Clayton Crawford

Practice Areas

Clayton "Clay" Crawford has substantial jury trial and appellate experience in state and federal courts throughout Missouri and Kansas. His practice focuses on insurance litigation, the defense of personal injury claims, construction defect litigation, commercial disputes and general trial practice, with an emphasis on insurance coverage and extracontractual matters. Clay serves as co-chair of Baker Sterchi's Insurance Coverage Practice Group.

Professional Memberships

Clay is active in several professional organizations and legal education initiatives. He serves on the steering committee of the Insurance Practice Group of ALFA International and is a member of the American Board of Trial Advocates. He is also a fellow of the American College of Coverage Counsel, where he currently co-chairs the Extracontractual and Bad Faith Claims Litigation Committee for 2024-25.

Clay is a member of the Claims and Litigation Management Alliance, DRI and the Federation of Defense & Corporate Counsel. He also belongs to the Kansas City Metropolitan Bar Association, the Missouri Bar and the Missouri Organization of Defense Lawyers, where he is a past president. He served as faculty for MODL’s Trial Academy in 2024 and 2025 and was co-chair of the program in 2023.

In addition to his professional memberships, Clay is an adjunct professor of insurance law at the University of Missouri–Kansas City School of Law.

Publications

PUBLICATIONS: Clay has contributed to the ALFA International Insurance Law Compendium, authoring the Missouri section for the 2023 and 2024 editions. PRESENTATIONS: Clay frequently presents on insurance and litigation topics. He presented “Limiting Damages in Coverage Actions: Claims Handling to Guard Against Claims of Bad Faith” at the DRI Insurance Coverage and Claims Institute Seminar in March 2025. In May 2024, he presented “Mitigating the Risk of Exposure to Nuclear Verdicts” at the Central Claims Executive Association Spring Conference. He also presented “TLD & Avoiding Nuclear Verdicts” at the Property & Liability Resource Bureau Annual Meeting in March 2024. In February 2024, he served as a panelist discussing “Recurring Discovery Issues in Bad Faith Litigation” at the American Bar Association’s 32nd Annual Insurance Coverage Litigation Committee Mid-Year Program. Clay co-hosted a Federation of Defense & Corporate Counsel FedSpeaks podcast episode, “Clay Crawford on the Duty to Defend,” released in August 2023. He co-presented “Effective Strategies for Navigating Time Limit Demands” at the DRI Insurance Bad Faith and Extra-Contractual Liability Seminar in June 2023 and “Strategies for Evaluation of Damages, Mediation & Settlement” at the DRI Sexual Torts Seminar in March 2023.

Expert in these Jurisdictions

Clay is licensed in Missouri and Kansas.

Education

Awards