“He asked who actually farms the ground before he asked about money. The lease is four pages, and my brother and I both understand every one.”
Dale R.Farm lease and will
A law office on North Main
“Put it on paper while everyone still gets along.”
My grandfather rented the same ground for thirty-one years on a handshake. It held until the owner died, and her heirs had never heard of it.
That is most of the law in a small town. A lease, a will, a partnership, a purchase: the trouble starts when nobody wrote down what everyone understood. I'd rather help you write it down now than sort it out in a courtroom later.
And when something has already gone wrong, I'll tell you plainly what it will cost and what I would do.
Lyle Koehn
Attorney at law, Hutchinson
Lyle Koehn
The lawyer you will talk to, every time
I grew up eleven miles south of town, on ground my family still rents out. When I came home from law school, I meant to stay a year.
What kept me was the work. In a town this size, one lawyer sees the whole of people's lives: the lease, the shop, the ticket, the farm passing to the next generation. You don't get to specialize much, and you don't get to hide behind a front desk. People know where you buy groceries.
So I work the way a neighbor should. I tell you on the first call whether you need a lawyer at all. If you do, you get the fee in writing before I start, and a straight answer whenever you ask how it's going.
If your matter belongs with someone else, I'll say so, and give you a name.
On the record
Admitted, schooled, and in these courts
Admitted
Kansas
2012
Courts
Kansas state courts
District and municipal
U.S. District Court, District of Kansas
Schooling
J.D., Washburn University School of Law
B.S., Kansas State University
Agricultural economics
Worked examples
Three matters, with the numbers left in
These are the kinds of matters that come through the door most weeks. Names and figures are made up; the shape is typical, and none of it promises how yours turns out. Divorce, custody, debt and injury cases go to lawyers I trust, and I'll give you their names on the first call.
- Farms, land and leases
A quarter section and three heirs
A widow owns 160 acres her son has farmed for twenty years on a handshake. Her two daughters live out of state. We write a cash-rent lease at the going rate, a will that leaves the land to all three equally, and an option for the son to buy his sisters out over ten years at an appraised price.
Farms, land and leasesFlat fee for the set, quoted in writing first
About six weeks, two meetings
- Main Street business
Buying the bakery on the corner
A couple agrees to buy a bakery for $85,000: the ovens, the name, the recipes and a lease with four years left. Before they sign, we confirm the lease can pass to them, list the equipment by serial number, hold $8,000 back for six months against the seller's old bills, and get a promise not to open across the street.
Main Street businessFlat fee, quoted up front
Closing in about a month
- Traffic and misdemeanors
A first DUI, and a job behind the wheel
A delivery driver is charged with a first DUI on his way home. His license matters more to him than the fine. We ask for the license hearing inside the short window the law allows, then ask the prosecutor whether diversion is on the table, and walk him through what each road costs.
Traffic and misdemeanorsFlat fee through diversion or a plea, quoted in writing first
Court costs and fines are separate
From clients
What people said once the papers were signed
“He called the landlord himself and found the problem in our lease a week before we'd have signed it.”
Teresa and Joel M.Bought a shop downtown
“I expected a lecture. I got a plan, a fee on paper, and a call back the same afternoon.”
Cody P.Traffic matter
Shared with permission. Every client's matter is different, and how one turned out doesn't predict another.
Write to the office
Tell me what's going on
A few lines is plenty. I read these myself, and I'll call or write back to set a time to talk.
Phone(620) 555-0147
HoursWeekdays 8:30 to 5
Evenings by appointment