WICHITA, Kan. – The Wichita Business Journal has named Monnat & Spurrier, Chartered attorney Jon McConnell among its 40 Under 40 honorees for 2013. Roughly 300 individuals were nominated for this year’s honor, according to Wichita Business Journal Publisher John Ek. The selection committee reviews professional achievements as well as community involvement.
“We are extremely proud of Jon and applaud his dedication to our clients and his devotion to making our community a better place to live and work,” said firm president Dan Monnat.
Besides working full-time as a criminal defense attorney to protect the rights of those accused, McConnell volunteered countless hours to community causes, including:
- Campaign Manager for Austin Henry’s 2013 American Diabetes Association – Father of the Year Campaign, which has raised more than $20,000 for the local chapter of the American Diabetes Association.
- 2013 Bachelor for the Make-A-Wish Foundation’s Annual “Bid for Bachelors’ Charity Auction.”
- 2013 Law Day Speaker for Curtis Middle School – Juvenile Law and the Constitution.
- First Runner-Up for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society’s Man of the Year 2012, raising more than $21,000 for the cause. McConnell organized six large events and a benefit “Rock The Cure” concert to raise money for the organization.
- Actively involved with the Midian Shrine Temple in raising funds for the 22 non-profit Shriners Hospitals for Children, through the Annual Shrine Circus and other fundraising events.
- Volunteer for Hillside Christian Church, working with the High School Youth and the Property Committee.
McConnell has both a bachelor’s and a master’s degree in criminal justice from Wichita State University, where he took several opportunities to study abroad. Through a cooperative program between WSU and the New Scotland Yard, he studied international law in the United Kingdom. He also studied Spanish and Mexican culture through the WSU Summer Program in Puebla, Mexico.
A graduate of St. Thomas University School of Law in Miami, Fla., McConnell is a former law clerk for the Seventeenth Judicial Circuit Court of Florida in Fort Lauderdale.
McConnell is licensed to practice before the federal and state courts in Kansas. He is a member of the Wichita Bar Association, Kansas Bar Association and American Bar Association, as well as the Kansas Association of Criminal Defense Attorneys and the National Association of Criminal Defense Attorneys.
Monnat & Spurrier, Chartered, was founded 28 years ago by Monnat and legal scholar Stan Spurrier. The firm has six attorneys and focuses on criminal defense, white-collar criminal defense, and appellate defense in municipal, state and federal courts.