Rick specializes in complex antitrust, business, product liability, and consumer litigation—typically involving class or mass actions. Rick graduated from the University of Missouri-Columbia School of Law, where he served as Associate Managing Editor of the Missouri Law Review. 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 the firm formerly known as 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. In 2008, Rick moved his practice to Stueve Siegel Hanson LLP. In May 2013, Rick started Paul LLP.
Rick has recovered nearly $3 billion for his clients through trial or settlement. Rick has been appointed by numerous courts across the country to serve as lead counsel in class and mass actions and in MDL proceedings.
Rick enjoys being in the courtroom and has tried and won many types of cases in jury trials, bench trials, and arbitrations. He has repeatedly been brought into a case shortly before trial for just that purpose. Rick served as trial counsel in the In re Syngenta Litigation pending in the Minnesota Fourth Judicial District. Rick was co-lead trial counsel for the first individual bellwether trial as well as the Minnesota class action trial. During the third week of the Minnesota class trial, the litigation was settled on behalf of all farmers (individual and classes) across the country. Rick has also argued more than 40 appeals to various state and federal appellate courts and briefed over 100 appeals.
Rick is active in the local bar, including the Kansas City Metropolitan Bar Association. He has served as Vice-Chair 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 trial-related issues. In 2006, Missouri Lawyers Weekly named Rick as one of eight “Up and Coming Lawyers.” He is annually named a “Missouri/Kansas Super Lawyer” and has an AV Preeminent Peer Review Rating with Martindale-Hubbell.
Missouri, 1995
Kansas, 1997
U.S. Supreme Court
U.S. Court of Appeals, 3rd Circuit
U.S. Court of Appeals, 4th Circuit
U.S. Court of Appeals, 5th Circuit
U.S. Court of Appeals, 6th Circuit
U.S. Court of Appeals, 7th Circuit
U.S. Court of Appeals, 8th Circuit
U.S. Court of Appeals, 9th Circuit
U.S. Court of Appeals, 10th Circuit
U.S. Court of Appeals, 11th Circuit
U.S. District Court, District of Colorado
U.S. District Court, District of Kansas
U.S. District Court, Eastern District of Missouri
U.S. District Court, Western District of Missouri
U.S. District Court, Eastern District of Wisconsin
University of Missouri-Columbia School of Law, Columbia, Missouri, 1995
J.D., Assistant Managing Editor, Missouri Law Review
University of Missouri, Columbia, Missouri, 1992
B.A., Economics and Political Science, Honors College
Honors: MU Varsity Tennis Team, Letter winner; Academic All Big-8