Derek H. MacKay

Derek MacKay joined Knight Nicastro in 2018. Less than a year later, he was a named partner, making him one of four owners of Knight Nicastro MacKay, LLC, a litigation-focused law firm with 7 regional offices in Colorado, Missouri, Montana, and Illinois.  Since joining the leadership, Derek has been directly involved in expanding the Colorado-based law firm including growing the Kansas City office, Montana and Illinois offices, and opening a new office in St. Louis.  Derek defends a wide variety of cases, with a particular emphasis on personal injury, commercial disputes, product liability, and insurance coverage.  Derek has a specialty in bet-the-company litigation, many of which were high-profile cases with significant national media attention.  Derek defends each case aggressively with an eye toward trying cases that others think are unsolvable.

Representative Cases

Waterpark Industry – Represented a large waterpark in Kansas City that involved national media coverage due to a fatality of a patron on one of the water park rides.  Only four months from the date of the incident the matter was resolved due to a strategic defense.

Hotel Industry – Represented a national hotel chain where an individual was shot by a security guard who was an off-duty police officer. 

Restaurant Industry – Represented a well-known Plaza restaurant after an explosion leveled the structure due to a gas leak.

Firearm Industry – Represented a firearm dealer who was sued after a pistol was used in a shooting of a family member.  The case involved federal issues and was argued in front of the Missouri Supreme Court. 

Mining Industry – Obtained a favorable trial result for a large mining company that was sued for wrongful death.

Starting in 2009 and every year since, Super Lawyers has honored him as a Rising Star, an honor reserved for 2.5% of lawyers under the age of 40.  He was also honored in 2020 by Missouri Lawyers Weekly as an Up-and-Coming Law Firm Leader, recognizing him as a professional who holds an important leadership position at KNM.