Merritt Kinkead
Civil trial lawyer, Kinkead Law
Merritt has spent her career on business and property lawsuits in Louisville courtrooms, for the side that sued and the side that was sued.
Merritt started at a downtown firm defending companies in contract cases, then spent several years on the other side of the same cases, representing small businesses and owners who were owed money. She opened Kinkead Law to do both, for clients who wanted the lawyer they hired to be the one in court.
She is known for reading the documents first: the contract, the change orders, the operating agreement. Most cases turn on one of them, and finding it early is cheaper than finding it at trial.
Outside the office she coaches a high school mock trial team and walks the Big Four Bridge most mornings.
Practice
- Contract disputes
- Partner and owner disputes
- Construction and property disputes
- Arbitration
Credentials
Where she’s admitted, and where she trained
Bar admissions
Kentucky
2009
Indiana
2014
Courts
U.S. District Court, Western District of Kentucky
2010
U.S. District Court, Southern District of Indiana
2014
U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit
2012
Education
J.D., University of Louisville Brandeis School of Law
2009
B.A., Centre College
2005
Languages
English
Memberships
Louisville Bar Association
Kentucky Bar Association
Why a solo practice
A larger firm can staff a case with five lawyers. Most small and mid-sized disputes don’t need five, and the client pays for each of them to learn the file.
Here, one lawyer knows the whole case, from the first meeting to the last hearing. When a matter needs more hands, Merritt brings in co-counsel she has worked with before, and tells you first.
Want to meet before you decide?
A first meeting is an hour, and you’re under no obligation to hire the firm afterward.