Kenneth B. McClain is a nationally known personal injury trial lawyer and shareholder in the Independence, Missouri law firm of Humphrey, Farrington & McClain. In a career that has spanned more than 30 years, he has tried many high-profile cases and won numerous multi-million dollar verdicts several of which have made the National Law Journal’s annual Top 100 Verdicts list. Mr. McClain’s total amount of awarded verdicts and negotiated settlements since 1986 exceed $1 billion.
Mr. McClain has pioneered litigation against asbestos suppliers, the tobacco industry and artificial butter flavoring manufacturers and suppliers in the microwave popcorn industry. He has won verdicts totaling more than $100 million for several workers at microwave popcorn factories who were exposed to diacetyl, a chemical used to make the butter flavoring, and suffered debilitating lung diseases.
In 2016, a jury in Springfield, MO awarded one of Mr. McClain’s clients $20.6 million in damages after she developed an autoimmune disorder from exposure to a toxic chemical that had been dumped on land near her home by a Missouri ball bearings manufacturer. He also secured a landmark settlement in a wrongful death lawsuit by the family of a Maryland college football player who died from concussion-related injuries. The $1.2 million settlement reached with the college, NCAA and two helmet manufacturers contained significant non-monetary provisions aimed at reducing the occurrence of concussions among college athletes.
More recently, Mr. McClain won a $60 million verdict in New York for a husband and wife business ownership team in a breach of contract case against HMS Holdings Corp.
Ken is actively improving his local community. His real estate projects include restaurants, renewal of the historic Harry Truman neighborhood corridor, and a commercial and retail district that has restored more than 20 century-old buildings on the Historic Independence Square.
BA, (magna cum laude) Graceland University, Lamoni Iowa
J.D., University of Michigan Law School, Ann Arbor, Michigan, 1982
2021 – The Ingram’s 250
2020 – The Ingram’s 250
2019 – The Ingram’s 250
2018 – The Ingram’s 250
2017 – The Ingram’s 250
2017 – Harry S. Truman Award, Jackson County (MO) Democratic Committee
2017 – Power 100, Kansas City Business Journal
2016 – The Ingrams’s 250
2016 – Distinguished Non-Alumnus Award, University of Missouri School of Law
2016 – Power 100, Kansas City Business Journal
2015 – Power 100, Kansas City Business Journal
2014 – Power 100, Kansas City Business Journal
2012 – Lung Advocate Award, American Lung Association
2012 – Founder’s Award, Salvation Army
2010 – The Pitch’s Best Developer for work on reviving Independence Square, The Pitch
2009 – Cultural Arts Coalition of Eastern Jackson County, Kenneth B. McClain for Outstanding Cultural Development in Independence, Missouri
2007 – Citizen of the Year, Truman Heartland Foundation
2006 – Community Service Award Distinguished Service Award, Independence Chamber of Commerce
2005 – Lawyer of the Year, Missouri Lawyers Weekly
2004 – Distinguished Service Award, Graceland University Alumni Board of Directors
2003 – Hometown Hero’s Award – Revitalizing Independence Square, Jackson County Historical Society
1999 – Community Service Award Distinguishing Service Award, Independence Chamber of Commerce
