About Jonathan Sternberg

After briefing, arguing, and winning his first appeal while still a law student, Jonathan knew the intellectual challenges of appellate practice were for him. So, in 2007, immediately after graduating and being admitted to the bar, he opened his appellate practice. Since then, he has been privileged to represent a wide spectrum of clients nationwide, including Fortune 500® companies and other businesses in complex, high-value suits, citizens challenging controversial laws, individuals facing serious criminal sentences or involved in heartwrenching domestic disputes, and many others.

In addition to his practice, Jonathan is active in a variety of professional and civic organizations, including having chaired the appellate-related committees of both the statewide Missouri Bar and the local Kansas City Metropolitan Bar Association.

Jonathan was born in 1981 in New Haven, Connecticut, and grew up in Kansas City, Missouri. He and his wife, Meredith, reside in Kansas City’s Plaza area.

Education

• Juris Doctor, University of Missouri-Kansas City School of Law, 2007

  • CALI Awards (top grades) in both Criminal Procedure and Constitutional Interpretation

  • Externship, Federal Defender for the Western District of Missouri
     

• Bachelor of Arts, History, with honors, University of Kansas, 2003

Bar Admissions

• State courts:

  • Missouri, 2007

  • Kansas, 2013

  • Illinois, 2019
     

• Federal appellate courts:

  • Supreme Court of the United States, 2010

  • United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit (Boston), 2014

  • United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit (New York City), 2014

  • United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit (Philadelphia), 2014

  • United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit (Richmond), 2014

  • United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit (New Orleans), 2014

  • United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit (Cincinnati), 2014

  • United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit (Chicago), 2014

  • United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit (St. Louis), 2007

  • United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit (San Francisco), 2009

  • United States Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit (Denver), 2008

  • United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit (Atlanta), 2014

  • United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit (Washington, D.C.), 2014

  • United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, 2014

  • United States Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces, 2014
     

• Federal district courts:

  • United States District Court for the Western District of Missouri, 2007

  • United States District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri, 2008

  • United States District Court for the District of Kansas, 2008

  • United States District Court for the Western District of Arkansas, 2019

  • United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, 2019

  • United States District Court for the Central District of Illinois, 2019

  • United States District Court for the Southern District of Illinois, 2019

Awards & Recognition

• “Power 30: Appellate Attorneys,” Missouri Lawyers Weekly, 2021 (Missouri’s top 30 appellate lawyers; youngest listed)
   

• Fellow of the American Bar Foundation, 2020-present
   

• The Best Lawyers in America©, Appellate Practice, 2015-2021, Criminal Defense, 2016-2017 (top 4% nationwide)
   

• Missouri & Kansas Super Lawyers, 2014-2021 (top 5% of lawyers in Missouri and Kansas combined)

  • “Top 100,” 2016, 2019-2021 (top 100 lawyers in Missouri and Kansas combined; youngest each year)

  • “Kansas City Top 50,” 2016, 2019-2021 (top 50 lawyers in the Kansas City metropolitan area; youngest each year)

  • Previously on their “Rising Stars” list, 2010-2013 (top 2.5% of lawyers in Missouri under 40 years of age)
     

• “Best of the Bar,” Kansas City Business Journal, 2013-2016 (top 200 lawyers in the Kansas City metropolitan area)
   

• Profiled on front page of Missouri Lawyers Weekly, April 15, 2013
   

• Rated AV® Preeminent™ by Martindale-Hubbell®, 2012-2021 (highest peer-review rating for ethics and ability)
   

• Missouri Bar Leadership Academy, class of 2011
   

• “Up & Coming Lawyer,” Missouri Lawyers Weekly, 2009 (youngest awardee; only solo practitioner awardee)

Professional Affiliations

• Bar Association of Metropolitan St. Louis, 2020-present
   

• Kansas Bar Association, 2013-present

  • Appellate Law Section
     

• Eighth Circuit Bar Association, 2013-present
   

• Kansas City Metropolitan Bar Association, 2008-present

  • Board of Directors, 2016

  • CLE Advisory Committee, 2015-2016, 2020

  • Section of Civil Litigation (President, 2016; President-Elect, 2015)

  • Appellate Practice Committee (Chair, 2011-2014, 2017; Vice-Chair, 2009-2011, 2020-2021)
     

• American Bar Association, 2007-present

  • Council of Appellate Lawyers

  • Section of Litigation

  • Appellate Practice Committee
     

• The Missouri Bar, 2007-present

  • Civil Practice & Procedure Committee (Vice Chair, 2012-2016)

