Matthiesen, Wickert & Lehrer, S.C. (“MWL”) is pleased to announce that Richard Schuster has been made a partner of the firm. Rich has been with MWL since 2012, concentrating his practice on commercial and civil defense matters for manufacturers and their insurers, including overseeing the firm’s involvement with the litigation surrounding the 2013 ammonium nitrate explosion at the West Fertilizer Company storage and distribution facility in West, Texas.
In 2015, Rich represented a manufacturer in a federal court trial in North Carolina that resulted in an outright defense verdict named the #2 noteworthy defense verdict in the state for the entire year2015 by the North Carolina Lawyer’s Weekly. The matter was an early bell weather case in a series of over 200 cases filed throughout the country and involving similar issues. Where other defense attorneys’ clients lost similar trials that resulted in 7-figure verdicts, Rich helped his client achieve a first-of-its-kind complete defense verdict.
Rich has defended dozens of catastrophic exposure cases for manufacturers and insurers throughout the U.S., often involving life-changing injuries and demands reaching as high as $20,000,000. In the past two years alone, Rich has defended cases in Arizona, California, Connecticut, Florida, Illinois, Louisiana, North Carolina, and Wisconsin, among other states.
Rich’s experience defending matters involving life-changing injuries and attempts to unfairly portray corporate defendants through “reptile theory” plaintiff tactics is an incredible advantage in the courtroom. His experience representing companies in the tire, bicycle, power tool, car seat, and medical equipment industries, and his familiarity both with their products and their design and manufacturing processes is a demonstrable advantage in gaining the confidence of insureds and insurers critical to a successful defense of a major claim.
Rich graduated cum laude from the University of Wisconsin Law School. He also received his international MBA from the National Chengchi University, in Taipei, Taiwan, where he was #1 in his class. Proficient in Mandarin Chinese, he joined MWL after practicing for several years in Asia helping international manufacturers with product liability cases, supply chain agreements, and other business challenges.
MWL is proud and privileged to have Rich become partner. Rich can be reached at rschuster@mwl-law.com.
