Today we’d like to introduce you to Melinda Clark-Sann And Kristine Shilt.
Hi Melinda Clark-Sann and Kristine Shilt, it’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for taking the time to share your story with us – to start maybe you can share some of your backstory with our readers?
Right Side Law was born from a shared commitment to defending individual rights during an unprecedented time. During the COVID-19 pandemic, we discovered we were the only attorneys in our area willing to stand up for medical providers facing termination over vaccine mandates.
While other attorneys shied away from these cases, we believed that healthcare workers deserved the right to make their own medical decisions without losing their livelihoods. United by this principle and recognizing the critical need for legal representation on this issue, we joined forces to provide the advocacy that no one else would.
As our work together evolved, we found ourselves defending families in even more dire circumstances—cases of medical kidnapping where children were removed from parental custody simply because parents chose medical treatments that differed from hospital recommendations. These families faced the unthinkable: losing their children for exercising their right to make informed medical decisions. Once again, we stood alone, willing to fight for parental rights when other attorneys wouldn’t take these controversial cases.
Beyond the Courtroom: Legislative Advocacy
Right Side Law’s commitment to medical freedom extends beyond individual cases. We actively work with legislators to change laws that protect and expand medical freedom rights for parents and all citizens. The firm has provided testimony at Missouri legislative hearings, bringing real-world experiences from the courtroom to inform policy discussions and advocate for systemic change that protects individual liberties.
What Sets Right Side Law Apart
Right Side Law operates on a fundamental principle: clients are people, not numbers. This personal approach to legal representation permeates every aspect of the firm’s practice.
The same courage that led the firm to stand up to big corporate hospitals on behalf of healthcare workers and families facing medical kidnapping now drives their fight against powerful insurance companies for injured clients. Right Side Law understands that whether you’re facing a hospital system trying to force medical decisions or an insurance company trying to minimize your settlement, you need attorneys who aren’t afraid to take on large institutions that prioritize profits over people.
Serving Clients Across Multiple Practice Areas
Today, Right Side Law serves clients across multiple practice areas. The firm advocates for families seeking medical freedom—protecting parents’ rights to make healthcare decisions for their children without government interference. Additionally, Right Side Law provides personal injury services throughout Kansas and Missouri, fighting to ensure accident victims receive the full settlements they deserve.
Whether defending a medical professional’s right to informed consent, protecting parental rights, securing justice for injury victims, or advocating for legislative reform, Right Side Law remains committed to the belief that drove its founding: every client deserves both fierce legal advocacy and the dignity of being treated as a valued person, not a case number.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
The path to building Right Side Law was far from easy. The COVID era presented unprecedented legal challenges—there was no established caselaw to guide the work, no precedents to follow, no roadmap for how courts would handle these novel issues. We were pioneering in uncharted legal territory, building arguments and strategies from the ground up while facing an uncertain legal landscape.
Beyond the legal complexity, taking these controversial cases meant standing virtually alone in the legal community. While other attorneys avoided these matters, we faced the professional isolation and risks that came with being willing to defend unpopular positions. Fighting against large hospital systems and institutional policies required not just legal skill, but the courage to withstand pressure and criticism.
The medical kidnapping cases brought their own unique challenges—emotionally devastating situations where families were torn apart, with children’s welfare hanging in the balance. The urgency and high stakes of these cases demanded everything from both of us, often with limited time to develop legal strategies in crisis situations.
Building a law firm on principles rather than following the path of least resistance meant accepting cases others wouldn’t touch, fighting battles others wouldn’t fight, and maintaining conviction when the outcome was far from certain. Yet these challenges only strengthened our resolve to provide representation to those who had nowhere else to turn.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know?
Right Side Law’s greatest pride lies not in courtroom victories or business growth, but in the trust placed in us by clients who had nowhere else to turn. We’re proud that when families faced the nightmare of medical kidnapping, when healthcare workers risked losing their careers for standing by their convictions, and when parents needed someone to defend their right to make medical decisions for their children, we were there—and we said yes.
We’re proud of building a firm where “clients are people, not numbers” isn’t just a slogan—it’s how we operate every single day. In an industry often driven by billable hours and case volume, we’ve proven that a law firm can be both successful and deeply personal, treating each client with the dignity and individual attention they deserve.
We’re especially proud to be forming Right Side Cares, a not-for-profit organization that will accept donations to help people facing these difficult issues who cannot afford costly legal representation. We’ve seen too many families in crisis—facing medical kidnapping, fighting for medical freedom, or desperately needing advocacy—who lack the financial resources to mount a proper legal defense. Right Side Cares will ensure that justice and representation aren’t luxuries reserved only for those who can afford them, but rights accessible to all who need them.
Perhaps most importantly, we’re proud that our work extends beyond individual cases. By advocating for legislative change and working to protect medical freedom rights at a systemic level, we’re not just helping today’s clients—we’re working to create a future where these fundamental rights are better protected for everyone.
Right Side Law stands as proof that courage, conviction, and compassion can be the foundation of a successful law practice.
Can you talk to us a bit about the role of luck?
Some might call it luck that two attorneys with the courage to stand for medical freedom found each other during the COVID crisis. But we don’t believe in coincidence—we believe in divine intervention. The odds of two lawyers in the same area being willing to take these controversial cases, sharing the same convictions, and discovering each other at precisely the moment families desperately needed advocates, goes beyond chance.
Our paths crossed exactly when they needed to, bringing together complementary skills, shared values, and unwavering commitment at a time when standing alone would have been far more difficult. The formation of Right Side Law feels less like a business decision and more like a calling—a purpose we were meant to fulfill together.
Pricing:
- Personal Injury cases are taken on a contingent basis so there are no out of pocket costs unless we recover money for the client.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.rightsidekc.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/rightsidelawfirm/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61583830152559
- LinkedIn: Right Side Law, LLC
