Brittany Briggs Essma

816.607.3772

Brittany Briggs Essma is an associate with Langdon & Emison and a member of the firm’s Complex Torts division. She represents individuals and families in complex personal injury and wrongful death cases, with a focus on defective products and catastrophic injuries. Brittany practices out of the firm’s Kansas City office and combines rigorous legal analysis with practical guidance to help clients navigate high-stakes litigation.

Areas of Practice

Before joining Langdon & Emison, Brittany practiced at a Jefferson City law firm where she defended government entities in both federal and state courts. That experience gave her insight into how public entities and their insurers evaluate and defend serious injury claims. She now uses that knowledge to anticipate defense strategies, build stronger cases, and advocate effectively for injured clients and their families.

Brittany’s background includes a judicial clerkship with the Missouri Court of Appeals and internships with the U.S. District Court and the U.S. Attorney’s Office. She served as managing editor of the Missouri Law Review, received the Ike Skelton Sr. Prize for Best Work in Trial Practice, and was a member of her law school’s National Moot Court Team. These experiences strengthened her skills in appellate and motion practice, legal writing, and oral advocacy, all of which she brings to her work in complex tort and product liability matters.

Clients and co-counsel value Brittany’s meticulous case preparation, persuasive written advocacy, and steady presence throughout challenging litigation. Whether a case involves a defective product, a catastrophic injury, or a claim against a governmental entity, she is dedicated to pursuing justice and meaningful results for the people she represents.

In 2025 Brittany was selected by the National Trial Lawyers as one of the top “40 under 40” lawyers in her practice area.  Before joining the firm she was an associate at a firm in Jefferson City that focused on government entity defense in both federal and state court.  While there she developed and executed defense strategies for clients; she currently uses her prior experience to help clients who have been catastrophically injured or have lost a loved one due to defective products.

While in law school, Brittany was the managing editor of Missouri Law Review.  She received the Ike Skelton, Sr. Prize for Best Work in Trial Practice, and she was a member of the National Moot Court Team at Mizzou and the assistant director of 1L Moot Court.  She is a member of the Kansas City Metropolitan Bar Association and the Missouri Association of Trial Attorneys.  During law school she held internships with the U.S. District Court, Western District of Missouri, and the U.S. Attorney’s Office.

Education

University of Missouri School of Law, 2020 – J.D.

University of Missouri, 2017 – B.A. in Political Science

Publications

Brittany L. Briggs, Comment, Children Are Our Future: Resurrecting Juvenile Rehabilitation through “Raise the Age” Legislation in Missouri, 85 Mo. L. Rev. 191 (2020).

The Absent Co-Driver: Evaluating Rear-End Collision Trucking Cases for Failure to Equip Collision Avoidance Technology Claims, Missouri Trial Magazine, Winter 2026.