    • Appellate Practice Subcommittee (Chair, 2012-2016)

  • Appellate Practice Committee​

Works Published

• Editor, Practical Aspects of Practicing Law: A Manual for New Missouri Lawyers (The Missouri Bar: 2011)

  • (and author of § 2, The Missouri Nonpartisan Court Plan)
     

• Deciding Not to Decide: The Judiciary Act of 1925 and the Discretionary Court, 33(1) J. Sup. Ct. Hist. 1 (Mar. 2008)

Professional Presentations

• “Nuts and Bolts of Missouri Appellate Practice and Procedure,” numerous times before numerous audiences, most recently in June 2021

• “Ethical Issues in Deciding Whether to Appeal,” numerous times before numerous audiences, most recently in June 2021

• “21st Century Advocacy: Live and Remote,” Annual David Prager Appellate Institute, Kansas City Metropolitan Bar Association (May 2021: Kansas City, Mo.)

• “Nuts and Bolts of Kansas Appellate Practice and Procedure,” Kansas Trial Lawyers Association (February 2021: Wichita, Kan.)

• “Interlocutory Review in Missouri, Kansas, and Federal Courts,” Annual David Prager Appellate Institute, Kansas City Metropolitan Bar Association (June 2019: Kansas City, Mo.)

• “Oral and Written Advocacy for Bankruptcy Practitioners,” Kansas City Bankruptcy Bar Association (July 2018: Kansas City, Kan.)

• “Appellate Practice Update,” University of Missouri-Kansas City School of Law (June 2018: St. Louis, Mo.)

• “New State and Federal Appellate Rules,” Annual David Prager Appellate Institute, Kansas City Metropolitan Bar Association (May 2018: Kansas City, Mo.)

• “Appellate Practice 101,” Kansas City Metropolitan Bar Association (June 2017: Independence, Mo.)

• “The Art of Persuasive Modern Brief-Writing,” Annual David Prager Appellate Institute, Kansas City Metropolitan Bar Association (June 2016: Kansas City, Mo.)

• “Protecting the Record on Appeal & Preserving Issues for Appeal,” Annual Bench, Bar, and Boardroom Conference, Kansas City Metropolitan Bar Association (May 2016: Branson, Mo.)

• “Preparing the Best Records and Briefs for eFiling and eReading,” Annual Bench, Bar, and Boardroom Conference, Kansas City Metropolitan Bar Association  (May 2016: Branson, Mo.)

• “Preparing the Best Records and Briefs for eFiling and eReading,” The Missouri Bar (Nov. 2015: Jefferson City, Mo.)

• “Issues and Ethics in Managing an Appellate Practice,” Kansas City Metropolitan Bar Association (Oct. 2014: Kansas City, Mo.)

• “Obtaining Review in the Supreme Courts of Kansas and Missouri,” Annual David Prager Appellate Institute, Kansas City Metropolitan Bar Association (May 2014: Kansas City, Mo.)

• “How to Protect the Record for Appeal,” Annual Bench, Bar, and Boardroom Conference, Kansas City Metropolitan Bar Association (May 2014: Branson, Mo.)

• “Jones, Jardines, and Fourth Amendment Privacy in the Information Age,” Annual Bench, Bar, and Boardroom Conference, Kansas City Metropolitan Bar Association (May 2014: Branson, Mo.)

• “Appellate Oral Argument Workshop,” Kansas City Metropolitan Bar Association (Apr. 2014: Kansas City, Mo.)

• “Constructing a Winning Appeal,” The Missouri Bar (Mar. 2014: Kansas City, Mo.)

• “Electronically Filing ‘Tablet-Friendly’ Briefs and Records,” Annual David Prager Appellate Institute, Kansas City Metropolitan Bar Association (June 2013: Kansas City, Mo.)

• “A Proposal for Modernizing Aspects of Missouri Civil Appellate Procedure,” The Missouri Bar (Nov. 2012: Jefferson City, Mo.)

• “Missouri E-Filing from a Practitioner’s Perspective,” Annual David Prager Appellate Institute, Kansas City Metropolitan Bar Association (Nov. 2012)

• “2d Annual Oral Argument Workshop,” Kansas City Metropolitan Bar Association / Missouri Court of Appeals, Western District (June 2012: Kansas City, Mo.)

• “The Law of State and Local Smoking Bans,” National Business Institute (Apr. 2012: Overland Park, Kan.)

• “Oral Argument Workshop,” Kansas City Metropolitan Bar Association / Missouri Court of Appeals, Western District (June 2011: Kansas City, Mo.)