photo by: Anna Kaminski/Kansas Reflector

Justice Larkin Walsh is sworn in as the Kansas Supreme Court’s newest addition on Friday in Topeka. She previously worked in private practice, litigating at all levels of the judiciary, including the U.S. Supreme Court.

TOPEKA — Kansas Supreme Court Justice Larkin Walsh is not in her seat because of a predetermined plan or politics.

She is there because of people, she said in her first moments after being formally sworn in as the state’s newest justice. Walsh pledged to be the type of justice all Kansans deserve.

“And that is someone who, with a clear understanding of the legal issues, will faithfully interpret and impartially apply the law to the facts of each unique case, irrespective of popular opinion or political wins, and all while maintaining a humble awareness of each decision’s impact on people and on history,” she said.

Roughly 200 people gathered Friday in the Kansas Supreme Court in the Kansas Judicial Center in Topeka. Family, friends, colleagues, former justices and members of all three branches of government watched as Walsh said her first words from her new chair.

“I’m mindful of the climate and the context in which I am joining this court. This is without a doubt a critical time for the judiciary. But that has always been true,” Walsh said, “and that is because the judicial branch is so critical to our democracy.”

Former Supreme Court Justice Carol Beier and Walsh’s husband, Matt, introduced her to the court, and acting Chief Justice Eric Rosen swore her in. Walsh’s four children helped her shrug on what was once Beier’s robe.

Walsh applied to work for Beier as a fresh graduate of the University of Kansas Law School. Beier said a professor told her Walsh would be “the best hire I ever made.”

Beier was skeptical.

“I thought no new graduate could possibly deliver the performance he promised,” she said. “I have never been so happy to be so wrong.”

Beier added: “Like Athena, born from the head of Zeus, she was fully formed as a discerning intellect and an unusually mature lawyer and adviser.”

Walsh, the youngest justice on the court, began her duties two months ago after an informal swearing-in ceremony. She succeeded former Justice Evelyn Wilson, who retired in July following a Lou Gehrig’s disease diagnosis.

Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly, who was present at the ceremony, appointed Walsh in August from a slate of three nominees.

In her remarks, Walsh characterized the judicial selection process she endured as rigorous and transparent, a subtle nod to the recent challenges to the state’s merit-based approach. In August 2026, a constitutional amendment will appear on voters’ ballots asking whether they’d like to switch to a popular-vote approach.

Walsh spent the past dozen years in private practice, focusing on civil rights, workers’ rights, consumer protection and complex class actions, according to Kansas Judicial Branch spokesperson Lisa Taylor. Walsh, a Leawood resident, was most recently senior counsel at Stueve Siegel Hanson.

She has worked on at least two class action cases defending victims of sexual abuse. One was against Ohio State University for failing to protect hundreds of male student athletes from Richard Strauss’ systemic abuse. The case rose to the U.S. Supreme Court but wasn’t accepted for review.

She was also part of a Kansas legal team that represented a group of women who in April sued Lawrence Memorial Hospital and the University of Kansas Hospital Authority after a KU physical therapist accessed their medical files, which included images and body measurements. The physical therapist had never treated the women and accessed images for approximately two years without detection, according to court filings. The case is ongoing in federal court, and Walsh withdrew as an attorney in August. Walsh withdrew from the ongoing Ohio case in January 2024.

She is a graduate of Southern Methodist University, majoring in art and English. She is a 2004 graduate of the University of Kansas law school. In addition to her time as a research attorney for Beier, Walsh clerked for U.S. District Judge Carlos Murguia. She served two five-year terms on the Kansas Board of Law Examiners and has been involved with the Kansas Bar Association’s Annual Survey of Law for 20 years, beginning as co-chair and transitioning to editor, a role she still holds.

After one year in office, new justices undergo a retention vote to continue holding a seat on the court. Subsequent retention votes occur every six years.

In public interviews during the judicial selection process, Walsh said she was not a “self-promoter.” She said at the time that ego can hinder effective justice, and she emphasized adherence to law and careful consideration and examination of facts and issues.

Her parents, relatives and friends attended the ceremony, and Matt Walsh thanked many of them, while praising Larkin Walsh for her abilities as a mother, lawyer and new justice.

Matt Walsh and Beier spoke of her positivity, empathy, dignity and humility.

“Larkin knows exactly what court service demands,” Beier said. “She embraces the responsibility and she has crafted a record of achievement and service made to measure.”