Retired attorney Lake honored by previous interns

Seven Washburn University School of Law graduates who went on to successful careers in law all got their start as interns for Holton attorney J. Richard “Dick” Lake, and all of them are listed on a new award honoring Lake’s commitment to his profession that now hangs at the Jackson County Courthouse.

The “Atticus Finch Commitment To Justice Award” — named for the iconic attorney in Harper Lee’s classic novel, “To Kill A Mockingbird” — bears Lake’s name, along with the signatures of six of the seven highly-regarded lawyers who completed internships with Lake while students at Washburn. One of those attoneys, now deceased, is represented on the award by his daughter’s signature.

Lake, who retired from public practice in 2004 after more than 45 years of serving the Holton community, said he was “proud that my interns thought so much of me to do this on my behalf… I’m also proud that it will remind the people of Holton that I lived here and worked here and was one of them.”

“He turned us into talented lawyers through his mentoring,” said Kevin Regan, one of the signatories on Lake’s award. “The common denominator to all of our success is Dick Lake. He taught us ethics, integrity, how to use your imagination and preparation to defeat your opponent and how to evaluate a case justly to ensure the integrity of your conviction.”

Regan, who interned with Lake in 1979 before graduating from Washburn Law in 1981, went on to become one of the top-rated criminal defense attorneys in Kansas City, Mo., and was the first member of his law school class to argue a case before the Kansas Supreme Court.

Six others who interned with Lake through the years also signed the award, including:

• Paul J. Morrison, former Kansas Attorney General who also served as district attorney for Johnson County.

• Thomas J. Erker, former Johnson County assistant district attorney who opened his own practice in 1985, specializing in criminal and family law cases until his retirement in 2022.

• Frank A. Caro, a Kansas City-based partner in the national Polsinelli Law Firm who specializes in energy and utility law.

• Thomas M. Warner Jr., a Wichita-based trial lawyer and owner of Warner Law Offices, specializing in personal injury and wrongful death litigation.

• Maurice Brewer, a Wyandotte County-based attorney who specializes in criminal defense and has served as that county’s assistant district attorney.

• Micheal Ireland, who served as Jackson County Attorney for about 16 years before being named Kansas Second Judicial District Judge, serving in Jackson County District Court from 2006 until his death in 2015. Ireland’s daughter, Lisa Rose, signed the award on his behalf.

For more on this and other stories, please log in to your holtonrecorder.net account and select “June 18, 2025” under “E-Editions.”