Stephanie L. Kosta
Partner
Duane Morris LLP
30 South 17th Street
Philadelphia, PA 19103-4196
USA
Phone: +1 215 979 1103
Fax: +1 215 405 2923
Email: skosta@duanemorris.com

Stephanie L. Kosta represents a diverse clientele in complex business litigation, class actions, liquidation / bankruptcy, and employment disputes, including appeals and petitions to the Supreme Court of the United States. Ms. Kosta provides counsel in government relations, as well on litigation alternatives, including settlement and mediation. She served as an intern in the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania and as a judicial intern for Chief Justice Rehnquist of the United States Supreme Court. From 2008 to 2010, Ms. Kosta served as Special Counsel to the Chairman and Chairman Pro Tem of the United States Postal Service Board of Governors. In this role she advised on business, financial, employment, and policy issues relating to the management of the USPS.

In 2013, Ms. Kosta was selected by the Philadelphia Business Journal as one of its "40 Under 40" honorees. The 40 Under 40 award recognizes young professionals in the Philadelphia region for outstanding success and contributions to their community. Ms. Kosta was also selected in 2007 and 2010-2012 as a Pennsylvania "Rising Star" in the area of Business Litigation by Super Lawyers, a publication of Thomson Reuters.

Ms. Kosta is a 2002 graduate of Georgetown University Law Center, where she was a staff member of The Georgetown Immigration Law Journal, and a summa cum laude graduate of Temple University, where she was elected to Phi Beta Kappa. She is conversant in American Sign Language.

Areas of Practice

• Class Action Litigation
• Complex Commercial Litigation
• Government Relations
• Eminent Domain and Land Valuation

Representative Matters

• Represented the Pennsylvania Department of Treasury in defeating a putative class action brought by property owners, who were seeking as much as $54 million from the Philadelphia Sheriff's Office in excess proceeds from property auctions.
• Obtained on behalf of the Philadelphia Housing Authority (PHA) a settlement agreement the client found very favorable in a hotly-contested 15-year long class action lawsuit regarding home-heating subsidies in which plaintiffs originally sought tens of millions of dollars.
• Defended Fortune 100 retailer in national wage-and-hour class action.
• Represented a hedge fund in a multijurisdictional contract dispute.
• Defended a government agency in a complex labor and procurement action in which the plaintiffs sought a preliminary injunction to block a project valued in excess of $100 million dollars.
• Litigated an interest-calculation class action for a regional bank, and settled the case for less than 1% of original demand.
• Litigated and settled trademark dispute between two Fortune 500 companies.
• Represented national homebuilder in wage-and-hour class action. Negotiated settlement of case for one-thirtieth of the original demand.
• Defended Fortune 100 media company in multimillion-dollar international contract dispute.
• Defended company against claim by senior corporate officer seeking compensation under wage payment laws and compensation agreements. After filing aggressive dispositive motions, negotiated a settlement that the client found favorable.
• Defended healthcare system in large employment class action.
• Defended a major airline against a racial discrimination class action.
• Represented landowner in eminent domain action. Settled matter following a four-week jury trial for five times the highest pre-trial settlement offer.
• Assisted major builder in obtaining government funding for business and studio development.
• Counseled plaintiff in a sexual harassment matter involving a religious institution.

Admissions

• Pennsylvania
• New Jersey
• U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit
• U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania
• U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey

Education

• Georgetown University Law Center, J.D., 2002
  - Staff Member, The Georgetown Immigration Law Journal

Experience

• Duane Morris LLP
  - Partner, 2012-present
  - Associate, 2009-2011
• WolfBlock LLP
  - Associate, 2002-2009
• The Supreme Court of the United States
  - Judicial Intern, 1998

Civic and Charitable Activities

• Pennsylvania Auditor-Elect Eugene DePasquale Transition team (2012-2013)
• Pennsylvania Infrastructure Investment Authority (PENNVEST) Board, Appointed by Gov. Rendell (2009 - 2012)
• St. John's Chrysostom Church
  - Member, Board of Directors

Honors and Awards

• Philadelphia Business Journal "40 Under 40" honoree, 2013
• Recipient of the Next Generation of Women Leadership: Rising Stars Award (formerly the Moxie Awards), 2013
• Pennsylvania Super Lawyers Rising Star, 2007 and 2010-2013

Selected Publications

• Quoted in "Judge Rejects Class Action Over Excess Sheriff's Sale Proceeds," The Legal Intelligencer, April 2, 2013
• Author, "All I Needed to Become Partner I Learned in Elementary School," The Legal Intelligencer, February 2, 2012