University of Missouri-Kansas City School of Law

The urban public law school with a small liberal arts feel

The Inns of UMKC William P. Borland (1867-1919)   William P. Borland was born 1867 in Leavenworth, Kansas. He moved to Kansas City in 1880 and attended Franklin Ward School and Central H.S. before studying law at the offices of Pratt, Ferry and Hagerman. He also studied law at the University of Michigan and earned an LLB in 1892. Upon his return to Kansas City he opened his own practice and was appointed claim agent of Wyandotte & Northern Railway. He was one of the original founders of the Kansas City School of Law and was elected as the first dean of the school and a vice president. He lectured on Contracts, Bailments, Blackstone's Commentaries, Domestic Relations, Wills and Administration of Estates. He was a member of the municipal lobby at Jefferson City and secured the passage of reform legislation such as the Public Utilities Bill. In 1908 he was elected to the Board of Freeholders to draft a new city charter for Kansas City which was adopted. Later that year, he was elected to Congress on the Democratic ticket and resigned as Dean to focus on his duties in Washington, D.C., but continued as a lecturer each fall. He authored a legal text book "Law of Wills and Administration" which was the standard authority in Missouri schools.