WJA 2020: Rachel Stahle, Dollar, Burns & Becker

In the 11 years since she left law school, Rachel Stahle already has made quite a name for herself.

She made partner after just four and a half years at Franke Schultz & Mullen. Since joining Dollar, Burns & Becker in 2016, she has helped the firm garner more than $25 million in settlements for its clients. She has pulled in several honors, including a spot on a list of America’s Top 100 personal injury attorneys last year.

While the University of Kansas School of Law graduate said the awards mean a lot to her, it’s clear Stahle isn’t driven completely by the accolades. She said she joined Dollar, Burns & Becker in large part because after several years of working on the defense side of trials, she felt that working on the plaintiff side gave her a better tool to help people. Today, she’s a partner in the firm’s nursing home abuse and neglect and medical malpractice practice groups.

“[My clients] are going through something that you don’t want to go through yourself, and you want to prevent others from having to go through it,” said Stahle, who began thinking about a law career as a fourth-grader in her hometown of Sioux City, Iowa.

As part of her mission to help others through the law, Stahle pointed to two cases, including one she initially didn’t believe would become a case. The family of a man in a nursing home thought the man being dropped by employees was behind his condition declining.

“But I knew something more had gone on,” Stahle said. “We waited for the state to look into it, and it turns out the nursing home wasn’t monitoring his blood coagulation properly. It took some investigation to see what was going on. I think a lot of lawyers might have said, ‘There’s nothing here.’ But I saw it through and got results.”

While Stahle said dealing with work that often involves wrongful-death lawsuits can be emotionally straining, the ability to help those who need it keeps her going.

“A lot of times people have been voicing concerns for months and feel like they’re not being taken seriously,” she said. “Then something happens to their loved ones, and they’re really happy someone’s finally taking them seriously.”

Away from work, Stahle keeps busy with her two young children, remaining active in the Kansas City legal community and helping with service projects. She also enjoys golfing, a game she said young women looking to succeed in the legal field should learn. Stahle said she has gotten to know colleagues and opponents of both sexes far better during a game of golf than by working a case together.

As for what’s ahead, Stahle said she’s keeping the chance to help people through the law front and center.

“It’s not really about glory,” she said. “I would like to be known as someone who’s a straight shooter, someone who’s not going to mess around or be difficult for the sake of being difficult.

“I mean, sure, I’d like to settle a nursing home case for ‘X’ million for litigation, but I would hate to see that, because for that to happen, something terrible would have had to happen to people.”