The POWER List: Dennis E. Egan

The Popham Law Firm , Kansas City

Dennis Egan has a string of court victories to his name and is a founding member of the National Employment Lawyers Association’s Kansas City chapter. So, it’s no wonder other attorneys turn to him for advice.

Earlier this year, he helped fellow POWER List honoree David Lunceford win a nearly $7 million verdict for a former sheriff’s deputy who claimed he was forced out of his job. The case pitted them against Charlie Harris (also a POWER Lister), who defended Jackson County, and List member Martin Meyers helped draft the jury instructions.

He also represented a teacher who tried to download the school drive to her personal email. Though the case won in the lower courts, the Missouri Supreme Court this year upheld a school district’s decision, marking the first Missouri case to interpret the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act.

Egan made his mark in employment law representing Christine Craft, a Kansas City television anchor who alleged in 1981 she was demoted because of her age and attractiveness, and he has continued to represent broadcast journalists with similar claims.

Other examples include a $10.6 million verdict in 2011 on a worker’s sexual harassment and retaliation claims, and a $20.45 million verdict in 2016 in an age and sex discrimination suit.

Egan earned his law degree from the University of Missouri in 1976.