Alan Rupe is the co-managing partner of Lewis Brisbois’ Omaha, Nebraska, and Wichita, Kansas offices.  He is an equity partner.  He is the Midwest Regional Vice-Chair of the firm’s Labor & Employment Practice group.  

As one Jackson County, Missouri judge recently observed, “experience matters in becoming an effective trial lawyer.”  Clients need experienced lawyers to represent them in critical litigation.  Mr. Rupe is that lawyer, proving that hard work and trial experience produce outstanding results.

Mr. Rupe is consistently recognized for excellence by local, state, national, and international rankings and organizations, including Chambers USA (Band 1, Kansas Labor & Employment) and Best Lawyers.  He is an “Advocate” member of the American Board of Trial Advocates (ABOTA), an invitation-only role granted to trial attorneys who are of “high personal character and honorable reputation” with considerable jury trial experience. He has also been named “Board Certified Trial Specialist” by the National Board of Trial Advocacy. 

Mr. Rupe has tried in excess of 175 jury trials, defending notable cases such as his defense of a local governmental entity against a 12-plaintiff civil rights lawsuit – the National Law Journal  recognized Rupe’s work as one of the defense verdicts of the year.  He is known for a number of “firsts”:  he defended one of the first school shooting cases in Kansas; tried the first Title VII jury trial in Kansas; and tried the first RICO case in a Kansas federal court.  His years of experience defending businesses in employment, commercial, civil rights, and wage and hour class and collective actions cause employers to seek them out for representation in state and federal courts across the United States, from California to Maryland, from Minnesota to the Rio Grande Valley. Accustomed to often being the “lawyer from out of town,” he associates seamlessly with local counsel, skillfully and successfully demonstrating his courtroom skills and experience on behalf of his clients.  Recently, the Wichita, Kansas Business Journal recognized him as an “Executive of the Year” for 2024.

Notable recent verdicts include the following:

• Defense verdict on behalf of an aviation-related client against allegations of discrimination under the Age Discrimination and Employment by a management level employee;
• Verdict for the defense and an award of costs to Rupe’s client, an aviation-related company, defending against claims of race discrimination and retaliation;
• Defense of a national hotel franchisee in a sex harassment suit in Maryland, resulting in a defense verdict for Rupe’s client.  Plaintiff appealed to the Maryland Supreme Court, which ordered a new trial.  Rupe tried the case again, and prevaileda second time.
• In a small rural Kansas courtroom with a jury of the plaintiff’s friends and neighbors, Rupe obtained a defense verdict for his physician client who was charged with tortious interference and breach of contract.  Plaintiff received a verdict of more than $2 million against the co-defendants. 
• In Texas, Rupe defended his client, a business which guaranteed asset protection waiver agreements for car dealerships and their consumers.  Following an evidentiary hearing in the arbitration, Rupe obtained complete dismissal for the Lewis Brisbois client.
• In California, Rupe successfully prosecuted his client’s claims against a competitor who acquired the client’s trade secrets, proprietary, and confidential information.  The case was successfully resolved following the competitor’s payment of a substantial amount to his client.

Mr. Rupe’s best known work is on behalf of public-school children.   He receives ongoing national attention for his successful representation of Kansas school districts, resulting in the greatest increase in funding of Kansas public education.  Following years of trials and appeals, the Kansas Supreme Court ordered the State of Kansas to increase spending on public schools by nearly $1 billion each year, and by approximately $440 million in 2014 and 2015.  He received the national Demetrio Rodriguez Champion of Educational Justice Award from Education Law Center, Inc. for “years of outstanding lawyering and lobbying and perseverance in the face of obstacles, including brash insults” for his work on these lawsuits.

Publications

Professional Presentations

NCSL Capital Forum, “The Changing Power of the Purse: Federal Tax Reform and State Lawsuits," San Diego, California, December 11, 2017

Admissions

• State Bar Admissions
  • Arkansas
  • Kansas
  • Missouri
  • Nebraska
  • Oklahoma
  • Tennessee
  • Texas
• United States District Courts
  • United States District Court for the Eastern District of Arkansas
  • United States District Court for the Western District of Arkansas
  • United States District Court for the Northern District of Georgia
  • United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois
  • United States District Court for the District of Kansas
  • United States District Court for the District of Minnesota
  • United States District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri
  • United States District Court for the Western District of Missouri
  • United States District Court for the District of Nebraska
  • United States District Court for the District of New Mexico
  • United States District Court for the Eastern District of Oklahoma
  • United States District Court for the Northern District of Oklahoma
  • United States District Court for the Western District of Oklahoma
  • United States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania
  • United States District Court for the Eastern District of Tennessee
  • United States District Court for the Middle District of Tennessee
  • United States District Court for the Western District of Tennessee
• United States Courts of Appeals
  • United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit
  • United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit
  • United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit
  • United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit
  • United States Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit
• United States Supreme Court

Admissions

Arkansas

Kansas

Missouri

Nebraska

Oklahoma

Texas

Tennessee

U.S. Supreme Court

U.S. Court of Appeals, Fifth Circuit

U.S. Court of Appeals, Sixth Circuit

U.S. Court of Appeals, Seventh Circuit

U.S. Court of Appeals, Eighth Circuit

U.S. Court of Appeals, Tenth Circuit

Associations

• American Board of Trial Advocacy (“ABOTA”)
• Arkansas Bar Association 
• Defense Research Institute
  • DRI Class Action Specialized Litigation Group
• Fifth Circuit Bar Association
• International Association of Defense Counsel
• Kansas Bar Association
  • President to Chair, Employment Law Section (2018–2020)
• Kansas City Metropolitan Bar Association
• Missouri Bar Association
• Oklahoma Bar Association
• Texas Bar Association
• Wichita Bar Association

Awards & Honors

• Chambers USA – Band 1, Kansas Labor & Employment, 2003–2022, 2025
• Best Lawyers
  • Civil Rights Law, 2016–2019, 2021, 2022, 2024-2026
  • Employment Law - Management, 2016–2019, 2021, 2022 & 2024-2026
  • Litigation - Labor and Employment, 2016–2019, 2021, 2022 & 2024-2026
  • Litigation - Municipal, 2016–2019, 2021, 2022 & 2024-2026
  • Wichita Litigation – Labor & Employment ”Lawyer of the Year,” 2014–2015
• Missouri & Kansas Super Lawyers (since 2005)
• Wichita Bar Association “President’s Award” for outstanding service in drafting Wichita Bar Association’s Diversity Action Plan
• Honoree as “Executive of the Year” by the Wichita Business Journal, 2024

Education

Washburn University

Juris Doctor

University of Kansas

Bachelor of Arts