I grew up in Overland Park, Kansas, a suburb of Kansas City. I come from a family of conservative people with red state values. Self-sufficiency, working hard, and doing the right thing were all branded on me by my family since I was a small child. Ironically, my parents worked in the insurance industry for the black hats.
In high school, I started pushing back against my conservative parents and getting into trouble. Their solution was to enroll me in debate class against my will so that I could be doing something constructive with all the combativeness. They told me I would like it. After much protest, it turned out they were right, and I was hooked. I wanted to do something every day where I could intellectually challenge myself and debate. The law was a natural fit.
When I was 16 years old, I met a lawyer for the first time, and he was a plaintiffs’ lawyer. I spent a lot of time listening to him tell me stories about cases, trials, and what is fundamentally right and wrong in the justice system. I was engrossed by these stories. I knew then and there at 16 that I would become a plaintiffs’ lawyer, and that this fight was a fight worth fighting.
I attended undergraduate studies at the University of Kansas. While there, I was fortunate enough to meet the second lawyer I met in my life. A friend in my dorm freshman year got me a job at his mother’s law firm. I was 19 and knew nothing about the law, but she took the time to teach me as much as she could without regard to my lack of experience. I spent the next four years doing legal research, briefs, and motion drafting before attending law school at Creighton University in Omaha, Nebraska.
My wife Chelsea Oxton Dickerson and I started our Firm right out of law school in Kansas City. I feel fortunate to be able to do this work because I feel that it is the one profession that exists where there is a direct correlation between developing your character as a human being and becoming better at your job. Better human beings make better trial lawyers.
