LAWYER pROFILES

At large law firms, associates and paralegals commonly do most of the work, and you seldom if ever speak to the attorney that you hired. At Monaco, Sanders, Racine, Powell & Reidy, LLC we believe your case deserves our full attention, and partners work in integrated team fashion in supervising any work assigned to paralegals and associates.

We have a team of seasoned lawyers, some of whom command nearly 40 years of experience. Our practice areas complement one another, and we work together to find the optimal solution to your legal matter and provide a single source for your legal needs.

Over the course of our collective legal careers, we have handled hundreds of business litigation matters, employment law issues, personal injury and wrongful death claims, family law issues and more with the thoroughness and professionalism that each of our clients deserves.

We don't have high-priced art on our walls. Rather, we have high-quality legal counsel in a down-to-earth environment, with reasonable overhead to provide our clients with the best representation possible.

Our lawyers are authors, legislators, educators and highly experienced legal practitioners focused on your individual needs and bottom line. Learn more about our attorneys at the links below. 

Ralph A. Monaco, II | Dan C. Sanders | Aaron J. Racine | Russell L. Powell | Patrick M. Reidy

Ralph A. Monaco, II is a lifelong resident of Raytown, Missouri.  He graduated from Rockhurst University in 1978, summa cum laude, with degrees in history and political science.  In 1981, he received his juris doctorate degree from U.M.K.C. School of Law.  He is a charter member of Monaco, Sanders, Racine, Powell & Reidy L.C.  He has been engaged in the private practice of law for over 36 years, and he is a member of the Missouri Bar and Western District of Missouri Federal District Court.  His peers in the legal community have recognized his legal ability and ethical standards by bestowing upon him an AV rating, the highest rating given to lawyers.  His legal work consists of a far ranging practice from probate administration to estate planning, from civil litigation to personal injury and worker’s compensation practice; from business organizations to corporate dissolutions; from real estate transactions to contract law; from family law to guardianship and juvenile court proceedings; from entertainment law to business management; and from criminal to traffic law defense.

Mr. Monaco has been active in the political and civic communities. He formerly served on the Raytown School Board, and served as School Board Vice-President and as Board President. He was elected to the Missouri House of Representatives, District #49 in 1996, and he went on to serve four terms in the House, including serving as Chairman of the Judiciary Committee, before he was ineligible to run for reelection because of term limits. Mr. Monaco is past President of the Jackson County Historical Society, and he currently serves as a member of the Society’s Board of Directors.  He also currently serves as a member of the Board of Directors of the National Frontier Three Trails Museum, member of the 2017- 2018 Jackson County Task Force where he serves as a sub-committee chairman and is an active participant in Jackson County Heritage Programs and Museums. Mr. Monaco has also served on the Board of Directors of the Keith Worthington Chapter of ALS, Board of Trustees of Elmwood Cemetery, Board of Director of the Rice-Tremonti House, Park Lane Foundation and Board of Director of Stepping Stones.

Mr. Monaco has received numerous public service awards and recognition. These have included the Acorn Life Membership in PTA, Missouri Judiciary Legislator of the Year Award, the Missouri Bar Legislator of the Year Award, the Association of Retarded Citizens of Missouri Legislator of the Year Award, Friend of the ARC Legislator of the Year Award, Champion of Justice Award from the Missouri Association of Trial Attorneys, NEA Legislator of the Year Award, the Associate and Probate Judges of Missouri Legislator of the Year Award, the Outstanding Service Award from the Jackson County Heritage Programs & Museums, Making History Come Alive Award from the Jackson County Historical Society, recipient of the Pioneer of Harrodsburg, Kentucky Award, Lifetime Membership Award in the Raytown Historical Society, Volunteer of the Year Award from Jackson County Parks & Recreation, Phi Alpha Delta law fraternity Bovine Scoop Award, and Phi Alpha Delta Brown Bottle recipient as PAD member of the year.

