Derek H. MacKay

Derek MacKay joined Knight Nicastro MacKay, LLC in 2018, and less than a year later, he was a name partner. He is now one of the owners of Knight Nicastro MacKay, LLC, which has seven offices across the country. Derek defends a wide variety of cases, with a particular emphasis on personal injury, legal malpractice, and commercial general liability issues. Derek has a specialty in bet-the-company litigation, many of which were high-profile cases with significant national media attention. He has not only continually reduced his clients' extra-contractual liability exposure but has become increasingly sought out to step in at the 11th hour to assist in keeping liability and exposure to a minimum.

• Member Owner

• 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 waterpark rides. Able to resolve the matter within four months of the date of the incident.
• Hotel Industry - Represented a national hotel where an individual was shot by a security guard, that was an off-duty police officer.
• Restaurant Industry - Represented a well-known and successful Plaza restaurant that exploded 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 very favorable trial result for a large mining company that was sued for wrongful death.
• Derek defends each case aggressively with an eye toward trying cases that cannot be resolved. 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 - an award recognizing early-career professionals who hold an essential leadership position at their firm.
• Awards and Honors
• Super Lawyers® Selectees
• Derek H. MacKay included in a Super Lawyers® list
• Honors
• Rising Star, Missouri & Kansas Super Lawyers Magazine (2011-Present)
• Other Sources of Feedback About Derek H. MacKay
• Included on the 2025Missouri and Kansas Super Lawyers list
• Past Lists
• 2024 Missouri and Kansas Super Lawyers list
• 2023 Missouri and Kansas Super Lawyers list
• 2022 Missouri and Kansas Super Lawyers list
• 2021 Missouri and Kansas Super Lawyers list
• 2020 Missouri and Kansas Super Lawyers list
• 2019 Missouri and Kansas Super Lawyers list
• 2018 Missouri and Kansas Super Lawyers list
• 2017 Missouri and Kansas Super Lawyers list
• 2016 Missouri and Kansas Super Lawyers list
• 2015 Missouri and Kansas Super Lawyers list
• 2014 Missouri and Kansas Super Lawyers list
• 2013 Missouri and Kansas Super Lawyers list
• 2012 Missouri and Kansas Super Lawyers list
• 2011 Missouri and Kansas Super Lawyers list

• Missouri
• Kansas
• U.S. District Court Eastern District of Missouri
• U.S. District Court Western District of Missouri

• Kansas City Bar Association (Member)
• Council on Litigation Management (Member)
• National Society of Professional Insurance Investigators (Member)
• Kansas City Claim Handlers Association (Member)