Partner Rachel Schwartz Selected as Magistrate Judge of the United States District Court for the District of Kansas
Stueve Siegel Hanson congratulates partner Rachel Schwartz on her selection as the next United States Magistrate Judge for the District of Kansas.
Schwartz will replace Magistrate Judge James P. O'Hara, who retired on November 30, 2021.
During her 17-year tenure at the firm, Schwartz has been a key part of some of the region's most notable litigation. Among these:
- Working on behalf of thousands of corn farmers, Schwartz was part of the litigation team that secured a $217.7 million jury verdict and $1.51 billion global settlement resolving thousands of cases nationwide against biotech giant Syngenta. The successful jury trial ranked No. 10 on National Law Journal's 2017 list of top verdicts in the nation, the historic settlement – believed to be the largest agricultural settlement in U.S. history – was recognized as Missouri Lawyers Weekly's No. 1 “top settlement” for 2018.
- Schwartz prosecuted a groundbreaking Sherman Act Section 1 antitrust lawsuit on behalf of a physician-owned hospital against the largest managed care organizations and hospital systems in Kansas City. Over the span of three years nearly 100 depositions were taken and more than two million pages of documents were produced and reviewed. The case ultimately settled after the court denied summary judgment and ruled the firm's client had a damages case in excess of $140 million.
- As part of a national effort in New York, California and Kansas against the nation’s largest financial services companies, Schwartz represented the National Credit Union Administration alleging that mortgage-backed securities were sold as safe investments, but instead were riskier than represented. All told, the NCUA recovered more than $5 billion.
Active in the local bench-bar community, Schwartz has held numerous leadership positions on Kansas City Metropolitan Bar Association boards and committees, including serving as the past president of KCMBA’s Federal Court Advocates Section. In 2019, she was appointed to serve on the United States District Court for the Western District of Missouri’s Merit Selection Panel and in 2018, was appointed by Chief Judge Phillips to the 2020 Eighth Circuit Judicial Conference Planning Committee.
Schwartz previously was appointed to serve on the District of Kansas’ Bench-Bar Committee and the 2013 Merit Selection Panel for the Kansas City Magistrate Judge Vacancy.
Repeatedly recognized as a Missouri/Kansas Super Lawyer, Schwartz also ranks among the publication's list of Kansas City-area top 50 women attorneys. She is included among the Best Lawyers in America for commercial litigation and securities litigation; and in 2019 was awarded the Litigation Practitioner Award by Missouri Lawyers Weekly.
Schwartz was elected to Stueve Siegel Hanson's partnership in 2008, four years after joining the firm.
Our firm is grateful for the immeasurable contributions she has made and will greatly miss her leadership.
We look forward to celebrating her continued success as a driving force in the legal community as she brings her valuable experience, tenacity, and formidable accomplishments to her new role.
