Biography | Katherine A. Stewart

Katherine Stewart represents businesses and individuals in all aspects of civil litigation. She has significant experience in the defense of matters involving general liability, automobile liability, premises liability, construction defects, dram shop liability, wrongful death and products liability.

In law school, Katherine was involved in the Mid-Atlantic Innocence Project and served as an extern for the Honorable William V. Gallo, U.S. District Court for the Southern District of California. She also was involved with the Jacob Burns Community Legal Clinics, serving as a student attorney for both the Neighborhood Law & Policy Clinic and the Immigration Clinic.

Areas of Focus

Employment & Labor
To prevent lawsuits and administrative actions from arising in the first place, one of the hallmarks of our Employment & Labor Practice is to work proactively with clients to create a culture that reduces legal exposure and avoids specific situations that can give rise to claims. With clients consisting of private- and public-sector employers, Katherine is conversant with federal and state employment laws, including cases arising under all state and federal fair employment practices statutes.

Education

George Washington University Law School (J.D., 2016)
- Journal of Energy and Environmental Law, member; President's Gold Level Volunteer Service Award
Arizona State University (B.A., 2012)

Bar Admissions

California
Arizona

Court Admissions

U.S. District Court, District of Arizona
U.S. District Court, Central District of California
U.S. District Court, Eastern District of California
U.S. District Court, Southern District of California

Katherine Stewart represents businesses and individuals in all aspects of civil litigation. She has significant experience in the defense of matters involving general liability, automobile liability, premises liability, construction defects, dram shop liability, wrongful death and products liability.

In law school, Katherine was involved in the Mid-Atlantic Innocence Project and served as an extern for the Honorable William V. Gallo, U.S. District Court for the Southern District of California. She also was involved with the Jacob Burns Community Legal Clinics, serving as a student attorney for both the Neighborhood Law & Policy Clinic and the Immigration Clinic.

Dodrill, Stewart, and Ordorica Convince Various Opposing Counsel to Drop Recent Suits Against Firm Clients

Colt Dodrill (Partner-Phoenix), Katherine Stewart (Of Counsel-Phoenix), and Jake Ordorica (Associate-Las Vegas) have obtained voluntary dismissals of the firm’s car-sharing platform client and various vehicle owners without having to file motions to dismiss. Colt, Katie, and Jake have called and educated multiple plaintiffs’ counsel in Arizona and Nevada on their states’ respective peer-to-peer car-sharing statutes, explaining the facts of various cases and how clients are immune from suit under those statutes. They also forwarded favorable rulings to opposing counsel from prior cases, holding that no negligent entrustment claim will stand when the shared-vehicle driver has a valid driver’s license, and finding clients are not vicariously liable for each driver’s negligence. This wave of voluntary dismissals by separate plaintiffs’ firms in two states has saved Wilson Elser clients substantial defense costs and allowed carriers to close files quickly.

Colt B. Dodrill, Katherine A. Stewart and Jake A. Ordorica