About Tom Porto

Tom Porto is a trial lawyer who represents people facing catastrophic injury and wrongful death, with many cases involving children or families whose loss stems from a preventable institutional failure. His practice covers severe injury, wrongful death, police brutality, and jail deaths. Tom began his career as a Missouri State Public Defender, which shaped his trial approach and his instinct to represent people facing the weight of systems that overlook ordinary lives.

He was elected to the Missouri Bar Board of Governors in 2018 and to the 16th Circuit Judicial Commission in 2024. He serves as Chairman of the Board of the Planned Industrial Expansion Authority of Kansas City, focused on housing for low-income residents. A Kansas City native and Rockhurst High School graduate, Tom earned his journalism degree from the University of Missouri School of Journalism and his law degree from the University of Missouri-Kansas City School of Law.

Proven verdicts and settlements

$5 millionSettlement

Tom Porto of The Popham Law Firm secured a $5 million settlement, approved by a Jackson County judge in April 2023 and reported as the largest in Kansas City Police Department history, for the family of Terrence Bridges Jr., an unarmed man fatally shot by Officer Dylan Pifer during a foot chase in 2019.

Jackson County Circuit Court, Kansas City, MO · 2023Wrongful DeathRead the full story →
View all 8 proven verdicts →

Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome. Each case is unique and depends on its own facts.

Practice areas

Education

University of Missouri-Kansas City School of Law
J.D.
University of Missouri School of Journalism
Undergraduate

Bar admissions & credentials

State Bar of Missouri, admitted 2007
State Bar of Kansas, admitted 2015

Other attorneys at The Popham Law Firm

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Proven verdicts and settlements from other Kansas City firms

Brown & Crouppen
Brown & Crouppen
$462 million · $462 Million Verdict Against Trailer Maker Wabash in a Fatal St. Louis Underride Crash
Dollar, Burns, Becker & Hershewe
Dollar, Burns, Becker & Hershewe
$82.3 million · $82.3 Million Verdict for I-70 Crash Victim Struck by Trucker Watching Videos on iPad
Shamberg Johnson & Bergman
Shamberg Johnson & Bergman
$23.5 million verdict ($15.275 million judgment after comparative fault reduction) · $23.5 Million Verdict Against Swift Transportation for Meth-Impaired Driver Who Backed Into Highway Traffic
Wagstaff & Cartmell
Wagstaff & Cartmell
$235 million · Altria Pays $235 Million After Wagstaff & Cartmell Rests SFUSD's Case Mid-Trial
DM Injury Law
DM Injury Law
$10.5 million · $10.5 Million Settlement After Commercial Driver Kills Two Teens in Head-On Collision