Max Kautsch

Max Kautsch is an Adjunct Professor at the University of Kansas School of Law, specializing in First Amendment rights and open government law. He teaches the course Freedom of Expression in the Modern Age and assists news media and the public in asserting access to court proceedings, records, and government documents. Kautsch serves as the legal hotline attorney for press and broadcast associations in Kansas and Nebraska.

He earned his J.D. from Washburn University School of Law in 2003 and a B.A. in English Literature (with honors) from the University of Kansas in 2000. Licensed to practice law in Kansas since 2003 and Nebraska since 2021, Kautsch notably represented the prevailing plaintiff in Roe v. Phillips County Hospital (2023), a landmark Kansas Supreme Court case affirming public access to records in their maintained format.

His legal practice focuses on advocating for transparency and free expression, with significant contributions to case law related to open records and public access.