For the second time, Best Lawyers has named Dan Monnat, of Monnat & Spurrier, Chartered, a Wichita Lawyer of the Year. In 2012, Monnat earned the distinction specifically for his white-collar criminal defense work. This year, Monnat has been recognized for his success in other criminal cases as the 2014 Wichita Criminal Defense: Non-White-Collar Lawyer of the Year. 

Monnat has been honored by The Best Lawyers in America® for 26 consecutive years.  For this 2014 edition, Monnat is listed in the fields of criminal defense; white-collar criminal defense; and appellate defense. Selection is based on a confidential, nationwide peer survey that rates attorneys on professional competency, legal scholarship, pro bono service, and achievement.

“For more than a quarter of a century, I’ve been honored to be recognized among this revered group of lawyers,” Monnat said. “Every day, they make our American justice system stronger by upholding the principles of the Constitution and protecting liberty for all of us,” Monnat said.

Monnat has practiced in Wichita for more than 36 years. A graduate of California State University, Monnat received his J.D. from Creighton University School of Law and is a graduate of Gerry Spence’s Trial Lawyer’s College.

A frequent national lecturer and editorial contributor on criminal defense topics, Monnat is the author of “Sentencing, Probation, and Collateral Consequences,” a chapter of the Kansas Bar Association’s Kansas Criminal Law Handbook, 4th edition. Appointed by then-Governor Kathleen Sebelius, Monnat served on the Kansas Sentencing Commission from 2007 – 2012.

Chosen in 2002 as a Fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers, Monnat currently sits on the Kansas Association of Justice’ Board of Editors and is the Criminal Law Chair. He has also been designated a Fellow of the International Academy of Trial Lawyers, Litigation Counsel of America and the Kansas Bar Foundation.

Monnat served as a member of the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers Board of Directors from 1996 – 2004, and is a two-term past president of the Kansas Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers.