Lori Burns-Bucklew is a Kansas City attorney in private practice. She graduated from the University of Missouri-Kansas City School of Law and began practicing in 1984. An accredited Child Welfare Law Specialist, she has represented children and youth, as well as parents, grandparents, and other caregivers for children whose families are subjected to state intervention. She has served as class counsel in several civil rights class action matters on behalf of children in state care. She has trained hundreds of lawyers in the Kansas City metropolitan region regarding child welfare law and children’s issues.
Impact Litigation in Kansas
Taking Action for State Reform
Our Work
Foster Care Law Suit
On July 8, 2020, Kansas officials and attorneys advocating for the rights of over 7,000 children in Kansas foster care agreed to an ambitious settlement plan. Our settlement attempts to transform an overburdened, mismanaged, and dangerous foster care system that, for years, has victimized and traumatized the very Kansas children it is supposed to protect.
Wichita Gang List
For Black and Brown folks in Wichita, equal justice under the law isn’t always possible. These Wichita community members have been surveilled, harassed, and punished specifically, often without notice and without cause. That’s why we teamed up with the ACLU of Kansas to file a class action lawsuit against the City of Wichita. On April 9, 2024, the City of Wichita approved a settlement that will significantly reform the policy and practices of the Wichita Police Department’s (WPD) long-standing use of an unconstitutional and discriminatory “Gang List” or “Gang Database.”
League of Women Voters of Kansas v. Schwab
We partnered with League of Women Voters of Kansas, Loud Light, Kansas Appleseed Center for Law and Justice, and the Topeka Independent Living Resource Center to file a lawsuit challenging newly enacted voting laws that made it a crime to “give the appearance of being an election official,” banned mailing advance ballot applications from out of state, tightened signature match requirements, and forbade assisting in the collection of ten or more advance ballots. After three years of fighting voter suppression laws in the Kansas Statehouse and in the courts, District Judge Teresa Watson approved a temporary injunction halting the enforcement of a state law that could have criminalized voter registration activities. This agreement means that organizations and individuals can engage in voter registration and other get out the vote activities without fear of criminal charges. The injunction is in effect at least through November 2024.
Kansas Appleseed Center for Law and Justice v. Schwab
On May 5, 2025, the Disability Rights Center of Kansas, Kansas Appleseed Center for Law and Justice, and Loud Light filed a pro-voting lawsuit challenging Senate Bill 4. SB 4, passed by the legislature this year, eliminates the three–day grace period for mail ballot returns. By eliminating the three–day grace period for mail-in ballots, SB 4 threatens to disenfranchise Kansas voters by discarding thousands of valid ballots.
Litigation Partners
We work with individuals and organizations both statewide and nationally to support our work, including the following partners:
The National Center for Youth Law is a non-profit law firm that helps low-income children achieve their potential by transforming the public agencies that serve them. For more information, please visit www.youthlaw.org.
Every day, children are harmed in America’s broken child welfare, juvenile justice, education, and healthcare systems. Through relentless, strategic advocacy and legal action, we hold governments accountable for keeping kids safe and healthy. Children’s Rights, a national non-profit organization, has made a lasting impact for hundreds of thousands of vulnerable children. For more information, please visit www.childrensrights.org
DLA Piper is a global law firm with lawyers located in more than 40 countries to help clients with their legal needs around the world. DLA Piper has a long-standing and deep commitment to giving back to our communities through pro bono legal services, and it is one of the largest providers of pro bono legal services globally.
Shook, Hardy & Bacon’s Kansas City office—the firm’s headquarters location—is located south of the Crown Center complex near the downtown business district. Established in Kansas City in 1889, the firm’s historic presence in the community has forged enduring client relationships built on superior legal services.
As voting rights and democratic institutions have come under attack, Elias Law Group has become the nation’s go-to law firm to fight back against voter suppression and election subversion. By protecting voting rights in state and federal court, our attorneys have helped millions of Americans register to vote, cast their ballot, and have that ballot counted.
Irigonegaray & Revenaugh’s goal as an organization is to create a legal environment that reflects who we are as individuals. Our mission is to provide comprehensive legal services to families in Shawnee County
How Impact Litigation Works to Create Change
Also known as cause lawyering or public interest law, our impact litigation combines multiple strategies to protect and promote human rights in Kansas.
We don’t take issues to court as a first line of advocacy. However, when it’s necessary, Kansas Appleseed will intervene in systems of injustice through impact litigation to protect Kansans’ rights and well-being. Our advocates, lawyers, and analysts combine efforts to achieve the change Kansas needs.
Read the Most Recent Updates
Our work continues. Read the most recent updates on our ongoing litigation efforts.
