Profil
Libby Stennes has over 25 years of experience litigating high profile toxic tort, mass tort, and products liability matters, including groundbreaking cases shaping trends in class actions and emerging contaminants. Her cases often involve health and safety issues facing global scrutiny, bans, or recalls in highly regulated industries such as chemical manufacturing, pharmaceutical and medical device, agribusiness, and infant products. Libby has substantial experience in corporate crisis management for matters involving reputational threats, market exit, supply chain disruption, catastrophic accidents, widespread contamination, and chemical exposure safety.
Libby is among the first toxic tort litigators in the country to address PFAS claims and has been involved in all aspects of litigation defense and policy development. She negotiated a groundbreaking complex settlement agreement and oversaw all aspects of implementation of water treatment, community health studies, and a medical monitoring program. She has defended multiple environmental litigations, building complex expert defense to defeat class claims and obtain summary judgment. Her PFAS practice extends beyond litigation, as she is often sought out to counsel clients with regulatory, compliance, or due diligence needs.
Because she understands the science, law, and policy, clients also look to Libby for counseling on sustainability, green chemistry, and liability mitigation for high-stakes issues with emerging contaminants, climate change goals, and operational hazards. Drawing from her litigation and crisis management experience, she delivers liability counseling to companies, offering strategy and addressing political, regulatory, and litigation challenges in highly regulated industries, including navigating Environmental Social Governance topics.
Libby is a creative, tireless, and passionate advocate for her clients whether in court, community meetings, or conference rooms. She translates complex science and technical issues into clear and persuasive messages. Clients value her global perspective and ability to see around corners to offer mitigation counseling tailored for the specific business goals and liability threats.
Libby dedicates time to social justice initiatives for equality in education and projects aimed to recruit and retain more diverse talent in the fields of energy and the environment. Her significant pro bono representations include a class action litigation to create a compliant special education program for incarcerated youth.
Concentrations
- Toxic tort and environmental litigation
- Products liability and mass torts
- Class actions
- Medical monitoring
- Environmental, social, and governance
- Sustainability, green chemistry, and circular economy
Expertise
Erfahrung
- National coordinating counsel for PFAS liability.
- Defends toxic tort claims alleging personal injury from emissions of ethylene oxide from medical device sterilization.
- Advises clients in response to subpoenas and information requests from State Attorneys General and the United States Environmental Protection Agency.
- Defeated class certification in multiple federal jurisdictions for medical monitoring and property damage alleged from groundwater contamination and air emissions from industrial sites, including:°
- PFAS in drinking water in New Jersey and West Virginia;
- Dioxin in house dust and soil in Florida; and
- Coal ash impoundment collapse in Tennessee.
- Obtained summary judgment in multiple toxic tort and mass accident matters.°
- Negotiated complex novel settlement for medical monitoring class action, including water treatment and creation of expert panels to evaluate potential health impacts to class.°
- Represented clients in negotiations with federal and state environmental agencies to develop practical remediation strategies.°
- Defeated summary judgment in contentious Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) citizens’ action suit.°
- Defends product liability claims for medical devices, infant products, and personal protective equipment.
- Negotiates mass tort settlement for medical device matters.
- Developed expert support to defeat class certification for consumer products litigation. °
- Handles corporate crisis management, addressing high-profile allegations of health and safety threats from operations.
- Performs liability risk assessments and counseling to businesses for market entry/exit and for ongoing or expanded operations.
- Advises on claim substantiation for environmental sustainability goals and potential greenwashing risks.
°The above representations were handled by Ms. Stennes prior to her joining Greenberg Traurig, LLP.
Anerkennung durch den Markt
- Listed, Minnesota Monthly, “Top Lawyers in Minnesota,” 2023
- Lited, Minnesota Lawyer, “POWER 30: Business Litigation,” 2023
- Listed, Thomson Reuters, “Stand-Out Lawyers,” 2023-2024
- Team Member, a Law360 “Environmental Practice Group of the Year,” 2022
- Team Member, a Law360 “Product Liability Practice Group of the Year,” 2021-2022
- Listed, The Legal 500 United States, “Dispute Resolution - Product Liability, Mass Tort and Class Action - Defense: Toxic Tort,” 2020-2023
- Member, Minnesota Women Lawyers
- Co-Chair, Development Committee, 2019-2020
- Board Member, Women’s Council on Energy & Environment
- Secretary of the Board, 2020-Present
- Chair, Membership, 2020-2021
- Vice Chair, Membership, 2019-2020
Ausbildung
- J.D., summa cum laude, American University Washington College of Law
- B.S., Environmental Resource Management, Pennsylvania State University
- District of Columbia Superior Court, 1997-1998
- Minnesota
- Illinois
- New York
- District of Columbia
- District of Columbia Court of Appeals
- Supreme Court of Minnesota
- Supreme Court of Illinois
- U.S. District Court for the District of Minnesota
- U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia
- U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York