Blake A. Shuart
Mr. Shuart is a trial lawyer who enjoys the challenge of handling difficult
and complex cases. He has spent over a decade litigating all types of
tort cases in courtrooms across the country, and he is just as comfortable
drafting a legal brief as he is arguing to a judge or jury.
Shuart also believes that children need a voice in the legal system, and he has devoted significant time to providing this voice by lobbying lawmakers for improvements in existing laws, representing the parents of children who are killed or catastrophically injured in the child care setting, writing opinion columns in the local newspaper on important issues affecting the health, education and safety of our youth, and appearing on local media outlets to discuss cases of interest involving children in the community.
Nationwide Practice
Shuart has passed bar examinations in Kansas, Florida, New Jersey and Illinois (where he spent his first two years in practice, defending hospitals, physicians and insurance companies, and learning about litigation through the lens of a defense lawyer), and he maintains active licensure in all four states. He has also appeared in cases in other jurisdictions across the country, including New York, Oklahoma and Rhode Island.
Diverse Cases
Shuart enjoys the constant challenge of handling unique and complicated tort cases, and has successfully represented injured victims in cases arising out of car wrecks, semi-truck collisions, medical or hospital malpractice, defective products, dangerous drugs/mass torts, slip & falls, day care negligence, nursing home negligence, dog bites, shootings and assaults, aviation disasters, security breaches, sidewalk defects, veterinarian malpractice, ATV & go kart crashes, life insurance disputes and other first-party insurance cases, pharmacy filling errors, aviation premises liability, and others.
Experience
Shuart has tried several cases to verdict in jurisdictions across Kansas, in solo, first-chair and second-chair capacities. He has also handled appeals in the state and federal appellate courts, including the Kansas Supreme Court.
Results
Shuart has successfully resolved over 350 cases, recovering many millions of dollars for his clients.
Focus on the "Bottom Line"
The "gross" settlement amount -- the total amount recovered from the defendant -- is less important to clients than the "net" amount that goes in his or her pocket, after case expenses, attorney's fees, and reimbursement for medical expenses paid by insurance carriers, which are commonly referred to as "liens." Shuart understands this, and works to negotiate these liens as aggressively as possible, having also lectured at CLEs on the topic of lien resolution.
Peer Recognition
Mr. Shuart maintains an AV® rating with Martindale-Hubbell, and has been named to Missouri and Kansas Super Lawyers®, Rising Stars℠ every year since 2011. He is also very active with the Kansas Trial Lawyers Association (KTLA), and received the Thomas E. Sullivan Award from the association in 2017, which recognizes significant promise and commitment as a developing leader.
Professional Activities
Shuart engages regularly with the Kansas Legislature as an advocate for pending legislation on behalf of his clients and/or KTLA, testifying to committees at the statehouse on a yearly basis. He also serves on the Bench-Bar Committee for the U.S. District Court for the District of Kansas, and is actively involved in the Federal Bar Association.
On the state court level, he has served as a Pro Tem Judge in the Eighteenth Judicial District and has been appointed multiple times by the Court to serve as the attorney-chairperson for Medical Malpractice Screening Panels.
Other Interests
Shuart has a deep interest in the intersection between politics and the law, and he pens a weekly opinion column in the local newspaper which provides commentary on political and legal issues affecting citizens across Kansas and the U.S.
Personal
A native of Topeka, Kansas, Mr. Shuart now resides in Wichita with his wife, Christina, and their three daughters.
Education
The John Marshall Law School
Chicago, IL
Juris Doctor
2007
Received a Dean’s Scholarship and was named to the Dean’s List
A+ Grades (Top in Class) in Trial Advocacy and Advanced Trial Advocacy
Solicitation Editor, Journal of Computer & Information Law (JCIL)
Trial Team Captain, Buffalo-Niagara Mock Trial and AAJ Mock Trial Competitions
President, The John Marshall Law School chapter of AAJ
Studied abroad in Dublin, Ireland with Irish Barristers (Comparative Trial Advocacy)
University of Kansas
Lawrence, KS
B.A., English / Minor in Leadership Studies
2004
Received Campanile Award (awarded to the outstanding member of senior class) at commencement
Awards & Peer Recognition
Martindale-Hubbell AV® Preeminent Peer Review Rating
Listed in Missouri and Kansas Super Lawyers®, Rising Stars℠ 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017
Thomas E. Sullivan Award, Kansas Trial Lawyers Association, 2017
Active Bar Licensures
Supreme Court of Illinois, 2007 and U.S. Dist. Ct., N. Dist. of Illinois, 2008
Supreme Court of Kansas, 2010 and U.S. Dist. Ct. of Kansas, 2010
Supreme Court of Florida, 2010
Supreme Court of New Jersey, 2010 and U.S. Dist. Ct. of New Jersey, 2010
U.S. Ct. of Appeals, 3rd Cir., 2010
U.S. Ct. of Appeals, 10th Cir., 2012
Legal Publications
“Compliance with Supreme Court Rule 216 after Brookbank v. Olson,” Chicago Bar Association Record (May 2009)
“How Saying ‘I’m Sorry’ Can Help Reduce Medical Liability,” (with Robert L. Nora, Esq.), Chicago Hospital News (August 2009)
“The Intervening Cause Defense in Medical Negligence Cases: On Code Blue After Puckett v. Mt. Carmel Regional Medical Center,” Journal of the Kansas Association for Justice (September 2010)
“The Common Fund Doctrine: A Primer on Illinois Case Law,” Chicago Bar Association Record (November 2011)
“Siruta v. Siruta: A New Supreme Court Opinion that Belongs in Your Briefcase,” Journal of the Kansas Association for Justice (July 2015)
"Bridge Over Tested Waters: Substituting Judges AfterBowman v. Ottney," Chicago Bar Association Record (April/May 2016)