Joseph W. Elliott
Areas of Practice
Joe has nearly four decades of trial practice. He has handled numerous cases in the Kansas City area, St. Joseph, and throughout northwest Missouri. He has litigation experience at both the state and federal levels. He has appeared before every state court in the Northwest Missouri area and has handled litigation in several jurisdictions outside the state of Missouri.
Joe graduated from the University of Missouri School of Law in 1983. During law school, he focused on trial competitions and earned admission to The Order of Barristers. In his last year of law school, he also worked for former Missouri Supreme Court Judge Robert Seiler drafting opinions, compiling research, and reviewing death sentence cases for comparative review.
Joe focuses his practice on serious injury cases, including vehicle crashes, product liability, wrongful death, unsafe premises, fire losses, decedent estate disputes, and medical cases. From 1986 through 1996, Joe’s practice consisted primarily of insurance defense in many diverse areas, providing him with experience in a wide array of cases such as fire or alleged arson recoveries, vehicle accidents, premises liability, insurance contract disputes, and medical malpractice. Early in his career, Joe represented defendants in medical malpractice matters, giving him experience in understanding the inner workings of hospitals and various medical specialties.
Joe has also handled several large estate disputes. These have included a fraudulent will that suddenly appeared shortly after a death, situations where one family member has taken advantage of circumstances to squeeze out other family members, and cases of undue influence where an outsider ended up with the family farm. Estate disputes are common and should be pursued quickly when strange events happen.
His first experience with commercial litigation came in 1987, in the case of Hillyard, Inc. v. Pitzer Products Co., in which he served as second chair, handling all of the expert testimony involving complex issues of chemistry and physics. The case resulted in a verdict of 2.6 million dollars, the highest verdict ever rendered at that time in the St. Joseph Division of Federal Court. Since then, he has tried and resolved numerous cases valued many times higher.
Joe will pursue your right to full and fair compensation when you have been harmed and injured. Each case has its own strengths and challenges, but patience and persistence will carry the day.
Courts Admitted to Practice
Joe has been admitted to practice law in Missouri state and federal courts since 1983, as well as the United States Claims Court.
Education, Professional Associations, and Recognition
Joe graduated from Evangel College in Springfield, Mo., magna cum laude in 1980, receiving a bachelor’s degree in Political Science with a concentration in Philosophy.
He is a member of the Missouri Bar Association and the St. Joseph Bar Association, and the Missouri Association of Trial Attorneys.
He has attended the ATLA National College of Advocacy and is a qualified member of the Multi-Million Dollar Advocates Forum.
Personal Information
Joe was born in North Kansas City, Mo., on December 8, 1958. His father, R. Kenneth Elliott, served as a Circuit Judge in Clay County from 1958-1991. He and his wife, Marlene, have two daughters, and several grandchildren.
Joe has always been very active in his church and community. He has served on several community organization boards. He has served as president of the Board of Directors of United Cerebral Palsy of Buchanan County; president of the Board of Trustees of the River Bluffs Regional Library; and as president of the St. Joseph Public Library Board. He has served on the advisory board of the Salvation Army and the Albrecht Kemper Museum of Art.