Phelps-Chartered was founded in 1964 by Fred W. Phelps, Sr. (pictured above with his wife Margie) as a general practice law firm. Today, four of his children (Shirley, Jonathan, Rachel, and Rebekah) continue his legacy of providing outstanding, responsive services to every client at a reasonable cost.

From its' inception, Phelps-Chartered has been on the cutting edge of the legal field. During the 1960's, Mr. Phelps gained a reputation for handling cases that no other attorney in the area would take.

Most notably, he was the only white lawyer to represent a group of African-American students, including Gayle Sayers, arrested during a sit-in on the University of Kansas campus.

During his career, Mr. Phelps handled numerous civil rights/discrimination cases. In addition to these matters, he was active in criminal defense, consumer protection, and employment discrimination matters.

The reopening of the Brown vs. the Board of Education of Topeka case, which desegregated public schools, was due in large part to the work of Mr. Phelps in Johnson vs. Wittier. Other notable cases include winning one of the nation's first reverse discrimination suits, and handling several class action suits against the airline industry.

Fred W. Phelps, Sr. retired from practicing law in 1987. Eleven of his thirteen children hold law degrees, four of whom maintain the tradition of excellent service begun by their father at Phelps-Chartered almost forty years ago.