Litigation Practitioner: Erika Lawler

Partner, The Lawler Firm

Kansas City

Erika Lawler never wanted to be anything other than a lawyer. 

“I think that it is important work to advocate for people who are not always able to advocate for themselves,” said the UMKC graduate. 

She certainly did that during her 14 years in the Jackson County Prosecutor’s Office, where she handled matters in the Special Victims Unit, eventually becoming a trial team leader.

Today, she plays a similar role on the civil side of the equation representing victims of physical or sexual assault as part of the law firm her husband founded in 2011 and which she joined five years later. 

“It is fulfilling in that there is a lot that the criminal justice system can’t or doesn’t provide for survivors in a way that the civil forum is able to have accountability,” she said. 

Lawler is able to use her experience in both worlds to understand how they interact and might impact each other. 

“It is something I am passionate about and have dedicated my career to for over 20 years now,” she said of her legal niche, which she feels allows her to take an active role. “I get to advocate for people. Instead of watching the news and saying someone ought to do something about that, I get to do something about that.” 

Her nominator described Lawler’s steady hand during her time in the prosecutor’s office where she worked difficult cases involving everything from rape and child pornography to domestic violence and elder abuse. 

“The law enforcement officers that she worked with trusted and relied on Erika’s knowledge and composure in the face of heartbreaking facts,” they wrote.

Lawler said that there is greater awareness today for victims than when she began and things in her area of practice has changed because of it.

“I’d be concerned if they hadn’t changed in that amount of time,” she noted, saying that courts, insurers and jurors are becoming more aware of the impact involved in such cases. “They are very different than a car accident or a property dispute when you are talking about something so personal.”