- OVERVIEW
- EXPERIENCE
- INSIGHTS
- NEWS & EVENTS
INDUSTRIES
PRACTICES
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Education
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Catholic University of America,
J.D.
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Southern Illinois University,
B.A.
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National Judicial College
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American Academy of Judicial Education
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University of Missouri, Center for the Study of Dispute Resolution
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Admissions
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Illinois
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Missouri
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Missouri USDC, Eastern District
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Missouri USDC, Western District
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US Ct Appeals, 8th Circuit (Covers AR, IA, MN, MO, NE, ND, SD)
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Affiliations
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The Theodore McMillian American Inn of Court
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U.S. District Court, Eastern District of Missouri
Alternative Dispute Resolution Committee
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American Bar Association
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Lawyers Association of St. Louis
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Missouri Bar Association
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Mound City Bar Association
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National Bar Association, Judicial Council
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Recognitions
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Listed in The Best Lawyers in America® (by BL Rankings), 2022-2023
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Mentor Award, 2015
Missouri Lawyers Weekly
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Diverse Business Leader Award, 2010
St. Louis Business Journal
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Legal Legend Award, 2018
Mound City Bar Association
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Employment
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Thompson Coburn LLP
2009-Present
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Missouri Court of Appeals
2002-2009; Chief Judge 2006-2007
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Circuit Judge, 22nd Circuit
1995-2002
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Associate Circuit Judge, 22nd Circuit
1983-1995
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Circuit Attorney's Office
1976-1983
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Federal Trade Commission
1975
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U. S. Department of Justice
1974
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Community
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Member, Missouri Committee on Jury Instructions and Charges - Civil
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Mentor St. Louis
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NAACP
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Second Presbyterian Church, Elder
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Urban League of Metropolitan St. Louis
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Retired Judge Booker Shaw is a skilled litigator and appellate advocate who brings valuable insight and perspective 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 his ability to argue a client's case more persuasively and to craft the most effective strategy.
Judge Shaw served on the Missouri Court of Appeals, Eastern District, for seven years, including one year as chief judge. While on the appellate bench, he participated in more than 1,000 cases and authored 141 appellate opinions on a variety of cases, from medical negligence and nuisance/sovereign immunity to commercial transactions, contracts and personal injury. He also served as a Special Visiting Judge of the Missouri Supreme Court. As a former trial judge in the 22nd Judicial Circuit, from 1983 until 2002, Judge Shaw presided over more than 500 trials.
Prior to his judicial posts, Judge Shaw worked at the U.S. Department of Justice, the Federal Trade Commission and the St. Louis Circuit Attorney's Office, where he prosecuted over 50 jury trials. In addition to his decades of public service as a distinguished jurist, Judge Shaw continues to give back to the legal profession as a mentor and teacher.
Notable cases
Judge Shaw has briefed and argued numerous cases before the U.S. Circuit and District Courts, the Missouri Supreme Court, Courts of Appeals and Circuit Courts. In 2011, he served as a member of the trial team representing Lorillard Tobacco in the defense of a $500 million 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.
Judge Shaw helped Philip Morris defeat a $1.5 billion class action case in a 2016 jury trial in the City of St. Louis, where he was a trial team member. The case turned on whether Philip Morris deceived some 400,000 Missouri smokers about the safety of Marlboro Light (Lights) cigarettes. After just 30 minutes of deliberation, a trial that lasted 39 days ended with a total defense verdict.
In 2015, he helped secure a critical defense win in St. Louis for Pfizer in Pesante v. Pfizer, the first of several trials over birth defects allegedly caused by Zoloft. The proceeding in St. Louis Circuit Court was the first in dozens of similar cases lodged against the drug maker in St. Louis and in Philadelphia, and the plaintiff's attorneys selected what they considered to be their best case for the first trial. In addition to leading several pretrial motions that achieved significant evidentiary rulings, Judge Shaw was responsible for questioning several key witnesses. The jury deliberated for less than two hours before siding with Pfizer by a vote of 11-1.
He argued before the Supreme Court of Missouri on behalf of a utility company. A 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 our client in a case that impacts utilities across the state.
In Gibbs v. Blockbuster, the Missouri Court of Appeals reversed a $2 million 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.
In an automotive product liability case, Judge Shaw successfully argued to the Missouri Court of Appeals that the trial court properly limited plaintiff's proffer of claimed similar incidents, in their attempt to establish our client's knowledge of the alleged vehicular defect.
Thompson Coburn Publications
Blogs
Thompson Coburn releases free Title IX training series for institutions of Higher Education
TCLEs
Title IX Module 6: Title IX Appeals
Title IX Module 4: Title IX Hearings
Presentations
"Tough Evidence Issues at Trial";
Bar Association of Metropolitan St. Louis, May 2014
"Mastering Appellate Advocacy: Oral Argument";
Bar Association of Metropolitan St. Louis, February 2014
"Game Plan For Effective Voir Dire";
Missouri Organization of Defense Lawyers, April 2012
"Civil Trial and Appellate Practice";
The Missouri Bar Association, May 2011, May 2012, May 2013, May 2014
News
Medicaid expansion prevails in Missouri following pro bono effort by Thompson Coburn, Bryan Cave
Booker Shaw receives Diversity & Inclusion Award from Missouri Lawyers Media
New year, new ideas for diversity and inclusion!
Thompson Coburn donates $50,000 to St. Louis Freedom Suits Memorial
2020 Eagleton Scholarship awarded to Yasmin Younis
Our pledge: A statement from Thompson Coburn
2019 Eagleton Scholarship awarded to Sydney Latimore
Thompson Coburn receives MCCA George B. Vashon Innovator Award
Booker Shaw receives Distinguished Lawyer Award at 2019 Law Day celebration
2018 Eagleton Scholarship awarded to Katherine Murchison
Booker Shaw Honored as Legal Legend
U.S. News & World Report names Thompson Coburn as best for railroad law
Thompson Coburn honored for largest defense win in Missouri
Judge Shaw helps Philip Morris defeat $1.5B class action case in 30 minutes
Missouri Lawyers Weekly honors Booker Shaw with Mentor Award
Booker T. Shaw hits the airwaves for public radio legal roundtable
Booker T. Shaw honored as 2014 professional mentor of the year
More than 50 attorneys named to 2012 Missouri Bar Pro Bono Hall of Fame
Street Law program introduces 90 St. Louis students to careers in the law
Thompson Coburn tobacco victory named Missouri's ‘Top Defense Win of 2011’
Thompson Coburn obtains Missouri Supreme Court victory for Laclede Gas Company
Thompson Coburn sweeps 37 plaintiffs in jury verdicts for Lorillard Tobacco Company