The POWER List: Michael Manners

Langdon & Emison, Lexington 

Mike Manners’ time as a Jackson County circuit judge sharpened his ability to know which arguments work. 

As judge, Manners presided over an estimated 170 jury trials. He was appointed to the bench in 2000 during Democratic Gov. Roger Wilson’s brief tenure following the death of Gov. Mel Carnahan. Then he joined his current firm in 2013. 

During his time on the trial court, he was a finalist for Supreme Court vacancies in 1998, 2002, 2011 and 2012. But he’s appeared in that court countless times since, defending injured plaintiffs’ multimillion dollar verdicts and preserving lawsuits where the law isn’t clear. He also serves on the Missouri Supreme Court’s Civil Rules Committee, which drafts court rules governing civil litigation. 

Before taking the bench, Manners worked for the Independence firm that came to be known as Welch, Martin, Albano & Manners after graduating from the University of Missouri-Kansas City in 1976. He was president of the Missouri Association of Trial attorneys from 1998 to 1999.