Alumni Spotlight - Kansas City Office
Sudee Mirsafian Wright
Describe your history with Husch Blackwell.
After graduating from law school in 2006, I started in the Kansas City office of Husch Blackwell (Blackwell Sanders Peper Martin at the time) as a litigation associate. Two years later, I was given the opportunity to move to Denver as one of the two Kansas City attorneys who would start Husch's Denver office. At the time, I was working closely with a healthcare client on a major litigation matter that would ultimately result in the client expanding its operations to Denver. My husband and I were also newly married and ready for an adventure, so the move to Denver was perfect. In the Denver office, I handled a variety of litigation matters, including healthcare and IP litigation, and served on the firm’s diversity steering committee as chair of the communications subcommittee.
In 2014, I left the firm to go in-house at H&R Block back in Kansas City.
Describe your current role/practice outside of HB.
I spent my first six years at H&R Block on the Litigation, Employment, and Records Management Team, handling the company’s material litigations and investigations and managing its employee and arbitration program.
In 2020, the company announced a five-year transformation plan, called Block Horizons 2025, that focuses on three key imperatives—Small Business Services, Financial Products, and the Block Experience. Shortly thereafter, I was offered the position of assistant general counsel over Small Business Services and Franchise Operations. While I have always had a passion for litigation, I could not have been more excited to get involved on the front end of company matters and bring a unique perspective to help promote the company’s progress and momentum on its Block Horizons 2025 plan. In the assistant general counsel role, my team and I work closely with the Small Business and Franchise Operations business teams to set strategy, manage the relationship with a large franchise network, and offer both new and existing small business products and services (such as tax, bookkeeping, and payroll) online and in company and franchise locations.
What is one of the most interesting projects on which you’ve worked?
Last year, our small business brand, Block Advisors, launched a do-it-yourself entity formation platform that consumers can use to form a business entity and maintain business filing requirements in the 50 states. I was involved in every aspect of the launch, including negotiating and drafting supplier agreements; advising multiple workstreams relating to product development, product flow, consumer experiences, and marketing and advertising; and establishing legal and regulatory guardrails and strategies. It has been incredibly rewarding to see the product come to life and help our clients operate their small businesses.
What attracted you to in-house practice?
As I became more senior at Husch and began working more closely with clients, the possibility of going in-house intrigued me. I liked the idea of working with one client, developing a deep understanding of its business, and working to affirmatively advance its strategies. And that is exactly where I find myself in my current role at H&R Block—being inextricably linked with the business and serving as a thought leader, trusted advisor, and business partner to my clients.
Tell us about your typical weekend.
Our son, Simon, plays competitive soccer year-round, so our weekends are usually filled up with soccer games and travel tournaments. When I am not on the soccer field cheering from the sidelines, I love to take our dog, Boomer, on our long Saturday runs or prepare for the week by creating to-do lists, meal prepping, and doing anything else that will make the busy week more productive.