Trial Magazine

Attorney James Bartimus generally devotes his working hours to helping victims of medical negligence through Bartimus Frickleton Robertson Rader, the firm he founded in 1977 in the Kansas City area. But even with a busy practice, each week for the last 20 years, Bartimus and his entire firm have taken time to perform a simpler yet still meaningful task—making sandwiches for two Kansas City, Mo., food banks.

On Tuesdays, after the announcement “all staff to the kitchen” sounds on the intercom, attorneys and staff gather in the firm’s kitchen. They grab loaves of bread, stacks of sliced ham and cheese, and tubs of mustard and assemble more than 350 sandwiches. The firm sends the sandwiches to Kansas City’s City Union Mission and the Salvation Army, which distribute them to men, women, and children in need.

The idea stems from a time when Bartimus was trying a case in Atlanta and observed another law firm doing it. He was impressed with “how easy it was to help others on a regular basis” and took the sandwich-making idea back to his firm. Bartimus reached out to a law school classmate, whose brother was a pastor at Union Mission, and quickly found a way to deliver the weekly food donations in their community. His long-time assistant, Sue Wasson, contacted local grocery stores and was able to get the food supplies at cost. The activity not only “positively impacts the community each week but also brings everyone at the firm together,” Bartimus said.

In addition to the sandwich-making, the firm is involved with multiple civil service organizations. It recently sponsored Make-A-Wish Missouri and Kansas’s annual Bubble Ball and granted 10 wishes to children in the Kansas City community.

Bartimus said firm leadership should encourage and support staff to participate in community service activities. A few years ago, one of his paralegals asked if the firm could sponsor a low-income family for the holidays. “We all said ‘yes,’ and we’ve continued to sponsor that family and donate holiday gifts to them each year since.” Bartimus added, “Just be receptive to ideas. It doesn’t take any encouragement for my staff to get involved in community service; they all believe in giving back.”

James Bartimus is the founder of Bartimus Frickleton Robertson Rader in Leawood, Kan., and can be reached at jb@bflawfirm.com. Maureen Leddy is an associate editor of Trial magazine.