Within the local bar, Mr. Monaco has developed a strong reputation for producing and directing historical retrials in partnership between the Jackson County Historical Society and U.M.K.C. School of Law, CLE Program. These historical retrials have included the recreation of the 1883 trial of Frank James for the Winston train robbery and murder, the 1910 murder trial of Dr. C. Bennett Hyde for the alleged murder of Kansas City philanthropist Thomas H. Swope, the 1899 train robbery trial of the “Son of a Bandit” Jesse James, Jr., the 1931 trial of Myrtle Bennett for the alleged murder of her husband John G. Bennett over a game of bridge and the 1881 Trial of Bill Ryan for the Glendale train robbery.

Mr. Monaco continues to remain very active with historical organizations and portrayals.  He has a passion for living history and Civil War reenacting.  For over 25 years, he has portrayed Abram Comingo, a 19th Century attorney and Congressman.  His other first person performances has included Manuel de Lisa, a Spanish fur trader who helped outfit the Lewis & Clark Expedition, James Slover, Frank James’ defense attorney, Edgar Allan Poe, poet and master of the macabre, George Caleb Bingham, the Missouri 19th Century artist and politician, Col. Thomas H. Swope, Kansas City philanthropist and alleged murder victim, Alexander William Doniphan, Mexican War Veteran, Attorney and Statesman and Jesse E. James, the son of the bandit Jesse James. 

Mr. Monaco is also the author of six non-fiction books:  The Strange Story of Col. Swope & Dr. Hyde (Two Trails Publishing, Independence, Mo. 2010), Son of a Bandit, Jesse James & The Leeds Gang (Monaco Publishing, LLC, Independence, Mo. 2012), Blood on the Streets: The Civil War Comes to Jackson County, Missouri, August 1861 (Monaco Publishing, LLC, Independence, Mo. 2012), and Scattered to the Four Winds (Monaco Publishing, LLC and Jackson County Historical Society, Independence, Mo. 2013), Son of a Bandit, Jesse James & The Leeds Gang, Last Hand at Park Manor (Monaco Publishing, LLC and Jackson County Historical Society, Independence, Mo. 2015) and The Bandit Rides Again, Jesse James, Whiskeyhead Ryan & the Glendale Train Robbery (Monaco Publishing, LLC and Jackson County Historical Society, Independence, Mo. 2017). He received the coveted John Newman Edwards Literary Award from the James Farm for his book, Son of a Bandit, Jesse James & The Leeds Gang. His gripping tale of the history of the tragedy surrounding General Order No. 11 and martial law in Jackson County, Missouri during the American Civil War in his book Scattered to the Four Winds was recognized as the 2013 book of the year by the Jackson County Historical Society.  His latest work, The Bandit Rides Again, Jesse James, Whiskeyhead Ryan & the Glendale Train Robbery garnered the Don Hale Literary Award.

Contact Ralph A. Monaco, II: 816.523.2400, Ext. 1

Dan Crane Sanders:

• Born 1958

• University of Kansas 1981 (BA Economics)

• St Louis University School of Law (JD law 1986

• Licensed in MO 1986

• Licensed in KS 1996

Licensed to practice in:

1)  MO

2)  KS

3)  US District Court of Missouri, Western District

4)  US District Court for Kansas,

5)  United States Court of Appeals for the 8th Circuit

6)  United States Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit

7)  United States Court of Appeals for the 10th Circuit

Practice Areas: Civil Litigation, Construction Law, Personal injury, Real Estate, Trusts

Awards: Best of the Bar, 2002 and 2003

Publications: None

Hobbies: None/work

Dan C. Sanders

MONACO, SANDERS, RACINE, & POWELL, L.L.C.

