Kansas Supreme Court Swears in Shook Alumna as New Justice

Former Shook lawyer Melissa Taylor Standridge officially joined the Kansas Supreme Court in an investiture ceremony held via YouTube on December 14, 2020. She had been a judge on the Kansas Court of Appeals since 2008, where, according to the court website, she “heard thousands of cases and authored nearly one thousand opinions.” 

Kansas Governor Laura Kelly appointed Standridge for the position in November. 

“The totality of her life and career experience makes her preeminently qualified to sit on the Kansas Supreme Court,” stated Governor Kelly.

Standridge practiced at Shook as an associate and is recognized as a founding member of the firm’s diversity and inclusion initiative. She is only the sixth woman to be selected as a justice on the Kansas Supreme Court.