Video: Justice Wall's swearing-in ceremony (8-3-20)
Justice Keynen "K.J." Wall Jr. is a native of Scott City. He earned an undergraduate degree from Kansas State University, where he was a 1993 national college debate champion and All-American. He then earned a master's degree from the University of Minnesota, and a law degree from the University of Kansas School of Law, graduating Order of the Coif. He practiced law for the judiciary, in-house, and in private practice before he was appointed to the court in 2020. He was a partner of Forbes Law Group, LLC, at the time of his appointment and represented county hospitals, rural healthcare providers, and community mental health centers throughout Kansas.
Current term
January 2023–January 2029
Appointed to court March 2020
Previous professional experience
2024-present, adjunct professor teaching appellate advocacy, University of Kansas School of Law
2015-20, partner, Forbes Law Group, Overland Park
2013-15, special projects counsel and deputy general counsel, Kansas Supreme Court
2008-13, senior legal counsel, Federated Insurance, Owatonna, Minnesota
2004-08, associate attorney, Witwer Oldenburg Barry & Johnson, Greeley, Colorado
2002-04, judicial law clerk for Chief Judge John W. Lungstrom, U.S. District Court, District of Kansas
Education
Kansas State University, bachelor of science in communication, 1993
University of Minnesota, master of arts in scientific and technical communications, 1996
University of Kansas School of Law, juris doctorate, 2001
Awards and honors
1993 CEDA National Debate Champion
1993 National Debate All-American
Order of the Coif
Best of the Bar, Kansas City Business Journal
Additional information
Justice Wall is married to Katie Wall, a fellow graduate of the University of Kansas School of Law, and they spend their free time attending their son and daughter’s school and extracurricular activities.