Wes A. Kissinger

Wes Kissinger joined what was then Harrison, White, Smith, Hayes, & Coggins, P.C. in 2003 after spending the first five years of his practice defending personal injury lawsuits, mostly arising from automobile collisions and commercial premises accidents, for several insurance companies. Now as Managing Partner of KD Trial Lawyers, he applies what he learned defending lawsuits to his trial practice representing individuals and families in state and federal court. His practice focus has remained personal injury and wrongful death claims arising from car, motorcycle and truck collisions, as well as nursing home abuse and neglect and medical malpractice.  Wes has been voted by his peers for Super Lawyers every year since 2015, and has been a member of the American Board of Trial Advocates since 2017. Wes has held an AV Preeminent Peer Review Rating from Martindale-Hubbell, which is the highest peer rating standard given to attorneys who are ranked at the highest level of professional excellence for their legal expertise, communication skills, and ethical standards by their peers.

His practice focuses on Trucking Accidents, Wrongful Death, Car and Motorcycle Accidents, Nursing Home Abuse and Neglect, Medical Malpractice, Dram Shop / Alcohol Sale Liability.  Wes has achieved numerous multi-million dollar settlements and verdicts including a $5.8 million dollar settlement involving a trucking accident. Wes admits that he loves the competitive aspects of being a civil litigator. But more than anything, he says, his greatest enjoyment as a lawyer comes from the people he represents.

“I like helping real people navigate a process they’re not familiar with and helping them through a very difficult time in their lives,” he says. “Until they’re in a situation when they need a lawyer, people oftentimes don’t really have a sense of how much their lives can be affected by an event they did nothing to cause. I want to ease that burden.”

In similar fashion, he strives to carry this kind of human touch into the courtroom when he is trying cases. “I do my best not to speak like a lawyer,” he says. “When I’m speaking to a jury, I speak to them like an ordinary person; I try to make difficult concepts very easy to understand by using plain language. Trial is the art of persuasion. It is hard to persuade someone if he or she doesn’t understand what you’re talking about.”

In addition to his busy practice, Wes oftentimes assists other lawyers by giving Continuing Legal Education presentations. He has been a CLE Presenter in 2009 educating attorneys on Obtaining the Best Settlement for Personal Injury Clients: Know Where to Start; Settling Personal Injury Claims with Ethical Integrity, and in 2007 he presented Advanced Discovery and Evidence: Ethical Considerations and Malpractice Prevention. 

Wes and his wife have five children ranging in age from elementary school to college.  They enjoy camping, water sports, and hunting. He also serves on the Board of Directors for Greer Christian Learning Center.

*AV®, AV Preeminent®, Martindale-Hubbell Distinguished and Martindale-Hubbell Notable are certification marks used under license in accordance with the Martindale-Hubbell certification procedures, standards and policies. Martindale-Hubbell® is the facilitator of a peer review rating process. Ratings reflect the anonymous opinions of members of the bar and the judiciary. Martindale-Hubbell® Peer Review Rating™ fall into two categories – legal ability and general ethical standards.