Posted January 1st, 2016 in Top Stories
Nilan Johnson Lewis Announces Its 2016 Board of Directors
MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. (January 1, 2016)—Nilan Johnson Lewis is pleased to announce its 2016 board of directors. Newly elected shareholders Susan Kratz and Christy Mennen join fellow shareholders Sheila Kerwin, founder Brian Johnson, and current president Stephen Warch.
The election of Kratz and Mennen makes the board of directors majority female.
Susan Kratz is a veteran to leadership roles, having served as the 2010 chair of the Saint Paul Area Chamber of Commerce and on the Chamber’s board of directors from 2006 to 2011. She is a member of the firm’s health care and business law practice groups, where she provides counsel to clients on health care regulatory matters, and corporate and commercial transactions.
Christy Mennen focuses her practice on product liability defense and preventative measures consulting. She serves as national product liability counsel for a major powersports manufacturer and litigates cases across the U.S. She has extensive experience with social media investigations and regularly consults clients on social media considerations during litigation and trial. She serves on the board of directors for the Minnesota Defense Lawyers Association and is an active member of DRI’s Product Liability Committee.
Sheila Kerwin is an experienced trial attorney who defends companies in catastrophic injury litigation involving product liability, trucking, and OSHA claims. She led the firm’s product liability practice group for over a decade and is currently serving as the vice-chair for the Transportation Section of the Federation of Defense and Corporate Counsel (“FDCC”). She is also active in the FDCC Product Liability Section, the Trucking Industry Defense Association, Women in Trucking, and DRI.
Brian Johnson, a founding shareholder of the firm, has practiced law for 35 years and has tried over 50 jury trials to verdict. He focuses on the defense of personal injury and wrongful death cases in several industries, including gas appliances, powersports, sporting goods, transportation, ski areas, and amusement parks. Brian also serves as national trial counsel for a variety of clients. He is a Fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers, a member of the American Board of Trial Advocates, and is a Certified Trial Attorney by the State Bar of Minnesota.
Stephen Warch is a health care and transactional attorney who currently serves as president of the firm. His background as an in-house attorney in the health care industry and as an Assistant Attorney General for the State of Minnesota helps Steve to work alongside clients in the health care, insurance, and financial industries with regulatory matters and complex health care transactions.
