The POWER List: James R. Hobbs

When lawyers need a defense attorney for white-collar matters, they often turn to J.R. Hobbs for help.

His clients have ranged from Jim Wirken, a former Kansas City Metropolitan Bar Association president who in 2014 pleaded guilty to a federal charge of money-laundering, to former Jackson County Executive Mike Sanders, who in 2018 pleaded guilty to misusing campaign committee funds.

Hobbs has left a mark on Missouri’s legal system through his extensive public service. He is a member of the Missouri Task Force on Criminal Justice, which recently spent two years overhauling the Missouri Supreme Court’s rules on bail practices.

He previously served on the Missouri Appellate Commission, which recommends panels of appellate judge applicants to the governor. He is also a member of the Missouri Supreme Court Commission on Race and Ethnic Fairness.

Hobbs is a past president of the Missouri Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, a former president of the Western District of Missouri/Eastern District of Kansas Chapter of the American Board of Trial Attorneys and former Missouri state chair of the American College of Trial Lawyers, of which he is a Fellow.

He earned his law degree from the University of Missouri-Kansas City in 1981.