Stephanie A. Scharf, Partner
Mrs. 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, product liability and toxic tort lawsuits, insurance coverage disputes for corporate policyholders, employment disputes, mass torts and class actions, and disputes over collaboration, distribution and supply agreements, and indemnity agreements. She has represented clients in litigation and counseling concerning the development, manufacture and marketing of complex scientific products and is especially skilled at developing effective technical and scientific defenses. She has counseled on procedures for enterprise risk assessment, product liability risk management and compliance. Her roles include representing clients as lead counsel, national coordinating counsel, regional counsel, science 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 in the areas of class action/mass torts, civil litigation defense and personal injury defense: products.
Mrs. Scharf 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. She 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.
Mrs. Scharf received a Ph.D. (Behavioral Sciences/Psychology) and J.D. from the University of Chicago. In 2007 and 2008, she received advanced training in Clinical Trials Management. 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, and is currently a Board Member of The Youth Campus. Prior to joining Schoeman, Updike and Kaufman, LLP, Ms. Scharf was a partner at Jenner & Block LLP from 1995 to 2007.
Professional Activities:
Awards:
- Illinois SuperLawyers, 2005-2010
- 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)
Recent Publications:
Co-Editor, Product Liability Litigation Current Law, Strategies and Best Practices, Practising Law Institute (PLI), 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.
Author, "FDA Proposes Revised CBE Rules and Reiterates Preemptive Authority," FDLI's UPDATE, Issue 2, March/April 2008.
Author, “Punitive Damages in the Supreme Court: How Much is Too Much?,” FDLI's UPDATE, Issue 3, May/June 2007.
Co-Author, "Foreign Plaintiffs Battle to Keep Class Claims in U.S. Courts," FDLI's UPDATE, Issue 1, January/February 2007.
Author, "New Rulings in Drug Cases Highlight Debate Over Pre-emption," Law.com, October 2006.
Co-author, "FDA’s Comments Herald New Strength for Preemption Defense in Drug Product Litigation," FDLI's UPDATE, Issue 5, September/October 2006.
Co-Editor, The Use of Toxicology in Tort Litigation: A Survey of Federal and State Jurisdictions, American Bar Association, May 2005.
Author, “A Business Approach to Minimizing Product Liability Litigation,” Minimizing Product Liability Litigation (Aspatore Books), 2005.
Author, “Consumer Fraud Litigation: Law and Defenses in Illinois,” published by Product Liability Advisory Council, September 2004.
Editor, The Use of Epidemiology in Tort Litigation: A Survey of Federal and State Jurisdictions, American Bar Association, July 2003.
Co-Author, “Post-Sale Duties to Warn, Recall, and Retrofit Defective Products in Illinois,” Illinois Bar Journal, Vol. 91, June 2003.
Recent Presentations and Lectures:
Speaker, Women in the Profession: Where We Were, Where We Are, Where We Should Be, Ohio Women’s Bar Association Women in the Profession Seminar (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).
Speaker, ReedSmith Career Development Workshop Series, Women’s Career Advancement Initiative (Chicago, December 11, 2008).
Speaker, Managing and Developing Your Legal Career, ABA Women in Products Liability Ninth Annual Regional CLE Workshop (New York, November 13, 2008).
Speaker, Increasing the Use of Diverse Suppliers, Westchester and Fairfield County ACCA Diversity Summit Conference (Connecticut, October 20, 2008).
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, Negotiating Your Compensation and Severance, Minority Corporate Council Association’s 7th Annual CLE Expo (March 27, 2008).
Panelist, Bridging the Gap: Disparity in Compensation and the Gender Equation, Young Lawyers Section of the Chicago Bar Association, (March 14, 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 (February 28, 2008).
Speaker, 2007 National Survey on Retention and Promotion of Women in Law Firms, National Conference of Women's Bar Associations,Webinar (February 19, 2008).
Speaker, Risk Management Strategies for Prescription Medical Products, Central Business Intelligence, Webinar (December 4, 2007).
Speaker, Post Sale Duty to Warn, Recall, and Retrofit: Prescription Devices and Pharmaceuticals, American Bar Association, San Francisco, CA (August 10, 2007).
Moderator, Appellate Advocacy in Illinois: Best Practices for Written and Oral Argument, National Association of Women Lawyers, Chicago, IL (July 19, 2007).
Speaker, Developing the Next Generation of Firm Leaders: Creating Leadership Opportunities, American Conference Institute, New York, NY (May 22, 2007).
Speaker, Drug/Device Co-Development: Litigation Risk Management Strategies, 50th Annual FDLI and FDA Conference, Bethesda, MD (April 13, 2007).
Speaker, Networking and Client Development 101: It’s Easier Than You Think, ABA Section of International Law Fall Meeting, Miami, FL (November 7, 2006).
Speaker, Hone Your Skills: Negotiate!, University of Chicago Women’s Business Group, Chicago, IL (October 17, 2006).
Speaker, Post-Marketing Event Reports and Clinical Trial Data: Potential Uses and Abuses in Litigation, American Conference Institute, Chicago, IL (June 30, 2006).
Speaker, Psychology of Expert Testimony, Product Liability Advisory Council, Savannah, GA (April 6, 2006).
Speaker, Stepping Up – Rising to the Lead Lawyer, American Bar Association, Chicago, IL (March 31, 2006).
