This story originally appeared in Res Ipsa, the UMKC School of Law alumni magazine. To learn more, read the full issue or visit the School of Law website.
Melissa Taylor Standridge (J.D. ’93)
Justice, Kansas Supreme Court
While in law school, Standridge served as editor-in-chief of the UMKC Law Review, Chief Justice of the Moot Court Board and the only student member of the Faculty Hiring Committee. Before graduating from UMKC cum laude, she served as a research assistant for then-professor Ellen Suni, now dean emerita, who Standridge says was an influential role model and mentor.
“A smile inevitably appears on my face when I think about the friends I made and the memories we shared, through both the painless and the more painful aspects of law school.”
“Through her actions, I learned the importance of adhering to the rule of law, the value of a healthy work ethic and the necessity for excellence in every aspect of practice,” Standridge says. “But the most significant value she exhibited for me was her commitment to justice, fairness and inclusion.”
One of her most treasured memories of law school, she says, was her daily interaction with classmates.
“A smile inevitably appears on my face when I think about the friends I made and the memories we shared, through both the painless and the more painful aspects of law school.”
Brian Gaddy (J.D. ’94)
Magistrate Judge, U.S. District Court for the Western District Of Missouri
Judge Gaddy focused primarily on criminal law during a 26-year career in private
practice. He accepted
numerous Criminal Justice Act appointments to represent indigent defendants in federal court and was appointed as learned counsel in seven federal capital murder cases, avoiding the death penalty in all seven.
In law school, he served as a research assistant to Curator’s Professor Nancy Levit and won the Ralph S. Latshaw Award as outstanding student tin criminal law courses. He graduated with distinction in 1994. Gaddy has served on the UMKC Law Foundation Board of Trustees since 2013. He currently serves as both vice president of the board and chair of the Resources and Leadership Committee.
“I have always felt the education and experience I had at UMKC not only helped me to become a better lawyer, but it helped me become a better person. My law school experience truly changed my outlook on the world,” Gaddy says. He credits Levit in particular. “Professor Levit has been supportive of my career ever since law school. She understands the peaks and the valleys of being a criminal defense lawyer.”
Gaddy sees his new role as a natural fit.
“I have always felt the education and experience I had at UMKC not only helped me to become a better lawyer, but it helped me become a better person. My law school experience truly changed my outlook on the world.”
“My career was spent primarily in federal courts, so a federal magistrate judge position felt like home to me,” he says. “I was also positively influenced by numerous federal judges that I appeared in front of during my legal career. Many of them served as positive role models for me, and several served as mentors.”
He believes his career-long commitment to public service will influence his work on the bench.
“I have represented literally hundreds of indigent defendants in the criminal justice system,” Gaddy says. “I have represented homeless clients and victims of abuse through my work with the Volunteer Attorney Project. These experiences certainly shaped me as a lawyer and will serve me well as a new magistrate judge.”