8700 State Line Road, Suite 110

Leawood, Kansas 66206

Main: (816) 523-2400, ext. 2

Direct dial: (913) 378-0685

Fax: (816) 942-0006

Contact Aaron J.Racine

• Phone: (816) 523-2400 Ext. 102
• Direct dial: (816) 985-0890
• Fax: (816) 942-0006

Areas of Practice

• Estate Planning
• Family Law
• Real Estate Law
• Litigation Percentage: 50% of Practice Devoted to Litigation

Bar Admissions

• Illinois, 1997
• Missouri, 1996
• Kansas, 1997
• U.S. District Court Western District of Missouri, 1996
• U.S. District Court District of Kansas, 1997

Education

• University of Illinois College of Law, Champaign, Illinois, 1996, J.D.
• University of Melbourne Law School, Melbourne, Australia, Faculty of Law
• Stanford University, 1993 B.A. , Honors: With Honors

Professional Associations and Memberships

• The Missouri Bar, Member
• Kansas Bar Association, Member
• Illinois State Bar Association, Member
• Kansas City Metropolitan Bar Association, Member
• Bar Association of Metropolitan St. Louis, Member
• Foundation for Center Education, Director

Languages

• German

Fraternities/Sororities

• Theta Xi

Aaron J. Racine

MONACO, SANDERS, RACINE, & POWELL, L.L.C.

8700 State Line Road, Suite 110

Leawood, Kansas 66206

Main: (816) 523-2400, ext. 102

Direct dial: (816) 985-0890

Fax: (816) 942-0006

Contact Russell L. Powell

• Phone:  (816) 523-2400 Ext. 122
• Direct dial: (816) 550-3695
• Fax: (816) 942-0006

Areas of Practice

• Business Transaction
• Litigation

Bar Admissions

• Kansas, 1999
• Missouri, 1998
• U.S. District Court Western District of Missouri, 1998
• U.S. District Court District of Kansas, 1999
• U.S. Court of Appeals 8th Circuit, 2004

Education

• University of Arkansas at Little Rock School of Law, Little Rock, Arkansas, 1998, J.D.
• University of Oregon, 1992, B.A.

Honors and Awards

• The Kansas City Business Journal Best of the Bar, 2004
• The Kansas City Business Journal Best of the Bar, 2006

Professional Associations and Memberships

• American Association for Justice - Member
• Missouri Association of Trial Attorneys - Member
• The Missouri Bar - Member
• Kansas City Metropolitan Bar Association, Ross T. Roberts Inn of Court - Chairman
• Kansas City Metropolitan Bar Association, KCMBA Young Lawyers Section - Member, Board of Directors
• Committee for County Progress, Board of Directors - Executive Committee Member

Russell L. Powell

MONACO, SANDERS, RACINE, & POWELL, L.L.C.

8700 State Line Road, Suite 110

Leawood, Kansas 66206

Main: (816) 523-2400, ext. 122

Direct dial: (816)550-3695

Fax: (816) 942-0006

Contact Patrick M. Reidy

• Phone:  (816) 523-2400 Ext.114
• Direct dial: (816) 616-2841
• Fax: (816) 942-0006

Areas of Practice

• Civil Litigation 
• Litigation Percentage: 100% of Practice Devoted to Litigation
• Personal Injury

Bar Admissions

• Missouri, 1980
• Wisconsin, 1978
• U.S. District Court Western District of Missouri
• U.S. District Court District of Kansas
• U.S. Court of Appeals 8th Circuit
• U.S. Court of Appeals 10th Circuit

Education

• University of Denver College of Law, Denver, Colorado, 1978, J.D.
• University of Notre Dame, Notre Dame, Indiana, 1975, B.A.

Professional Associations and Memberships

• The Missouri Bar - Member
• Rockhurst High School Alumni Association - Past President
• Notre Dame Club of Kansas City- Past President
• St. Thomas More Home and School Association - Past President

Patrick M. Reidy

MONACO, SANDERS, RACINE, & POWELL, L.L.C.

8700 State Line Road, Suite 110

Leawood, Kansas 66206

Main: (816) 523-2400 Ext.114

Direct dial: (816) 616-2841

Fax: (816) 942-0006