The POWER List: Leland Shurin

Shaffer Lombardo Shurin, Kansas City

But for vagaries of the federal judicial confirmation process, Leland Shurin might well be on the bench of the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Missouri right now. Instead, he’s become one of Kansas City’s top mediators in high-stakes cases.

President Bill Clinton nominated Shurin as a federal judge in 1996, but he withdrew his name when he was unable to get a Senate hearing. He later was tapped (along with longtime law partner and fellow POWER honoree Richard Lombardo) to serve as special deputy liquidator of Great American Mutual Holding Co., which held the assets of a life insurance company that collapsed in 1999.

He also served for a short time as a receiver in a civil suit against David Jungerman, a Raytown businessman accused of fatally shooting Kansas City attorney Tom Pickert in 2017. He was a special master in the Health Care Foundation of Greater Kansas City’s suit against HCA, which featured Paul Seyferth, also of the POWER List.

In addition, Shurin has served on the Kansas City Board of Police Commissioners and the Missouri Gaming Commission. He earned his law degree from the University of Missouri-Kansas City in 1968.