Steven J. Hughes received a B.A. in Business Administration with a Marketing emphasis from the University of Northern Iowa in 1985 and received his J.D. from Southern Illinois University in 1988.  Steve was admitted to the Bar in Illinois in 1988 and the Bar in Missouri in 1989.  He is also admitted to practice in the United States District Court in both the Eastern and Western Districts of Missouri, the Southern District of Illinois, the District Court of Kansas, and the Seventh and Eight Circuits of the United States District Court of Appeals. He is a member of The Bar Association of Metropolitan St. Louis, Illinois State Bar Association, The Missouri Bar, Missouri Organization of Defense Lawyers, Defense Research Institute and the American Bar Association.  Steve has earned Missouri “Super Lawyer” recognition numerous times. His Martindale-Hubbell rating is AV. Steve defended a multiple fatality truck accident in the United States District Court in 2021 for which the firm was recognized for a “Top Five Defense Verdict” for the State of Missouri in 2021. In 2023 Steve was granted summary judgment on two claims in the City of St. Louis while defending a police department when a fleeing vehicle drove under a tractor trailer resulting in one death and one brain injury with a life care plan of $40,000,000.

Publications and Seminars

• Speaker, Employment Issues – Legal Services of Eastern Missouri
  Seminar, 2016
• Speaker, Trucking Liability – Presented Mock Trial, 2009, 2010
• Speaker, “Missouri Tort Reform,” August 2005
• Speaker, “Dram Shop Liability,” July 2000
• Speaker, “Trying the Soft Tissue Injury Case,” October 1997
• Speaker, “Accounting Malpractice Defense,” July 1996
• Speaker, “Federal Court Practice and Procedure,” October 1995

Experience

Steve’s trial experience is extensive and has involved:

• Truck accident cases in both Missouri and Illinois State and Federal
  Courts.
• Automobile cases.
• Premises liability cases.
• Product liability cases.
• Employment discrimination cases.
• Contract disputes.

Defense experience in various employment practice matters includes full responsibility for representation of private business and governmental clients in claims before:

• State and Federal Courts in Illinois, Missouri, and Kansas (Federal)
• Missouri Commission on Human Rights
• Illinois Department of Human Rights
• Kansas Human Rights Commission
• The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission
• Steve has mediated hundreds of cases as client counsel, and has completed training to serve as a mediator.

Associations & Organizations

• Defense Research Institute
• Missouri Organization of Defense Lawyers
• The Bar Association of Metropolitan Saint Louis
• American Bar Association
• Transportation Section and Mega-Conference Planning Committee
• Transportation Lawyers Association
• Trucking Industry Defense Association

Education

• University of Missouri – Center for the Study of Dispute Resolution, 2024
• International Association of Defense Counsel
  • Trial Academy, Boulder, Colorado, 1992
  • Southern University of Illinois
  • J.D., 1988
• University of Northern Iowa
  • B.A., Business Administration, 1985

Licensure

• Missouri
• Illinois
• United States Court of Appeals Eight Circuit
• United States District Courts
• Eastern District of Missouri
• Western District of Missouri
• Southern District of Illinois
• District Court of Kansas

Background

• Partner, Hughes Lawyers, LLC (2016 – Present)
• Principal, Pitzer Snodgrass, P.C. (2011-2015)
• Principal, Rabbitt, Pitzer & Snodgrass, P.C. (1996-2010)
• Associate, Rabbitt, Pitzer & Snodgrass, P.C. (1991-1996)
• Associate, Brown, James & Rabbitt, P.C. (1988-1991)