Stephanie A. Scharf is the founder of Scharf Banks Marmor LLC, a majority women-owned firm, and has a national reputation for her skills in complex litigation as well as her activities for advancing diversity in the legal profession. Stephanie has tried civil and criminal jury and bench trials, and has managed pre-trial, trial and appellate phases of litigation. She has developed special protocols for advising clients on litigation avoidance and risk mitigation at the product level and the broader enterprise. Her substantive experience includes the litigation of complex commercial disputes, class action defense, product liability and mass tort defense, insurance coverage for corporate policy holders, and employment litigation. 

With a J.D. and Ph.D. in social research, Stephanie is adept at presenting technical issues to judges and juries, bringing to bear her advanced training in statistical analysis, clinical trials, and scientific research. Whether as trial counsel, national coordinating counsel, regional counsel, or as a member of a “virtual firm” created to address specific client problems, Stephanie focuses on framing effective legal strategies and achieving results that serve her client’s business goals. 

A frequent author and CLE speaker, Stephanie created and is the lead editor of Product Liability Litigation: Current Law Strategies and Best Practices, 2d Edition. Practising Law Institute (PLI), 2021. She has been named a Leading Lawyer and Best Lawyer, received the PLAC President’s Award, and was selected by Lawdragon as one of the “500 Leading Litigators in America.” Stephanie and the Firm were profiled for the “unique quality of their work” in the Chicago Lawyer cover article, “Work at a Very High Level.”

In addition to her law practice, Stephanie has long been one of the nation’s leading lawyers promoting the advancement of women in the profession. She has served as Chair of the American Bar Association Commission on Women in the Profession (2017-2020); a member of the Advisory Board of DirectWomen (2016-2022); and President of the National Association of Women Lawyers (2004-2005). She was Special Advisor to the 2015-2016 American Bar Association’s Presidential Commission on Diversity and Inclusion. 

Stephanie frequently combines her skills in data analytics to develop cutting edge research on issues of diversity and inclusion. She is the author of over 20 national reports, and multiple articles and CLEs about diversity in the legal profession. Her most recent reports (with co-author Roberta Liebenberg) are “Legal Careers of Parents and Child Caregivers: Results and Best Practices from a National Study of the Legal Profession” (October 2023), and “Where Does The Legal Profession Go From Here? Lawyers Tell Us How and Where They Want To Work” (September 2022).