“The Weigand Scholarship runs much deeper than financial support alone. The scholarship is an opportunity to be included in a group of scholars. A group that consists of the brightest minds the state has to offer. I hope to foster numerous relationships, while advancing myself intellectually and socially through the Weigand Scholarship.”
Joel Griffiths
University of Kansas
Weigand Scholar: 2010, 2011, 2012
joel.griffiths@leveragelaw.com
Hometown:
Norton, KS
Education:
B.S. Business, Accounting
Emporia State University, 2008
- Graduate magna cum laude
- All-MIAA, 2006
- Academis All-MIAA, 2006
J.D., University of Kansas School of Law
- Note and Comment Editor, Kansas Law Review, 2012
LL.M. – New York University, 2013
Employer:
Leverage Law Group, LLC
Practice Areas:
- Taxation
Professional Associations:
- American Bar Association
- Kansas Bar Association
Publications:
- “Use It or Lose It:State Approaches to Increasing Use Tax Revenue”, Kansas LawReview, 2012
While at Emporia State, Joel excelled not only in the classroom, but also on the football field! Joel was a member of the Emporia State football team from 2004-2007, and served as a team captain. He earned All-MIAA (Mid-American Intercollegiate Athletics Association) and Academic All-MIAA honors in 2006. He was on the MIAA Commissioners Honor Roll for his entire career (GPA 3.5 and above). While at Emporia State, Joel was named the Underclassman Student Athlete of the Year as a junior and Wal-Mart Without Peer Award winner his senior year (Awarded to a senior student-athlete at Emporia State who exhibited excellence in academics, athletics, and extra-curricular activities). Meanwhile, he served a year as a Senator for the Emporia State Associated Student Government.
Joel kept busy during law school by helping coordinate the VITA (Volunteer Income Tax Assistance) Program in 2011 and 2012. During his 2L year, Joel externed with the Honorable Janice Miller-Karlin in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Topeka. Further, he was Note and Comment Editor for the University of Kansas Law Review and his student-written piece, “Use It or Lose It: State Approaches to Increasing Use Tax Revenue” was published in the Spring of 2012. At his law school graduation, Joel was awarded the UMB Bank’s Excellence in Estate Planning Award and the Robert F. Bennett Award, which recognized a graduate with an undergraduate degree from a Kansas university who demonstrated leadership qualities through public service.
After law school, Joel attended New York University School of Law and earned his LL.M. in taxation.
Joel’s work history includes time as an intern at Newbery, Ungerer & Hickert LLP (Topeka); Bever Dye, LC (Wichita); and Foulston Siefkin, LLP (Wichita). After law school, Joel worked at Foulston Siefkin before moving to Leverage Law Group, LLC in Leawood, Kansas. He is now a partner at Leverage Law Group, a firm specializing in tax equity finance transactions involving New Markets Tax Credits and Renewable Energy Tax Credits.
“The state of Kansas and its people have been a tremendous influence in my life. It is a place of open arms, where all people are welcome. I hope one day to give back to the place that has given so much to me. The Weigand Scholarship is another example of Kansans working together to support other Kansans.”