Blake A. Shuart

Mr. Shuart is a trial lawyer with a wide range of litigation experience handling all types of difficult and complex tort cases in various state and federal courts across the United States. He has significant experience in every stage of the process: from initial case workup and strategy to identifying and consulting with elite experts; from pre-suit negotiations and settlement demands to mediations and complex negotiations; depositions of fact witnesses, corporate representatives, and experts; briefing and arguing dispositive motions; contested hearings; and trials and appeals in the state and federal courts. He has successfully handled hundreds of serious cases as lead counsel, has tried many cases to verdict as lead, solo, or second-chair counsel, and has briefed and argued cases in the appellate courts several times. His experience spans virtually every type of tort claim arising out of catastrophic injury or death. Mr. Shuart is involved in numerous professional organizations; publishes and lectures extensively on topics relevant to his practice; has received several honors from his peers; and has been appointed by the local courts many times to help oversee litigation, serve as an expert witness or sit as a Pro Tem Judge. Shuart and his colleagues at Hutton & Hutton have appeared as lead counsel in some of the most publicized and well-known catastrophic injury or death cases in the community over the past several years, and he frequently receives referrals from other attorneys in the community across all specialties of practice.

Nationwide Practice

Mr. 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

Mr. 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, motorcycle or pedestrian collisions, ATV & go kart crashes, uninsured or underinsured motorist claims, negligent entrustment claims, medical malpractice, hospital malpractice, veterinary malpractice, dental or orthodontic malpractice, first-party insurance claims based on life insurance or other policies, product liability, dangerous drugs and mass torts, premises liability, day care negligence, nursing home negligence, dog bites, shootings and assaults, aviation disasters, security breaches, sidewalk or other defects on public property, pharmacy filling errors, Kansas Tort Claims Act claims, Federal Tort Claims Act claims, Vaccine Compensation Act claims, E&O claims against brokers, Professional Liability Screening Panels, and others.

Experience

Shuart has tried many 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

Mr. Shuart has successfully resolved well over 400 cases, recovering many millions of dollars for his clients. Mr. Shuart is mindful that the “gross” settlement amount (the total amount recovered from the defendant or insurer) is less important to clients than the “net” amount goes in his or her pocket, after case expenses, attorney’s fees, and reimbursement for medical expenses paid by insurers – commonly referred to as “liens” or “subrogation.” Shuart understands this and works to negotiate these liens as aggressively as possible, having also lectured at Continuing Legal Education programs 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® or Rising Stars™ every year since 2011. He received the Thomas E. Sullivan Award from the Kansas Trial Lawyers Association (KTLA) in 2017, which recognizes significant promise and commitment as a developing leader. He was also named to the Wichita Business Journal’s “40 Under 40” in 2021.

Professional Activities

Mr. 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 has also served in several other leadership roles within the KTLA.

In the federal arena, Mr. Shuart has served on the Bench-Bar Committee for the U.S. District Court for the District of Kansas, and serves on the Executive Board of the local Federal Bar Association chapter.

On the state court level, Mr. Shuart has served as a Pro Tem Judge in the Eighteenth Judicial District and has been appointed many times by the Chief Judge to serve as the attorney-chairperson for Medical Malpractice Screening Panels.

Mr. Shuart has also lectured at numerous CLEs on various topics, has published many legal articles – again on various topics, and has testified as an expert witness in state court proceedings.

Other Interests

Mr. Shuart has a deep interest in the intersection between politics and the law, and has published over 80 opinion columns in regional newspapers providing 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

• University of Illinois Chicago School of Law (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

• Listed in Missouri and Kansas Super Lawyers®, 2021, 2022, 2023
• Wichita Business Journal, “40 Under 40”, 2021
• Martindale-Hubbell AV® Preeminent Peer Review Rating
• Listed in Missouri and Kansas Super Lawyers®, Rising Stars℠ 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020
• Thomas E. Sullivan Award, Kansas Trial Lawyers Association, 2017
• Fellow, Litigation Counsel of America (LCA), 2022-Present

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 and U.S. Dist. Ct., N. Dist. of Florida, 2022
• 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)
• "The Long and Winding Road: Navigating the Kansas Tort Claims Act," Journal of the Kansas Trial Lawyers Association (February 2019)
• "Long Arms Across the Ocean: Holding Foreign Product Manufacturers Liable in Domestic Federal Courts," Journal of the Kansas Trial Lawyers Association (November 2019)
• “From Toxins to Two-Ply: Revisiting Crisis Litigation Amidst a Pandemic,” (with Matthew M. Dwyer, Esq.), Journal of the Kansas Trial Lawyers Association (August 2020)
• “Necessary Evil: Understanding Common Benefit Fees in Multidistrict Litigation,” Journal of the Kansas Trial Lawyers Association (August 2021)
• “Safety Dance: The ‘Texas Two-Step’ in Mass Torts and its Implications,” (with Kaylea D. Knappenberger, Esq.), Journal of the Kansas Trial Lawyers Association (November 2022)
• § 230’s Immunity for User-Generated Content: Free Speech with Dangerous Consequences,” (with Kaylea D. Knappenberger, Esq.), Journal of the Kansas Trial Lawyers Association (November 2023)§ 230’s Immunity for User-Generated Content: Free Speech with Dangerous Consequences,” (with Kaylea D. Knappenberger, Esq.), Journal of the Kansas Trial Lawyers Association (November 2023)

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