A love of helping people has landed Jacob Green in Iola as the newest attorney at Heim Law Offices. The 27-year-old Texas native is a recent graduate of University of Missouri-Kansas City (UMKC) and is eager to hit the ground running.
Green lives with his wife, Kyley, in her hometown of Fredonia. The pair met while in college and have a toddler son, Harley.
“Growing up, I always had this impulse to help others,” said Green. This initially manifested through his service in the military. He has been an infantryman in the National Guard for the past four years and was most recently commissioned as a JAG officer. “Basically, that means I’m a military lawyer,” he explained.
He received his undergraduate degree in accounting at Oklahoma Wesleyan University. “I learned pretty quickly I didn’t want to be an accountant,” he laughed. For a period of time after graduation, he taught at Fredonia High School before deciding to take a leap into something different.
“I started looking for something to which I could apply my professional and business knowledge,” he said. “Law school seemed like the most logical next step.”
Applying on a whim, Green took the Law School Admission Test (LSAT). “I did well enough to pass and that started the process,” he said.
He was subsequently accepted into the law program at UMKC. As fate would have it, his wife was also accepted into dental school in Kansas City at the same time.
Getting into law school wasn’t a breeze, however. “Law schools look at you holistically,” said Green. “You can’t just have good grades and get in. You must have something else about you that makes you a compelling applicant.” His advice to anyone considering law school is to keep your experience diverse.
The day he received his bar exam results was unforgettable for Green. “Very few times in your life can you pinpoint the culmination of a lot of hard work into a single moment,” he said. “It’s an indescribable feeling.”
Green successfully completed the program and was licensed to practice law in April of this year.
UPON graduation in 2023, Green and his family moved back to Fredonia where his wife works as a dentist. “I’d love to specialize in estate planning and administrative transaction law in the future,” he added. For the time being, he is working on criminal defense appointments in Allen and Neosho counties and settling into his new role along with attorneys Brett Heim and Daniel Smith.
“I’ve definitely been enjoying the time being in court with my clients and helping guide them through the process,” he said. He practices in Allen, Woodson, Neosho and Wilson counties and enjoys the small-town environment.
After interning in Johnson County at a criminal defense firm, Green notes that you don’t get the same sense of community in a large city.
“I could call any attorney in this area with a question and they’d answer it. Everyone is working toward a common goal,” he said. “I feel like that support and camaraderie is pretty unique to the area. I wouldn’t want to practice anywhere else.”
Green noted Southeast Kansas is underserved in terms of legal representation. Wilson County, for instance, has only three practicing attorneys.
