James Kirkpatrick Email and Phone Number

I draft legislation related primarily to conservation, local government, elementary and secondary education, and higher education. Having extensive past experience in drafting legislation related to state income and sales taxes, economic development, elections, campaign finance, gaming, agriculture, and natural resources, I also assist other drafting attorneys in these areas when needed.

As a nonpartisan attorney serving a nonpartisan joint legislative committee, I developed more than seventeen years of expertise and experience in all stages of the legislative process, from discussing the inception of legislative proposals with a legislator to the final publication of enacted laws online and in the printed Revised Statutes of Missouri.Fourteen of those years included drafting legislation related primarily to taxation, elections, campaign finance, and local government issues.From 2015 through Sept. 2019, I focused exclusively on revising the statutes after they are enacted and signed by the Governor. My responsibilities included the following:▸ Assisting the Revisor of Statutes in reviewing and editing enacted bills to prepare printed and electronic versions and indices of the Revised Statutes of Missouri;▸ Reviewing recently-decided cases for references to and discussion of statutes;▸ Preparing and reviewing contracts for publishing the printed version of the Revised Statutes of Missouri and the annual Supplement;▸ Tracking legislation throughout the legislative session to determine language differences and conflicts, and drafting memoranda explaining the legal basis for the Revisor’s decision on whether to merge such differences or suggesting methods of resolving the conflicts before bills are enacted;▸ Assisting Legislative Research's IT programmer in developing proprietary programs to automate the Office of the Revisor’s functions; and▸ Conducting legal research and drafting legal memoranda upon request by legislators and their staff relating primarily to statutory interpretation and application.

In assisting the Law Revision Counsel to maintain and publish the U.S. Code, I was one of several attorneys responsible to determine how newly-enacted provisions of law would be classified to the Code. To make these determinations, I read enrolled bills and made an initial decision about the nature of the provision and the proper location of the provision. After making my initial determinations, I met with senior OLRC staff to review my decisions and to receive guidance about making necessary editorial changes before publishing the provisions.