Meet Our Attorneys

Dan W. Forker, Jr was born in Wichita on January 31, 1942. He graduated from Haven High School in 1959, Hutchinson Community College in 1961 and obtained his BA and JD degrees from Washburn University in Topeka, Kansas in June 1966. While attending Hutchinson Community College he was active in collegiate debate, placing third in the National Junior College Debate Tournament as a freshman and was The National Champion Collegiate Debater at the National Junior College Debate Tournament as a sophomore.

Upon graduation from Washburn University Law School in 1966, he joined the law firm of Hodge, Reynolds and Smith. That firm is the predecessor to the existing firm of Forker, Suter, Robinson, & Bell LLC which he is the Senior and Managing partner. Two years after graduation from Law School he was appointed Hutchinson Municipal Judge. He was the youngest sitting Judge in the State of Kansas at the time of his appointment. He handles domestic, reorganization bankruptcy and civil business litigation cases and is an experienced litigator.

Dan has handled a large number of domestic cases (divorce, annulment, common law divorce and separate maintance actions) involving high income parties involving the division and valuation of assets, as well as determining whether or not spousal maintenance is required to be paid by one party to another and for what length of time. He has many years’ experience handling cases involving such issues and has tried multiple contested cases where the primary issue was the valuation of assets. He has worked extensively with many valuation experts to assist in valuation of marital assets and is familiar with the resources needed to defend or propose claims to valuable assets acquired both during and before the marital relationship of the litigants was established. He has tried cases involving valuation and spousal support issues in Sedgwick, Reno, Rice and McPherson Counties as well as all Judicial Districts located West of Sedgwick County.

His reorganization bankruptcy practice involves representation of debtors in larger cases. Individually he has more confirmed Chapter 12 Bankruptcy cases (farm reorganizations or bankruptcies) than any other attorney in the state of Kansas and has clients in most counties of the state. He is the author of multiple writings for the Kansas Bar Association and is the author of the Chapter 12 Section of the current K.B.A. handbook on Bankruptcy. He is past Chairman of the Real Estate, Probate and Trust Section of the K.B.A. and (is presently the) has served multiple terms as Chairman of the Bankruptcy Section of the Kansas Bar Association. He has participated in reorganization bankruptcies ranging in size from more than $300,000,000 in assets to less than $100,000 in assets, and has a record of success in obtaining confirmation of reorganization plans in all types and sizes of such proceedings. He is an active participant in Bankruptcy studies and is recognized in Kansas and the surrounding states as a vigorous proponent of such reorganization plans, and is often retained by other attorney’s to provide assistance in obtaining Confirmation of a Reorganization when the original attorney has encountered difficulty concluding the matter. He has an extremely high percentage of successful bankruptcies. He has also conducted Alternative Dispute Resolutions of contested Bankruptcy issues always at the request of a currently sitting Bankruptcy Judges. His bankruptcy practice involves clients statewide and he is universally recognized as a vigorous litigant in such matters.

Dan was recently inducted as a fellow in the American College of Bankruptcy.  He was one of only two 2020 nominees selected from the 10th Federal Judicial District.  Nominees for this prestigious honor are recognized for their professional excellence and exceptional contributions to the fields of bankruptcy and insolvency within the U.S. and internationally.

John T. Suter (1946 – 2017). John was born in Harper, Kansas in 1946. During his early years, his father was an active duty Marine Corps officer. Accordingly, the family resided in Santa Ana, California, Cherry Point, North Carolina, and finally in Wichita, Kansas. John attended schools in California, North Carolina, Kansas, and Missouri, eventually graduating from Sacred Heart College, Wichita, Kansas, in 1969, with a degree in business administration.

While attending college, and subsequent to college graduation, John worked for a Wichita oil company as an accountant. John subsequently was admitted to Washburn University School of Law, graduating in 1973. While in law school, John was employed for three years with a Topeka law firm that specialized in tax and estate planning matters. In the spring of each year while in law school, John worked weekends as an independent contractor for an accounting firm, preparing various income tax returns.

Following graduation from law school, John joined this law firm (then known as Hodge, Reynolds, Smith, Peirce & Forker) in May, 1973. He became a partner in January, 1977, and remained with the firm continuously until his death in June, 2017. 

John was licensed to practice in all Kansas courts and in the U.S. Tax Court. He practiced law in the areas of probate, trusts, individual and corporate income taxes, business entities, estate planning, and a variety of other general office practice matters.

John passed away on June 2, 2017.  He was a very active member of Our Lady of Guadalupe Catholic Church, South Hutchinson, Kansas, where his family remain active members.