Laura D. Stith
Judge Laura Denvir Stith was born in St. Louis. She graduated, with honors, from John Burroughs School in 1971. A National Merit Scholar, she attended Tufts University in Boston, Massachusetts. She graduated from Tufts with honors in 1975, receiving a bachelor of arts in political science and social psychology. She graduated magna cum laude from Georgetown University Law Center in 1978.
Upon graduation, Stith served as law clerk to Judge Robert E. Seiler of the Supreme Court of Missouri for one year. In 1979, she joined the Kansas City office of Shook, Hardy & Bacon. She became a partner there in 1984 and co-founded the firm’s appellate practice group.
On September 15, 1994, then-Governor Mel Carnahan appointed Stith as a judge of the Missouri Court of Appeals, Western District. She was retained by Missouri voters in November 1996. During her time with the appeals court, Stith authored more than 400 opinions, which involved every aspect of state law.
On March 2, 2001, then-Governor Bob Holden appointed Stith to the Supreme Court of Missouri, filling the vacancy left by the retirement of Judge Ann K. Covington and, thereby becoming only the second woman to serve on the state’s high court. She was retained by Missouri voters in 2002 and 2014.
Stith served a term as Chief Justice of Missouri from July 1, 2007, through June 30, 2009. During her term Stith led the adoption of new rules to the Missouri Nonpartisan Court Plan, enhancing openness in the application process and improving the evaluation of judges. Additionally, Stith was the Court’s liaison to the Joint Commission on Women in the Profession from 2013 to 2020 and has served as chair of the Gender and Justice Joint Committee of The Missouri Bar and the Supreme Court of Missouri. Missouri Lawyers Weekly named Stith its Woman of the Year at the 2013 Women’s Justice Awards. In 2021, The Missouri Bar Foundation honored her with the Spurgeon Smithson Award. In 2024 the Kansas City Metropolitan Bar Association gave her its lifetime achievement award.
Stith has been active in multiple legal associations, including The Missouri Bar, American Bar Association, and the Kansas City Metropolitan Bar Association, serving as a member, speaker or moderator, and in various committee leadership roles within those organizations. She is a member of the governing Council of the American Law Institute and currently serves as its Secretary. Stith also serves on the Executive Committee of Legal Aid of Western Missouri and is a board member of the Association of Women Lawyers Foundation, having previously served as President of the Association of Women Lawyers of Greater Kansas City. Stith also has long been involved with Lawyers Encouraging Academic Performance (LEAP), a non-profit foundation promoting community service among lawyers in Kansas City and encouraging young people in education. Stith was a founding director of LEAP, established in 1994.
Additionally, Stith has authored and co-authored numerous articles published in multiple law reviews, including the Duke Law Journal, Missouri Law Review, and Valparaiso University Law Review.
After serving 20 years with the Supreme Court of Missouri, Judge Laura Denvir Stith retired March 8, 2021. After serving for three years as a senior judge in Missouri she retired in 2024.