2014

Judge Lisa White Hardwick was appointed to the Missouri Court of Appeals for the Western District in 2001. She served as chief judge of the court from 2010 to 2012. Prior to serving on the appellate court, Judge Hardick was a circuit judge in the 16th Judicial Circuit (Jackson County) from 2000 to 2010. Before that, she was in private practice from 1985 to 1999.

From 1993 to 2000, she served on the Jackson County Legislature.

Judge Hardwick is a member of The Missouri Bar, the Jackson County Bar Association, the Kansas City Metropolitan Bar Association, the Association of Women Lawyers of Greater Kansas City, and serves as a member of the Civic Education Committee. She served as chairperson of the Missouri Appellate Practice Committee from 2002 to 2014.

She is a member of St. James United Methodist Church and serves on the board of directors for the Niles Home for Children and the Center School District Education Foundation. She also serves as chairman of the board for Swope Health Services. Judge Hardwick previously served on the board of directors of the Community Blood Bank and Rockhurst High School.

Judge Hardwick received the Up and Comers Award from the Kansas City Business Journal and the 40 Under 40 Award from Ingram’s magazine.

Attorneys who responded to survey questions rated Judge Hardwick on a scale from 1 to 5, with 1 representing “Strongly Disagree” and 5 representing “Strongly Agree.” She received her highest marks for: punctuality (4.41); attentiveness to the arguments of all parties during oral argument (4.25); attentiveness to the differing opinions of colleagues during oral argument (4.23); and writing opinions that follow an applicable standard of review for the case (4.21). Responders described Judge Hardwick as polite and professional.

The committee also reviewed Judge Hardwick’s written opinions. Those opinions are well-reasoned and follow Missouri law.