Mark D. Hinderks

Experience

Prior to his service as managing partner, Mark served as one of the firm's leading trial lawyers, representing business and governmental clients across the nation, including class action defense, with amounts in dispute routinely in eight and nine figures, and multiple cases with more than $1 billion at issue. He was elected as a fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers (ACTL) while still in his 40s.

Mark served as general counsel or co-general counsel of the firm from 1996-2008, at which time he became deputy managing partner, then managing partner from 2010-June 30, 2021. In his role as managing partner, in addition to expanding the firm and improving its financial performance and diversity (and diversity of its leadership), he served as decision-maker on legal and ethics matters for the firm, with the advice of the firm's general counsel and counsel team. Upon returning to practice, Mark has focused on legal ethics and professional responsibility and also serves as a member of the firm counsel team, providing advice on a daily basis to the firm's lawyers and other constituents concerning legal ethics and professional responsibility.

Mark chaired the ACTL's National Standing Committee on the Attorney Client Relationship, and now serves as a member of that committee. He is the original author of the document that became the ACTL's "White Paper" on Attorney Client Privilege Issues. Mark has been a member of the Kansas Bar Association's Professional Ethics Advisory Committee from 1997 to present. He is a member of the American Bar Association Center for Professional Responsibility, and served on that group's Publications Board from 2006-2009.

News

Speaking Engagements

Mark has been a frequent speaker (more than 125 presentations) and author on legal ethics and professional responsibility. He is a co-founder of "Ethics for Good," a benefit series of lively stage show ethics presentations whose net proceeds go entirely to local charities and law school and paralegal scholarships. Following its twenty-first year in 2021, approximately 11,000 lawyers have attended, generating nearly $850,000 in charitable contributions.

“Dear Ethics Lawyer: Q&A for Mo Bank Legal Risk Conference,” MBA Virtual Ethics Program Webinar, November 2023

Publications

Mark is the author of law review and journal works appearing in the Kansas Law Review, Washburn Law Journal and the Journal of the Kansas Bar Association. In addition, Mark has served as a chapter author of the Kansas Bar Association’s Ethics Handbook and Construction Law Handbook.

"Does a Lawyer Have a Duty to Inquire Into a Client's Intentions, Purpose Prior to an Engagement?" The Legal Intelligencer, October 2023

Mark was the original author of the document that now serves as the White Paper of the American College of Trial Lawyers, "Attorney-Client Privilege Update: Current and Recurring Issues."

Chapter Author, "ABA Tort, Trial & Insurance Practice," The Trial Lawyer's Guide to Attorney-Client Privilege and Work-Product Doctrine, Reagan W. Simpson & Robert P. Redermann, eds., 2023 

"What Do I Do When I Receive a Communication That Appears to Be Inadvertently Sent to Me by an Opposing Lawyer?" The Legal Intelligencer, September 2023

"What Should You Do When a Client's Testimony Contradicts What the Client Told You Before?" The Legal Intelligencer, August 2023

"When May a Lawyer Have an Intimate Relationship With a Constituent of an Organizational Client?" The Legal Intelligencer, July 2023

"Disclosure of Client Document Concealment Learned Post-Settlement," The Legal Intelligencer, June 2023

"Lawyers Walk Ethical Tightrope With Gifts, Hospitality to Judges." Bloomberg, May 2023

"What to Do When Ethics Rules of Different Jurisdictions Conflict in Multi-State Practice." The Legal Intelligencer, April 2023

"The Rules of Contact: Client Employees and Former Employees, and Represented and Unrepresented Others," The Legal Intelligencer, March 2023

"Honesty in Negotiations? Do the Ethics Rules Require or Expect It?" The Legal Intelligencer, February 2023

"The Discipline George Santos Would Face If He Were a Lawyer," Law360, February 2023

"What to Do When Your Witness Tells a Different Story Under Oath," The Legal Intelligencer, January 2023

"6 Ways to Avoid Compounding Errors When Practicing Law," Law360, January 2023

"Does Including a Consultant in Litigation Team Communications Waive privilege or Work Product Protection?" The Legal Intelligencer, December 2022

"9 Legal Ethics Considerations in Natural Disaster Preparation," Law360, November 2022

"Attys Shouldn't Assume Judicial Critique Is Protected Speech," Law360, October 2023

"When Can a Lawyer make a False or Misleading Statement to Make a Deal?" The Legal Intelligencer, September 2022

"The Risks in Lateral Hiring, and How to Avoid Them," Law360, September 2022

"A Law Firm's Guide to Avoiding Client Conflicts," Law360, August 2022

"Dear Ethics Lawyer: Representing Multiple Clients in Claims Against One Defendant," The Legal Intelligencer, August 2022