MCHS grad starts law career in Kansas City

By Theo Tate
Posted 5/12/22

April 22 was a memorable day for Kayla Knipfel.

That’s when the Jonesburg native was one of numerous people getting sworn in as attorneys during a ceremony at the Missouri State Capitol in …

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MCHS grad starts law career in Kansas City

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April 22 was a memorable day for Kayla Knipfel.


That’s when the Jonesburg native was one of numerous people getting sworn in as attorneys during a ceremony at the Missouri State Capitol in Jefferson City.

“We’re just really proud of her,” said Lisa Knipfel, Kayla’s mother.

Kayla Knipfel was sworn in just months after graduating from law school at the University of Missouri-Kansas City. Her mother, father and boyfriend attended the ceremony.

“The moment itself was very special, having the Supreme Court of Missouri up there in the front,” Knipfel said. “To get sworn in with some of my classmates who I have been through this experience with for the past three years was a really neat experience.”

Now, Knipfel is working as an associate attorney at Paul LLP Trial Attorneys in Kansas City. She started working there in March. Then, she became an attorney at the firm after she was sworn in at Jefferson City.

“It’s a special feeling, especially knowing that there aren’t a lot of attorneys from the (Montgomery County) area in general and there are not a lot of female attorneys,” Knipfel said. “I felt very fortunate to have this experience. I do feel like I had a lot of support from the community, whether they would be teachers, family members or friends along the way.”

Knipfel, 24, has set a goal for her first year with the firm, which was started by lawyer Rick Paul in 2013.

“I would like to grow professionally and maybe eventually become a partner at a law firm,” Knipfel said. “But along the way, I want to make a difference in being able to help the lives of others who aren’t able to represent themselves.”

Knipfel graduated from Montgomery County High School in 2015. She said when she was in middle school, she had thoughts of working as an attorney in the future.

“It’s always been an ambition of mine that I had in the back of my head,” Knipfel said. “Then, whenever I finally got to college as an undergrad, I started taking business law classes for my business major. It really affirmed it for me that this was the path that I wanted to go down.”

Knipfel graduated from Missouri State University with a Bachelor’s degree in business management in December 2018. Then, she decided to go to Kansas City to attend law school.

“They have a really good program for people who want to stay in the Kansas City area,” Knipfel said. “Eighty percent of the judges in Kansas City actually went to UMKC Law School, so it’s a good program for people who want to stay in the area. Also, I became interested in Kansas City when my brother moved here after he got done with his undergrad (degree) at UCM (University of Central Missouri). So when we started visiting him in Kansas City, I really fell in love with the Kansas City area. So UMKC felt like a good fit for me.”

Knipfel graduated from the UMKC Law School in December 2021. She said she enjoyed her three years at the Kansas City school.

“It was definitely a little taxing at times,” Knipfel said. “There was a lot of studying. There was a lot of giving up social events and stuff to focus on my studies. But it was a good experience. I made some great friends in law school. It was definitely a good phase in my life.”

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