Slape & Howard Moves Into Aero Plains Brewing Space

Brewing a great beer requires the right combination of hops, malt, grain, and yeast. Brewing a great personal injury law practice requires experience, tenacity, and knowledge about the ever-changing workers compensation laws that keep insurance company profits flowing while leaving injured employees thirsty for benefits.

Soon, our team at Slape & Howard will be tapping into the Delano neighborhood when we relocate our offices from our longtime location on South Broadway in Wichita to the vacant Aero Plains Brewing space on North Handley.

David Freed writes in Air & Space Magazine that “Airplanes are to Wichita what cars are to Detroit. Ask just about any of the 390,000 residents of this Kansas town. They either build airplanes for a living or know someone who does or did.”

Since representing employees in workers compensation claims is the nuts and bolts of our practice at Slape & Howard, it’s somehow fitting that we are making the move from a space we have outgrown to a larger space that most recently housed the aviation-themed Aero Plains Brewing craft brewery. Movement is what we are all about.

Homegrown Meets New Kid on The Block

Our attorney Phil Slape was born and raised in Wichita, the son of firm co-founder Dale Slape. Phil cut his teeth watching his dad represent people injured or killed while on the job.

Partner Jon Voegeli arrived in Kansas to attend Washburn University School of Law where he graduated in 2011. In 2013, he and his family made Wichita their home when he joined our firm at Slape & Howard.

Things have changed a lot since our firm started. Changes in state laws over the past several years have restricted injured employees’ ability to recover fair compensation while still costing employers more and more in workers compensation insurance premiums. The only winners under Kansas workers compensation laws are insurance companies. We want to change that.

At Slape & Howard, we agree that the neighborhood atmosphere of the Delano area provides a perfect setting for serving clients who are the backbone of the Wichita economy. In fact, we had been known to sit down with colleagues at Aero Plains Brewing for a beer and talk about the work we do.

A Bar of A Different Kind

The Wichita Bar Association now meets the neighborhood bar at our new office space. Although we will not be operating a bar, we will be leaving it fairly intact for the time being. Renovations to the rest of the building should be completed by late June. The now-empty brewery tank space will be lightened up with windows for office space, along with other parts of the building.

We will also construct a new entrance to our offices that won’t require walking through the bar, but the aura of aviation and craft beer will remain.

The larger space will better accommodate our growing firm which now has three attorneys, a medical case manager, three legal assistants, and five other support staff team members. Most of all, we hope to make the new space more comfortable for our clients and their families from Wichita and throughout the State of Kansas.

Always Ready to Take on A Challenge

At Slape & Howard, we are always prepared to take on the challenges presented by the ever-changing landscape of Kansas workers compensation law and the challenges our clients and their families face when someone has been injured on the job or died from job-related injuries or illness. Relocating our offices is a construction and logistical challenge, but we are excited about creating a space where we can better serve our clients. Our clients are the sole reason we are here, the reason we have outgrown our current space, and the reason we go to the office every day to do what we do.

The workers compensation environment in Kansas continues to change to the detriment of employees. We fight for our clients in courtrooms, and we fight for them at the state capitol where we try to inform legislation that benefits injured employees and the employers who want them to recover and return to work. In order to get that done, we are forced to take on the deep-pocketed insurance lobby. We are definitely the “Davids” in this scenario, but like him, we are willing and ready to load our slingshot and let the stone fly at Goliath.

Workers Compensation
Attorneys in Wichita, Kansas

The history of Slape & Howard in Wichita is not nearly as old as the aviation industry, but throughout our nearly 40-year existence, we have proudly served thousands of workers compensation clients employed in aviation and other industries in Wichita and throughout the state.

Although we have some major changes on tap, our commitment to working men and women remains steadfast. If you have been injured on the job or had a loved one killed in a workplace accident, call our office today to schedule a free consultation. Whether we are on South Broadway or North Handley, our doors are open.