Jason Leiker

Shareholder, Attorney

Fidelity & Surety

(816) 460-1835

Jason Leiker

Shareholder, Attorney

Fidelity & Surety

Jason S. Leiker is an experienced litigator who has transformed his practice to the representation of corporate clients in the surety and manufacturing industries. Jason is regularly tasked with solving difficult, often unique problems. He accomplishes this by listening and partnering with his clients, treating their interests as his own. Jason takes it personally when any result is less than what the client wanted.

Jason is a rising force in the surety industry. He understands that each claim or project requires a tailored solution and an attention to detail. Always trying to work intelligently, Jason knows that his surety client possesses special expertise, which is best utilized in partnership, so that the issue facing them is resolved in an efficient, cost-effective manner.

Jason also relishes his role as outside general counsel to several regional and national companies. In this role, Jason thinks like his client and loves to say “we” in his dealings with others. He is tasked with reviewing and drafting a wide range of contracts and legal documents. He counsels his corporate clients in day to day operational and corporate governance issues. And, Jason has experience resolving difficult employment disputes, and drafting a variety of employment agreements.

Jason joined Levy Craig in 2015.

I serve as trusted counsel called upon to resolve complex problems and disputes.

Career Achievements

  • Won summary judgement in federal court in Arkansas on rescission issue on $2 MM bond exposure
  • Won summary judgement in federal court in Alabama on surety’s right to bonded contract proceeds over the claim of a bank seeking the right to recover the same proceeds
  • Successfully settled a $6 MM indemnity claim in favor of the surety, after proving defalcation by the bonded principal
  • Represented client, a worldwide manufacturer of high-end equipment in the meat and cheese slicing industry, in federal patent infringement litigation, favorably obtaining a stay of the litigation
  • Successfully settled an employment dispute with a Fortune 100 company
  • Won a nearly complete defense verdict on a large lender liability case in Missouri state court. The plaintiff sought $1.3 million in lender liability and punitive damages, but was apportioned 99 percent of the fault, resulting in an award of equal to 1 percent of the alleged damages, or $126.81.
  • Successfully defended against a bad-faith employee-dishonesty bond claim in Nebraska federal court
  • Obtained multiple judgments, in total exceeding $3 MM, in Missouri state court in favor of client, a national real estate developer, on the enforcement of commercial leases
  • Litigated cases in state and federal courts in Missouri, Kansas, Utah, Alabama, Nebraska, Kentucky, Texas, Colorado, Arizona, Oklahoma and Iowa

Activities

  • Member, Fidelity and Surety Law Committee, American Bar Association
  • Member, Chicago Surety Claims Association
  • Member, National Bond Claims Association
  • Member, Surety Claims Institute
  • Member, Pearlman Association
  • Member, Kansas Bar Association
  • Member, Missouri Bar Association
  • Graduate, Kansas City Bar Leadership Academy
  • Ross T. Roberts Inn of Court
  • Graduate, Missouri Organization of Defense Lawyers Trial Academy
  • Executive Board Member, ALS Association Mid-America Chapter
  • Member and volunteer, Holy Trinity Parish
  • Supporter and parent, Rockhurst High School

Published Works & Presentations

  • Presenter, National Bond Claims Seminar, October 2019, “The Pros and Cons of the Surety Giving Notice to Banks of the Trust Fund Provisions in its General Indemnity Agreement”
  • Presenter, CLE topics, Young Lawyers of the Johnson County Bar Association
  • Presenter, business law and real estate topics, Overland Park Chamber of Commerce
  • Presenter, seminars on the legal aspects of real estate, including disclosures, titles and contracts, Reece and Nichols Realtors
  • Co-Chair, American Bar Association, Tort Trial & Insurance Practice Section, Fidelity & Surety Law Mid-Winter Conference, February 2021

Education

  • J.D., University of Kansas School of Law
  • M.A. in Political Science, University of Kansas
  • B.A. in Economics, University of Kansas

Honors

Eagle Scout

Bar Admissions

  • Missouri State Court
  • Western District of Missouri
  • Eastern District of Missouri
  • Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals
  • Kansas State Court
  • District of Kansas
  • Colorado State Court