Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner

Class Actions and Mass Torts

Partner - Litigation and Investigations

Stefani Wittenauer is co-leader of the firm’s Multidistrict Litigation (MDL) and National Coordinating Counsel (NCC) Team. Her national practice focuses on high-stakes personal injury and consumer product litigation defense at the trial and appellate levels, with an emphasis on mass torts.

Stefani is particularly skilled at developing, managing, and coordinating legal, briefing, and appellate preservation strategy in high-value cases across multiple jurisdictions, including in federal courts, state courts, and multidistrict litigation. She also has extensive appellate experience and frequently advises clients on appellate strategy. Stefani has played a critical role on numerous trial and defense teams in high-stakes litigation involving a wide range of products, including prescription medicines, medical devices, herbicides, chemicals, automobiles, and dietary supplements. Stefani regularly works with lawyers at other leading firms to craft a seamless trial and legal strategy, and she manages cross-office, cross-jurisdictional teams as part of “virtual firms.” She presently co-leads the global briefing and legal strategy team for multi-jurisdiction litigation involving thousands of plaintiffs, and she regularly serves as appellate preservation counsel at trials.

A creative legal thinker, Stefani approaches each case by “taking a step back” and evaluating it from all angles. This analytical, “fresh look” approach is especially valuable in mass tort litigation.

Stefani also has broad experience in all other aspects of complex commercial, class action, and product liability litigation, including expert witness selection and preparation, company witness preparation, dispositive motion strategy, hearings, trials, post-trial work, and appeals. She has prepared company witnesses for trial and deposition for some of the nation’s largest companies.

While her practice is national in scope and spans numerous jurisdictions, Stefani has particular experience in some of the most challenging venues in the country for defendants, including St. Louis Circuit Courts, Cook County, and California state courts.

In addition to her complex litigation work, Stefani is a subject-matter expert on domain name disputes. Clients routinely turn to Stefani when they come across domain names that infringe on their trademark rights. By utilizing the World Intellectual Property Organization’s dispute resolution process, as well as similar processes by other international organizations, Stefani has successfully won transfer of dozens of domain names that are confusingly similar to clients’ trademarks.