Stephanie A. Scharf
Stephanie A. Scharf concentrates her practice on complex litigation. She has represented clients in federal and state courts in Illinois, as well as courts in New Jersey, California, Washington, Iowa, Michigan, Texas, Florida, Pennsylvania, Oregon, and New York. She has litigated or tried complex contract disputes, insurance coverage disputes for corporate policyholders, employment disputes, class actions, and disputes over collaboration, distribution and supply agreements, product liability and toxic tort actions, and indemnity agreements. She has been lead counsel in multiple matters in the Chancery and Law Divisions of the Circuit Court of Cook County and the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois. Her roles have also included representing clients as national coordinating counsel, regional counsel, specialty counsel, and as a member of several “virtual firms” created to address specific client problems.
Mrs. Scharf was recognized by Diversity & the Bar as one of 21 U.S. “Women Litigators on the Rise” and she was named by Lawdragon as one of the 500 leading litigators in America. Mrs. Scharf is AV Peer Review Rated, Martindale-Hubbell’s highest peer recognition for ethical standards and legal ability, and has been elected by her peers as an Illinois Super Lawyer each year from 2006 to the present.
Mrs. Scharf is a Sustaining Member of the Product Liability Advisory Council and member of the PLAC Case Selection Committee. She is President of the National Association of Women Lawyers (NAWL) Foundation, Past President of NAWL and founding Chair of the NAWL Committee for the Evaluation of Supreme Court Nominees. Mrs. Scharf has served as a Board Member of the Illinois Bar Foundation. She has co-chaired the American Bar Association's Products Liability Committee (Section of Litigation) and has served as a member of the ABA's Special Committee on Bioethics and the Law.
Mrs. Scharf received a Ph.D. (Behavioral Sciences/Psychology) and J.D. from the University of Chicago. Before practicing law, she was a University Harper Fellow and Senior Study Director, NORC, where she helped design and manage large-scale public health surveys commissioned by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. She received a B.A. from Rutgers University and an M.A. in Communications from Stanford University. Mrs. Scharf has been active in a number of community organizations in the Chicago area. Before opening the Firm's Chicago office in 2007, Ms. Scharf was a litigation partner at Jenner & Block (1995- 2007) and Kirkland & Ellis (1991-1995).
Representative Matters :
- Represented City of Chicago in multi-billion dollar contract dispute filed by United Airlines and American Airlines to stop O’Hare Airport Modernization Program. After litigation, case settled favorably by continuation of the O’Hare Program.
- Lead counsel in commercial dispute over liability for thousands of underlying tort claims recently arising out of the operation of a business that was acquired and later resold through a series of
corporate mergers and transactions. Successful no liability judgment, affirmed on appeal.
- Lead counsel in toxic tort actions alleging that chemical emissions caused cancer, wrongful death and other serious personal injuries to children in the community. Highly favorable settlement and dismissal of claims after expert discovery.
- Represented pharmaceutical company in federal trial of employment discrimination/off-brand marketing issues, resulting in defense verdict on all claims.
- Lead defense counsel in over 100 pharmaceutical or device actions,
involving serious illnesses and/or death, with expert defenses from multiple fields of medicine, psychiatry, epidemiology and toxicology. Successful judgments in multiple cases.
- Lead counsel for pharmaceutical manufacturer in multi-national dispute over supply of contaminated pharmaceuticals. Litigation in U.S. and Great Britain; dispute resolution in U.S. and Japan.
- Risk assessment and risk management counseling for products in development and marketed products, to determine risks of litigation by consumers, patients, commercial partners and other parties, and to counsel on methods of minimizing or disposing of litigation risks.
- Lead trial counsel and appellate counsel representing a manufacturer of the anti-miscarriage drug, diethylstilbestrol. Resulted in coverage of defense costs and indemnities for over 1500 diethylstilbestrol personal injury cases, in a trial result affirmed by the California Supreme Court in the first decision by the Court regarding lost insurance policies. Dart Industries v. Commercial Union Ins. Col, 28 Cal. 4th 1059 (Cal. 2002).
- Lead counsel in a claim for hurricane damages. Obtained a declaratory judgment that a windstorm exclusion did not apply to the insured's business interruption losses and the court awarded full coverage for the losses. Stryker Corp. v. National Ins. Co., 187 F.Supp.2d 4(D. Puerto Rico 2002).
- Lead trial counsel in insurance disputes filed in Michigan and Illinois over coverage of an Illinois jury's award of $124 million in punitive damages involving use of a prescription pharmaceutical, obtaining judgment covering both punitive and compensatory damages.
- Member of trial team in successful coverage litigation for asbestos-in-buildings claims. U.S. Gypsum co. v. Admiral Ins. Co., 268 Ill.App.3d 598 (first Dist. 1994), appeal denied, 161 Ill.2d 542 (1995).
