Judge Booker T. Shaw is a partner in the Business Litigation Practice Group. Judge Shaw brings valuable insight and perspective to client matters gained from his more than 25 years on the bench. His knowledge of current judicial thinking at the trial and appellate levels on a wide range of issues enhances the Business Litigation Group’s ability to argue a client’s case more persuasively and to craft the most effective strategy.
Judge Shaw served in the 22nd Judicial Circuit as an associate circuit judge and later as a circuit judge. In 2002, he was appointed to the Missouri Court of Appeals, Eastern District. He served as chief judge of that Court from July 2006 to June 2007. At the trial court, Judge Shaw presided in more than 500 jury and non-jury trials, and he has participated in over one thousand cases at the appellate court. He has authored 141 appellate opinions on a variety of cases, from medical negligence and nuisance/sovereign immunity to commercial transactions, contracts, and personal injury.
Prior to his judicial posts, he worked at the Department of Justice, the Federal Trade Commission, and the Circuit Attorney’s Office, where he tried more than 50 criminal cases to verdict before a jury. In all but two of these trials, the jury returned a guilty verdict. In addition to his decades of public service as a distinguished jurist, Judge Shaw continues to give back to the legal profession. He has taught trial advocacy at Washington University School of Law since 1995 and has been an instructor at the National Institute of Trial Advocacy since 1999. He also frequently speaks at Missouri Bar continuing legal education programs.
Notable Cases
Judge Shaw has represented, briefed and argued numerous cases before the Missouri Supreme Court, Court of Appeals and Circuit Court. Recently, he served as a member of the trial team representing Lorillard Tobacco in the defense of a $500 million dollar cost-recovery lawsuit brought by Missouri hospitals in the City of St. Louis. After a three month trial, the jury returned defense verdicts on all claims.
He argued before the Supreme Court of Missouri In St. Charles County v. Laclede Gas Company on behalf of the utility company. The county argued that the company should be required to pay the cost of relocating gas lines, located in utility easements, when the county undertakes road improvements. The Supreme Court reversed the trial court and ruled in favor of Laclede Gas in a case that impacts utilities across the state.
In Gibbs v. Blockbuster, the Missouri Court of Appeals reversed a two million dollar false imprisonment judgment against Blockbuster. Judge Shaw argued, among other things, that the trial court committed reversible error by granting partial summary judgment against Blockbuster on a disputed agency issue.