcy Court for the District of Kansas. In 2010, Patricia served as an adjunct professor at Washburn School of Law teaching a course on debtor creditor relations. Patricia received the 2023 Julie L. Robinson Award for Outstanding Community Leadership from the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Kansas. Patricia is listed in The Best Lawyers in America and was named the Best Lawyers' 2025 Topeka Bankruptcy and Creditor Debtor Rights / Insolvency and Reorganization Law "Lawyer of the Year" and also in 2023, 2022 and 2018. Patricia is a frequent speaker at continuing legal education presentations.
In addition to invaluable benefits of serving as an elbow law clerk to a United States Bankruptcy Judge, Patricia has a multitude of parties in numerous bankruptcy cases, including:
• Served as special counsel in the TWA case to assist in collecting preference payments;
• Served as one of the Debtors’ counsel for the Chapter 11 case of Dickinson Theatres, Inc.;
• Served as one of the Debtors’ attorneys in the Oread, Inc. cases (six consolidated Chapter 11 case);
• Served as lead counsel for the unsecured creditors committee in The Farmers Cooperative Association case, the largest farm cooperative case filed in Kansas;
• Served as lead counsel for the unsecured creditors committee and later for the trustee in Hertzler Halstead Hospital case (which resulted in the criminal conviction of the former CEO for bankruptcy fraud);
• Served as counsel for the Trustee in Thousand Adventures, Inc., Miller Grain Company, and III, Inc. cases each involving hundreds of thousands of dollars in claims against third parties;
• Over the last 33 years, regularly and continuously represented all types of creditors in bankruptcies;
• Served as Chapter 7 Trustee since 2004, and
• Served as counsel for the Trustee in In re CAH Acquisition #5, d/b/a Hillsboro Community Hospital.
