Attorneys

Professional History

After law school, Rick was a judicial law clerk at the Missouri Supreme Court and the Missouri Court of Appeals, Western District. In 1996, he began private practice with Shughart Thomson & Kilroy, a large Kansas City law firm with offices in Missouri, Kansas, Colorado, and Arizona. In 2002, the Board of Directors of Shughart Thomson elected him a Shareholder and Director. While there, he tried several cases, and also argued more than 40 appeals before a variety of appellate courts across the country, including the United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth and Ninth Circuits, the Missouri Supreme Court, the Missouri Court of Appeals for the Eastern, Southern, and Western Districts, the Kansas Court of Appeals, and the Arizona Court of Appeals. In May 2008, Rick moved his practice to Stueve Siegel Hanson.

Over the course of his legal career, Rick has successfully handled a variety of types of cases, including constitutional litigation, intellectual property, antitrust, oil and gas litigation, employment disputes, bankruptcy litigation, product liability, aviation and trucking litigation, and officer and director liability. Most of his practice has focused on complex multi-district, class, collective, derivative, and other types of representative actions, frequently serving as court-appointed Lead or Co-Lead Class Counsel. Rick has spent a significant portion of his practice representing bankruptcy trustees as court-appointed Trial Counsel in complex litigation, often on a contingent or modified fee arrangement.

Rick has recovered tens of millions of dollars on behalf of his clients. In wage-and-hour disputes, Rick has recovered more than $10 million for employees who were not paid all the wages they were owed. Rick has helped bankruptcy trustees collect more than $60 million for their bankruptcy estates. In November 2007, after more than four years of vigorous litigation Rick and his co-counsel settled the In re General Motors DexCool Products Liability Multi-District Litigation just days before a three-week jury trial was set to begin in what is one of the largest automotive class action settlements ever.

Rick has been active in the local bar, including the Kansas City Metropolitan Bar Association and the Lawyers Association of Kansas City. In 2004, he served as the Chair of the Appellate Courts Committee of the KCMBA. He has also served on the Business Torts Committee, where he authored the Chapter on Fiduciary Duties for the Business Torts Handbook. Rick is a frequent speaker and moderator at seminars and presentations on handling appeals, electronic discovery, and the use of technology in the courtroom. In 2006, Missouri Lawyers Weekly named Rick as one of eight “Up and Coming Lawyers.”

Community

Rick spends a significant amount of time coaching his two kids various sports teams in the Upwards Sports league, including flag football, soccer, and basketball. In 2006-2007, Rick was the Assistant Tennis Coach for the men's and women's tennis teams at William Jewell College, and continues to work with some of the William Jewell players. Rick is also an active tournament tennis player and volunteers his time to give tennis lessons to kids. He serves on the Board of Directors of his homes association and the Clayview Country Club. Rick is a member of Pleasant Valley Baptist Church.