Rick Davis is an attorney and the founder of TopCity Defense in Topeka, where he represents people facing criminal charges, professional and licensing matters, and serious civil litigation.
Rick believes good legal representation starts with understanding what is actually at stake. A criminal charge, investigation, professional complaint, or lawsuit rarely affects only the case itself. It can threaten a career, a professional license, a business, a reputation, financial security, family stability, or years of work building a future.
His approach is straightforward: listen first, understand the problem, explain the options and risks in plain English, and build a strategy around what matters most to the client. Rick believes clients should know where their case stands and understand the decisions in front of them. He is practical when a practical solution serves the client and prepared to push hard when it does not.
That perspective comes in part from a career that has extended beyond the traditional practice of law. In addition to representing clients in litigation and other legal matters, Rick has founded and operated businesses in the real estate, title, and related industries. He understands firsthand the pressures of running a business, meeting a payroll, protecting a reputation, and making consequential decisions when there is no perfect option. That experience influences the way he practices law: legal strategy should account for the client's real life, not simply what happens in the courtroom.
Rick was the first person in his family to attend college. That background helped shape his belief that the legal system should not feel inaccessible simply because someone does not speak the language of lawyers, courts, or institutions. Clients deserve to understand what is happening, what their options are, and what comes next.
Rick earned his law degree magna cum laude from Washburn University School of Law, where he served as Managing Editor of the Washburn Law Journal. Before entering private practice, he served as a judicial extern to the Honorable Eric F. Melgren of the United States District Court for the District of Kansas and completed an internship with the United States Air Force JAG Corps.
Since entering practice, Rick has represented individuals and businesses in more than 30 trials and arbitrations, including a three-week construction-industry arbitration in which he secured a complete defense award for his client, as well as an award requiring the opposing party to pay his client's attorney fees. He has held leadership positions within the Kansas legal community, including service on the Kansas Bar Association's Board of Governors and Executive Committee and as Chair of the KBA's Young Lawyers Division. He has also been recognized as AV Preeminent® by Martindale-Hubbell, its highest peer-review rating for legal ability and ethical standards.
Rick's experience as both an attorney and business owner has reinforced a simple belief behind TopCity Defense: people are more than the worst allegation, mistake, or legal problem they may face. Accountability matters, but one event should not unnecessarily erase everything a person has worked to build.
When the stakes are high, Rick's job is not to make promises he cannot keep or manufacture reassurance. It is to give clients a clear assessment of where they stand, identify the available paths forward, prepare thoroughly, and advocate for the outcome that best protects what matters next.
