Kansas Bar Foundation
A Retired Kansas Court of Appeals judge and his wife have established a new scholarship through the Kansas Bar Foundation (KBF) that celebrates the Buser family’s three generations of lawyers.
The scholarship is designed to encourage law students to be the first person in their family to enter the legal profession and inspire students with a disability to achieve the goal of becoming a lawyer.
The Honorable Michael B. Buser and his wife, Holly Buser, provided funding for the Buser Family Scholarship. Judge Buser attended law school at the University of Kansas. His father, George J. Buser, Jr., attended the University of Kansas City (now the University of Missouri - Kansas City School of Law or UMKC School of Law) and was a career banker/trust officer in Overland Park. Following in Judge Buser’s footsteps is his son, Andrew, who graduated from UMKC School of Law and is general counsel of The Lead Group, a digital media company.
“The scholarship commemorates three generations of the Buser family who have practiced law in Kansas. It also acknowledges the commitment of many other Kansas families who have served our legal profession,” stated Buser. “For example, my former colleague on the Court, Judge Patrick D. McAnany, was a third-generation lawyer and father to a fourth-generation lawyer, his son Chris.”
In 2024, the McAnany family established the Judge Patrick D. McAnany Scholarship with the KBF. Judge Buser doubts there will be a fourth-generation attorney in their family.
When Holly asked their 8-year-old grandson if he was going to be an attorney he said, “I don’t want to be an attorney.” She then asked him if he wanted to be a judge and he replied, “Yeah, I want to be Aaron Judge!”
Kevin Mitchelson, KBF President, stated, “One of our strategic goals is to build the Foundation’s endowments and offer more scholarships. In addition to encouraging individuals to be the first person in their family to enter the legal profession, the Buser Family Scholarship provides an opportunity for law students with disabilities. We are grateful to Judge Buser and Mrs. Buser and proud to offer this scholarship. We look forward to sharing this opportunity with law students.”
According to Judge Buser, besides prioritizing first-generation law students, students with disabilities also will receive preference in being awarded the scholarship.
“This aspect of the scholarship is in recognition of my wife Holly’s 40-year career as a pediatric physical therapist,” stated Buser. “Recently my wife was thrilled to learn that an infant with neurological issues that she had treated more than 20 years ago just received a scholarship to earn a doctorate in physical therapy. Similarly, we hope this new KBF scholarship will assist a student with a disability to achieve the goal of becoming a lawyer.”
Kansas Bar Association The 2026 KBF Scholarship program will start accepting applications in December 2025.
The Buser Family Scholarship is one of twelve that will provide a total of about $40,000 to several outstanding students.