TLPJ Foundation Board member Richard C. Miller of Kansas City, Missouri, passed away on August 15, 2006. Mr. Miller, 50, a highly accomplished trial attorney, had suffered from complications due to a brain tumor. A memorial service was held at 11:00 a.m. on Friday, August 18, 2006, at the United Methodist Church of the Resurrection, 13720 Roe Avenue, Leawood, Kansas 66224, tel. 913-897-0120. A reception followed to celebrate Rich's life in the church's reception hall.

 

“Rich was a warm and friendly person who devoted his career to fighting for justice on behalf of wronged consumers and injury victims,” said TLPJ Foundation President Alan R. Brayton of Brayton Purcell in Novato, California. “His involvement with Trial Lawyers for Public Justice reflected his concern for the public interest."

 

“Rich was a generous and exceptionally gifted attorney who used his talents to advance the cause of public justice,” said TLPJ Executive Director Arthur H. Bryant. "We will all miss our dear friend and colleague.”

 

Richard Miller was born on October 21, 1955, in St. Joseph, Missouri. Mr. Miller received a B.A. with honors from the University of Missouri-Columbia in 1977, and a B.S. from the university the following year. He received his J.D. from the University of Missouri-Columbia School of Law in 1981. He served as a partner in Woolsey, Fisher, Whiteaker & McDonald, P.C., from 1981 to 1995. From 1985 to 1987, he served as an Adjunct Professor at Drury College, and from 1987 to 2003 he served as President of Midwest Legal Services, P.C. In 1995, Mr. Miller became a founding partner in Monsees, Miller, Mayer, Presley & Amick in Kansas City, Missouri.

 

Mr. Miller was an active supporter of Trial Lawyers for Public Justice since 1991, serving two terms as a Board member of The TLPJ Foundation. He was first elected to a three-year term on The TLPJ Foundation Board in 1995; he was re-elected in 2004. Mr. Miller served as TLPJ's Missouri State Coordinator since 2001. He also served as TLPJ's co-counsel in Families for Asbestos Compliance, Testing and Safety v. City of St. Louis, a citizen suit filed in May 2005 on behalf of a local, grassroots environmental group against the City of St. Louis and Lambert-St. Louis International Airport for endangering the public health by demolishing more than 300 buildings laden with deadly asbestos using the illegal and experimental “wet method” of asbestos removal. In addition, he served as an advisor to TLPJ's Gun Safety & Accountability Project.

 

"I like helping my clients and improving people's lives, sometimes beyond the confines of an individual case," Miller stated in a personal profile prepared for his firm's web site. "I have been honored to serve on the boards of the Missouri Association of Trial Attorneys, the Attorneys Information Exchange Group and Trial Lawyers for Public Justice, three organizations which look out for the rights of consumers and victims in Missouri and nationwide. And I have been privileged to represent some very fine people: a father and son who will each spend the rest of their lives in wheelchairs because they were paralyzed in separate accidents as a result of negligence of others; a man who lost his livelihood as a result of a gun shot wound and took it upon himself to educate others about this dangerous product; and countless fathers and mothers who do the best they can to support their families and improve their lives despite suffering serious injuries."

 

Mr. Miller was also involved in a number of other professional associations, including the Association of Trial Lawyers of America, whose Firearms Litigation Group he chaired. In addition to his trial practice, Mr. Miller enjoyed athletics, including tennis, racquetball, and cycling. He also coached a Blue Valley Recreation 6^th grade boys' basketball team to a league championship.

 

Mr. Miller is survived by his wife, Lee Ann, and by their two daughters, Blair and Channing, and a son, Wade.

As his last selfless act, Rich donated virtually all of his organs to those who now have a new lease on life. In lieu of flowers, the family is accepting donations to the Midwest Transplant Network. Donations can be sent in care of his office, Monsees, Miller, Mayer, Presley & Amick, P.C., 4717 Grand Avenue; Suite 820, Kansas City, MO 64112, (816) 361-5550 and they will forward to MTN.