Kansas Life Fellow John J. Jurcyk, Jr.
May 13, 2009, Fellows in the news
The University of Kansas School of Law has bestowed Kansas Life Fellow John J. Jurcyk, Jr. with its highest honor, the Distinguished Alumnus Award. The award was presented to Mr. Jurcyk on May 2, 2009 at the Adams Alumni Center in Lawrence, Kansas. The Distinguished Alumnus Award is presented annually to graduates who have distinguished themselves through exemplary service to the legal profession, their community, KU and the state.
A native of Kansas City, Kan., John J. Jurcyk, Jr. graduated from Rockhurst College in 1952 and then served with the U.S. Army in Korea from 1952-1954. He received his law degree in 1957 from KU, where he also served as editor-in-chief of the Kansas Law Review. Jurcyk clerked for the late Arthur J. Mellott, chief judge of the U.S. District Court of Kansas, prior to joining McAnany, Van Cleave & Phillips in 1958. He became a partner in 1963 and held many leadership roles through the years, including president, vice president and director. A skilled trial lawyer, Jurcyk tried commercial, employment, negligence, railroad and product liability cases. After 47 years with the firm, he retired in 2005 to serve in the Joe Reardon mayoral administration as senior policy adviser to the mayor/CEO and county administrator for the Unified Government of Wyandotte County, Kansas City, Kansas. Jurcyk is a fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers and the Kansas Bar Foundation, and a member of several local bar associations. He was president of the KU Law Alumni Association of Greater Kansas City and a member of the law school’s Board of Governors. He has received several awards, including the Outstanding Service Award and the Professionalism Award from the Kansas Bar Association.
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