Joseph J. Roper
816-762-3461 | jroper@wwbhlaw.com
Overview
Joe Roper is a trial lawyer, with over 60 jury trials to verdict as lead counsel. He has successfully handled seven and eight figure cases, in areas as diverse as product liability, business litigation, construction defect litigation, fraud, premises liability and a wide array of catastrophic personal injury cases.
Mr. Roper’s numerous awards and professional distinctions include being the 2018 recipient of the Ben Ely Jr. Award, naming the outstanding defense lawyer in the State of Missouri. He was also recently named “Dean of the Trial Bar” by the Kansas City Metropolitan Bar Association. He is a fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers, and a member of the International Association of Defense Counsel. He has served on two national IADC trial academies, both at the University of Colorado and Stanford University. He is listed in Best Lawyers in America and has been named a “Super Lawyer” each year for more than a decade. He carries the preeminent designation by Martindale Hubbell, Judicial Edition.
Joe is a past president of the Missouri Organization of Defense Lawyers, and a past president of the Western Missouri/Eastern Kansas Chapter of the American Board of Trial Advocates, as well as previously serving on the national board of ABOTA. He currently serves as a Distinguished Pro Bono Fellow for the American College of Trial Lawyers, for his work with Military Matters, a Kansas City Metropolitan Bar Foundation initiative providing free legal services to veterans and active duty service personnel.
Recent Results
In $36,000,000 fire case Jury Awards Zero Damages
Joe Roper and John Brigg represented a corporation who provided foam insulation services to a cave warehousing operation when a fire broke out allegedly causing $36,000,000 in damages to the warehousing operation. An employee of Joe’s client parked …
Jury awards $12,500,000 to WWBH client in Business suit over breach of Contract
Jim Foland and Joe Roper tried a 30 day jury trial in the Missouri Circuit Court of Greene County, representing his client, an advertising agency, Meridian Creative Alliance against O’Reilly Auto Parts for breach of contract. The agency had created th …
Court directs verdict for WWBH client on basis of Acceptance Doctrine
In 2022, Joe Roper and John Brigg successfully represented a small business who performed striping services as a part of a renovation of the parking lot at North Kansas City Hospital and had completed the job. Later the plaintiff, who had delivered a …
Professional Affiliations
- Fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers, inducted 2007
- American Board of Trial Advocates – Past President Western Missouri/Eastern Kansas chapter, former National Board member
- Missouri Organization of Defense Lawyers – Past President
- International Association of Defense Counsel
- Missouri Bar Association
- Kansas City Metropolitan Bar Association
Awards & Achievements
- Named "Dean of the Trial Bar": by the Kansas City Missouri Bar Association, 2021.
- Recipient of the Ben Ely Jr. Award, 2019, from the Missouri Organization of Defense Lawyers. The Ben Ely Jr. Award is presented annually to the outstanding defense lawyer in the state of Missouri.
- Inducted as a Fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers in 207.
- Past president of the Missouri Organization of Defense Lawyers.
- Named to two trial academy faculties fir the International Association of Defense Counsel Trial Academy, University of Colorado and Stanford University.
- 2019 Presidents Recognition Award, Kansas City Metropolitan Bar Foundation for outstanding contribution to the Foundation’s Legal Connection, Military Matters, providing free legal assistance to veterans and active duty personnel.
- Selected to SuperLawyers more than ten years in a row.
Practices
Education
- University of Tulsa School of Law (J.D.)
- Northeastern Oklahoma State University (B.S.)
Bar Admissions
- Missouri
- U.S. District Court for the Western District of Missouri
- U.S. District Court for the District of Kansas