Erica Slater, attorney at The Simon Law Firm, was elected to the 22nd Circuit Judicial Commission by City-resident attorney voters on November 4, 2023 with approximately 70 percent of the vote. The 22nd Circuit Judicial Commission is organized under the Missouri Nonpartisan Court Plan. The Missouri Nonpartisan Court Plan ensures that judges are selected not based on political party affiliation, but under a merit-based, nonpartisan procedure.
The 22nd Circuit Judicial Commission is tasked with reviewing applications, interviewing candidates, and selecting a judicial panel of three to send to the Governor. The Governor then appoints one candidate from the panel to fill the judicial vacancy on the City of St. Louis Circuit or Associate Circuit bench. The Commission is comprised of two elected attorney members, two lay members appointed by the Governor, and the Chief Judge of the Missouri Eastern District Court of Appeals.
Erica filed to run for this position in January, 2023. “I sought this position because working to evaluate and select highly-qualified judges in a nonpartisan and non-adversarial setting is, frankly, the most important way I can think to spend my professional time when I’m not in the courtroom,” Erica shared. Throughout her eleven-month campaign, she garnered the support of attorneys from all areas of practice and various professional organizations, including securing endorsements from the Women Lawyers’ Association of Greater St. Louis and Mound City Bar Association.
As to her goals while serving her six-year term on the 22nd Circuit Judicial Commission, she seeks to “maintain and strengthen the high caliber of our City bench by involving those from every corner of our practice and seeking diverse opinions on the most-qualified applicants for each judicial vacancy,” said Erica.
Erica Slater is a trial attorney who has tried numerous multiple-week jury trials and argued many appeals on behalf of Plaintiffs and Defendants throughout her career. As an attorney at The Simon Law Firm for the past decade, she has focused her practice on complex personal injury and wrongful death cases. Erica has been appointed by the Missouri Supreme Court to serve on the Missouri Bar Regional Disciplinary Committee for the 22nd Circuit and the Joint Commission for Women in the Profession. In 2020, Erica received the John C. Shepherd Professionalism Award and was honored with Women’s Justice Awards in 2011, 2017, and 2022. She has been recognized in Best Lawyers in America® since 2018 and Missouri & Kansas Super Lawyers® since 2015. Erica is a proud, fifth-generation City resident who lives in the Shaw neighborhood with her wife and two girls.
We congratulate Erica on this tremendous accomplishment and know she will work diligently and ethically on the 22nd Circuit Judicial Commission over the next six years.
