From College Basketball to $36 Million Judgment in School Shooting Case with Sheila Hiestand

Elawvate

Louisville, Kentucky trial lawyer Sheila Hiestand has harnessed the same competitive zeal she had as a starting center on a division one college basketball team to become one of Kentucky’s leading trial lawyers. Sheila has successfully litigated and tried many high-profile cases, including a recent case in which she obtained a $36 Million judgment on behalf of the family of victims of a January 2018 shooting at Marshall County High School in which two students were killed and several others injured. Sheila discusses this case, including some of the many legal obstacles she confronted and the impact on the families she represented after this tragedy.

About Sheila Hiestand

Website: https://mhkylaw.com/

“The Lady Litigator”

As a college basketball player who started in two final four appearances, Sheila knows the importance of hard work, drive and heart. Sheila—aka “The Lady Litigator” for her tenacity in court—is dedicated to helping women and their families through the very difficult process of personal injury claims. She has served as the president of the Kentucky trial lawyers with the Kentucky Justice Association and has worked tirelessly to fight for injured people for more than 30 years. This includes several trials with extraordinary results for her clients, such as an auto accident case where she earned a $743,000 verdict and a medical practice failure to diagnose cancer case where she earned a $1.3 million verdict. She also has achieved many 7-figure settlements for her clients in trucking, medical malpractice, auto and motorcycle cases.

After graduating from Centre College, Sheila received her Juris Doctorate from the University of Kentucky School of Law. Soon after she was recognized as the Fayette County Bar Association Outstanding Young Lawyer and was rated an “AV Lawyer” by Martindale-Hubbell®. She has also been recognized among the American Trial Lawyers Association’s Top 100 Trial Lawyers in Kentucky; Super Lawyers Top 50 Lawyers in Kentucky; Super Lawyers Top 25 Women Lawyers in Kentucky; as Top Lawyer by Louisville Magazine, and has received a long list of awards.

When not practicing law, Sheila enjoys spending time with her three children and husband and loves to compete in triathlons. She plays viola, violin, cello and piano and is a past member of the Lexington Singers. Sheila is also fluent in Spanish and has volunteered at the Federal Correctional Institute to assist Spanish-speaking inmates with legal matters pro bono.

Education

• Graduated from Centre College with a double major in English and Spanish
• Juris Doctorate from the University of Kentucky, College of Law

Memberships

• Kentucky Justice Association, Past President
• Kentucky Bar Association, Past Board of Governors
• Kentucky Bar Association Young Lawyers Section, Past President
• Million Dollar Advocates Forum
• Multi-Million Dollar Advocates Forum
• American Board of Trial Advocates
• Injury Board
• The American Society of Legal Advocates
• American Association for Justice President of Fayette County Young Lawyers, Past President
• Louisville Sports Commission Board Member
• Memory Walk for the Alzheimer’s Association, Committee Chair
• Volunteer Center of Central Kentucky Annual Fundraiser, Committee Chair
• Lexington Chapter of the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation’s Sixty Five Roses Ball, Co-Chair
• Top Attorney Personal Injury

Licenses

• Commonwealth of Kentucky
• State of Indiana
• State of Tennessee
• US District Courts for Eastern, Middle and Western Districts of Kentucky
• US District Court for Southern District of Indiana
• US District Court for Northern District of Illinois
• United States 6th Circuit Court of Appeals
• Supreme Court of the United States of America

Awards

• Fayette County Bar Association Outstanding Young Lawyer , 1998
• Kentucky Justice Association Peter Perlman Award recipient for Outstanding Trial Attorney 2018
• AV® Preeminent™ Peer Review Rated by Martindale-Hubbell
• The American Trial Lawyers Association , Top 100 Trial Lawyers in Kentucky
• Selected for inclusion in Kentucky Super Lawyers ® for more than a decade
• Selected as a Top 50 Kentucky Super Lawyers in Kentucky for multiple years
• Selected as a Top 25 Kentucky Women Super Lawyers in Kentucky for multiple years
• Selected for inclusion in the Who’s Who in American Law
• AVVO Perfect 10 Rating – Top Personal Injury Attorney
• Outstanding Attorney by the Greater Lexington Paralegal Association
• National Academy of Personal Injury Attorneys
• NAOPIA Top 10 Attorney for KY
• Global Who’s Who Best Lawyers in America