Legal Analysis
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August 6, 2020
Stephani Johnson is a trial lawyer who has handled multimillion-dollar cases involving catastrophic injuries for more than 25 years. Stephani frequently assists in pre-suit liability investigations and determination of causation at ground level – joining the firm’s Emergency Response Team to investigate accidents and catastrophic events immediately after they occur. Stephani enjoys a well-earned reputation for defending high-exposure personal injury claims for a wide array of clients, including retailers, apartment complexes, trucking companies, hospitals and universities. Stephani prides herself on being a “practical” attorney who gets the best results for her clients in the most efficient manner possible.
Stephani has a breadth of real estate E&O defense experience managing and resolving claims on behalf of large national property management and brokerage firms as well as litigating disputes throughout the United States on behalf of real estate brokers, appraisers, title abstractors, home inspectors, insurance brokers, managing agents and broker-dealers. In addition to efficiently managing claims, she assists our real estate professionals in licensing and regulatory matters as well as navigating complex contractual issues, leases and agency agreements; performing due diligence related to acquisitions; helping to ensure fair housing and other applicable statutory and/or local code and regulatory compliance. Stephani’s experience in the insurance and real estate industries results in spot-on analysis of liability and exposure and effective resolution strategies.
In addition, Stephani has experience in medical malpractice, wrongful death, premises and products liability, trucking, HOA, non-subscriber and first-party insurance litigation defense. She handled numerous trials in the area of family law earlier in her career. This diversity of experience gives Stephani the confidence and skills to combine aggressive representation with personal attention, enabling her to advocate for her clients on any type of legal case. Clients appreciate her candor, her efficiency and her proactive approach.
Stephani is a member of Chief, a private network built to drive more women into positions of power and keep them there. Chief is the only organization specifically designed for the most powerful women executives to strengthen their leadership, magnify their influence and pave the way to bring others with them. She also is an active participant in the Texas Minority Counsel Program, a client development, networking and CLE event for diverse attorneys in Texas.
Stephani understands that not every case will or should go to trial. Her input from early case evaluation allows her clients to determine whether a case should be aggressively defended through trial or resolved through creative settlement options. She prides herself on being proactive and giving each case her focused attention from the moment it comes through the door, providing the framework to build a successful defense.
Stephani frequently is asked to speak to professional organizations, including before professional associations, hospital systems, case managers, quality managers, risk management departments, third-party administrators, carriers and legal colleagues.
Areas of Focus
Personal Injury Defense
Stephani is adept and relentless at getting the facts straight and keeping the plaintiffs “honest.” Finding preexisting and other related medical conditions in medical records and/or finding prior inconsistent statements about injuries or accidents is what Stephani considers the most rewarding challenge.
Medical Malpractice
Hospitals and skilled medical facilities are habitual targets of malpractice litigation, making consistent and capable legal assistance a necessity. Understanding and applying the medicine to the facts of the case and exploring alternative causation theories with expert witnesses allows Stephani to focus on the real issues and formulate effective defenses for her clients. Stephani also has represented licensed professional counselors before boards and associations.
In addition, Stephani relies on Wilson Elser’s dynamic operating model and leadership in technological case management. The firm uses sophisticated methods to research, synthesize and store medical and legal information. To mount more effective defenses, Stephani can avail herself of medical experts from several of the nation’s most respected institutions, including surgeons and professors from leading teaching hospitals and authorities from the National Institutes of Health.
Trucking
Stephani’s trucking defense cases include all types of liability matters, personal injury and accident claims. She leverages the firm’s unique ability to handle catastrophic cases through its broad geographic scope and adherence to a collaborative “cross-practice” approach, frequently involving colleagues well-versed in regulatory and administrative matters. Wilson Elser’s nationwide 24/7 response program helps ensure that team members are engaged during the first critical hours following a catastrophe.
- St. Mary's University School of Law (J.D., 1995)
- University of Southern California (B.A., 1990)
- Texas
- Oklahoma
- Supreme Court of Texas
- U.S. Court of Appeals, Fifth Circuit
- U.S. District Court, Northern District of Texas
- U.S. District Court, Eastern District of Texas
- U.S. District Court, Southern District of Texas
- U.S. District Court, Western District of Texas
- U.S. District Court, Northern District of Oklahoma
- U.S. District Court, Eastern District of Oklahoma
- U.S. District Court, Western District of Oklahoma
Chief, A private network for the most powerful women executives
Dallas Bar Association
Transportation Lawyers Association
- Risk Management Society (RIMS)
- Selected for inclusion in The Best Lawyers in America®, 2024-2026
- Selected for inclusion in The Best Lawyers in America® Women in Law, 2025