Kansas law is created by the bicameral Kansas legislature and covers issues ranging from how to certify professionals to agricultural issues to the state tax code. The laws of Kansas are very friendly to businesses because they are modeled after Delaware's corporate statutes. Also, laws in Kansas must be comprehensive in terms of dealing with agricultural issues due to the large number of farms in the state. If you want to do business in Kansas or with Kansan firms, you must be prepared to deal with the details of Kansas law. There are several ways that you can do this:

1. Read the statutes of Kansas state law for yourself. This can be difficult if you are not a lawyer.
2. Consult with a Kansas attorney. Instead of hiring a law firm, it might be enough to just consult with Kansas attorneys to be sure you are operating within Kansas law.
3. Retain a Kansas law firm. If you plan on doing a lot of business in Kansas and feel that you will have frequent need of Kansas lawyers, this may be the best option.

Depending on which of these options you take, consider one of these action steps.

Action Steps
The best contacts and resources to help you get it done

Investigate Kansas state laws online

Kansas law is available online and is fairly easy to access. Anyone with Internet access can look up the text of a law or learn more about the judiciary in Kansas. Learning how the law has been interpreted in court is more difficult.

I recommend: Read about law in Kansas at the Kansas Legislature's website. If you are considering litigation, read about the Kansas judicial system at the Kansas Judicial Center.

Find Kansas lawyers and Kansas law firms using the Internet

If you do not know a lawyer and do not have a referral, there are several websites that list lawyers and how to contact them. These websites include the lawyer's name, firm and specialties.

I recommend: Find several lawyers who specialize in whichever form of law is relevant to your business (tax, civil, etc.) and interview them. The choice of a lawyer is an important decision so you should be comfortable with whomever you select. Use either FindLaw or AttorneyPages to create your initial set of Kansas lawyers and work from there.

Consult with the Kansas Bar Association before selecting a Kansas lawyer

The Bar Association is the governing body of lawyers. A lawyer cannot practice law if the Bar does not specifically grant that individual the right to do so. As such, they are aware of the status and practices of their lawyers and how familiar they are with Kansas law.

I recommend: If you are not sure about a Kansas lawyer, contact either the Kansas Bar Association or the American Bar Association. They will have records on the Kansas lawyer, which may help you.

Tips & Tactics

Helpful advice for making the most of this Guide

• •  Kansas is divided into three large metropolitan areas: Kansas City, Topeka and Wichita. Most of the non-agricultural business you do will take place in one of these three cities so you may want to narrow your search for a Kansas lawyer to one of them.
• •  If you are doing business in the Kansas City area, you may need Kansas lawyers who know Kansas law and Missouri law, as the greater Kansas City area encompasses both states. The same goes for communities south of Wichita, which may require a lawyer to know Kansas law and Oklahoma law.
• •  Kansas has a number of very good law schools, meaning that many new lawyers enter the workforce every year knowing a great deal about Kansas law.