Professional Activities:
Awards:
- Illinois Super Lawyers, 2005-2012
- Leading Lawyers Network
- Fellow, Litigation Counsel of America
- Lawdragon Magazine: 500 Leading Litigators in America, 2006
- National Association of Women Lawyers, Outstanding Member Award, 2002
Community:
- The Youth Campus (Member, Board of Directors, 2000-2009)
- Chicago YWCA - Leadership Circle (Board Member, 2001)
- Museum of Science and Industry (Member, President's Council, 2001-2005)
- Circuit Court of Cook County (Chief Judge's Public Guardian Committee, 1997-2000; Chair, Best Interest of the Child Sub-Committee, 1995-1996)
Educational:
- National Institute for Trial Advocacy (Faculty Instructor, 1992-1995)
Other:
- The Economic Club of Chicago (Member, 2006-Present)
- University of Chicago Women's Business Group (Member, 2004-Present)
- Chicago Senior Businesswomen's Forum (Steering Committee, 1996-2000)
- Expert in statistical analysis, data display and communication of complex information to lay audiences
- Fluent in French
Service to the Bar:
- National Association of Women Lawyers (NAWL) (President, 2004-2005; Member, Board of Directors, 2000-2008; Chair, Committee for Evaluation of Supreme Court Nominees, 2005-2006; Chair, Survey of Retention and Promotion of Women in Law Firms, 2006-Present)
- NAWL Foundation (President, 2008-Present)
- American Bar Association - Products Liability Committee (Co-Chair, 2005-2007; Co-Chair, Subcommittee on Experts, 1997-2004; Co-Chair, 2000 Mid-Year Meeting; Co-Chair, National Institute on E-Commerce, Fall 2000; Co-Chair, Regional Institute on Preparing the Expert Case, May, 1999; Co-Editor, Product Liability National Newsletter, 1997-2000; Co-Chair, Women in Products Liability Regional Institute, Fall 2000, Fall 2001; Mass Torts Committee (Editor, Mass Torts Newsletter, 2001); Special Committee on Bioethics and the Law, Member, 2005-Present)
- International Association of Defense Counsel (Member, 2006-Present)
- Illinois Bar Foundation (Member, Board of Directors, 2005-2007)
- Product Liability Advisory Council (PLAC) (Sustaining Member; Member, PLAC Case Selection Committee, 2005-Present)
- National Association of Professional Women (Member)
Selection of Recent Publications and Speeches:
Lead Editor, Product Liability Litigation Current Law, Strategies and Best Practices, Practising Law Institute (PLI). Original publication 2009. Updated 2010 and 2011.
Speaker, Update on the Law of Expert Evidence, Practising Law Institute's Federal Civil Update (Chicago, October 5, 2011).
Panelist, Flex Time Work Policies, Walmart Conference (Bentonville, June 17, 2010).
Speaker, What Am I Worth? Attorney Compensation and Law Firm Billing in the New World Order, Duff & Phelps CLE seminar (Chicago, June 4, 2010).
Speaker, What Should You Do? Lessons Learned and Lessons to Be Learned about Business Development, Women Lawyers Alliance Inaugural Member Meeting (Chicago, May 13, 2010).
Speaker, Women in the Profession: Where We Were, Where We Are, Where We Should Be, Ohio Women Bar Association’s Annual Meeting (Dayton, May 5, 2010).
Speaker, Changing Demographics of Jury Pools, Product Liability Advisory Council Fall Conference (San Diego, October 15, 2009).
Speaker, National Association of Women Lawyers Survey on the Retention and Promotion of Women in Law Firms, ABA Commission on Women in the Profession (Chicago, July 31, 2009).
Speaker, Managing Diversity Expectations Between In-House and Outside Counsel, Martindale-Hubbell and Lexis Nexis (Washington, April 2, 2009).
Co-Author, Update on the Law: Illinois Imposes Strict Liability for Sexual Harassment by Any Supervisor, Schoeman, Updike & Kaufman, LLP Client Alert, April 2009.
Speaker, Impact of Attrition of Women in Large Firms on Judicial Diversity and Judicial Independence, National Association of Women Judges Mid West Regional Conference (Chicago, August 28, 2008).
Speaker, Best Practices for Managing the Risks of Nanotech Medical Products, Food and Drug Law Institute’s First Annual Conference on Nanotechnology Law, Regulation and Policy (Washington, February 28, 2008).
Panelist, Bridging the Gap: Disparity in Compensation and the Gender Equation, Young Lawyers Section of the Chicago Bar Association (2008).
Presenter, Managing to a Minimum: Best Practices for Identifying and Minimizing the Risks of Marketing New Products, Central Business Intelligence Webinar (December 4, 2007)
Author, “Punitive Damages in the Supreme Court: How Much is Too Much?,” FDLI's UPDATE, Issue 3, May/June 2007.
Author, “Consumer Fraud Litigation: Law and Defenses in Illinois,” published by Product Liability Advisory Council, September 2004.
