By Mirella Flores
Honorable Lisa White Hardwick is a Kansas City native. She received her Bachelor’s from the University of Missouri- Columbia in 1982 and her J.D. from Harvard Law School in 1985.
Upon graduation, Hardwick joined the Shook, Hardy & Bacon, a U.S. private law firm based in Kansas City and the 87th largest in the U.S. (according to The National Law Journal, 2012). Hardwick was a partner at this firm from 1992 to 2000. During this same time, Hardwick also served on the Jackson County Legislature.
In 2001, Hardwick was appointed as a judge of the Jackson County 16th Circuit Court, where she served from January 2001 to May 2011. Hardwick left this position because she was appointed as a judge on then Missouri Court of Appeals Western District. The Missouri Court of Appeals is the intermediate appellate court for the state of Missouri, which means it is an intermediate step between the trial courts and the courts of last resort in the state. The Western District Court of Appeals is the state’s largest intermediate appellate court. This court usually handles around 40% of the appellate caseload in Missouri. Hardwick retrained this position at the 2002 general election, and again at the 2014 general election. We can expect the Honorable Lisa White Hardwick to maintain her position in the Missouri Court of Appeals until 2026.
The results from the 2010 Census showed an increase in population and regional shifts within Missouri. This meant the state legislative map needed to be reconfigured. At first, bipartisan citizens appointed to this task. Upon them failing to reach agreement, Hardwick and five other appellate court judges were appointed by the Missouri Appellate Apportionment Commission to reconfigure Missouri’s state legislative map within 90-days. Under Hardwick’s leadership as the Commission Chair, they proposed a redistricting plan for the Senate and for the House. The changes were not welcomed, as the new district boundaries would change the complexion in Southern Missouri. The Commission’s Senate redistricting plan was struck down in court, and it was also determined that the Commission lacked the authority to draw a second map. A new commission was convened to make a second attempt. The new commission issued a final state Senate district map on March 12, 2012.
Hardwick’s public service efforts have not gone unnoticed. Some of Hardwick’s honors include receiving the 40 Under 40 Award by Ingram’s Magazine and the Up and Comers Award from the Kansas City Business Journal.