Renae D. Steiner

Renae is a partner of the firm. Renae has consistently been selected by her peers for inclusion as a “Super Lawyer” in the areas of antitrust and class action litigation (Thomson Reuters publication; 2008-2016). Renae has also been recognized as a top antitrust litigator in The Legal 500 US, Who’s Who Legal and Benchmark Plaintiff. Renae also is listed by Benchmark Plaintiff as one of the Top 150 Women in Litigation.

Renae Steiner and her co-counsel in the NCAA Student-Athlete Name & Likeness Licensing Litigation received the American Antitrust Institute 2015 Antitrust Enforcement Award in the category of Private Law Practice Outstanding Antitrust Litigation Achievement in Private Practice.

Renae has a national practice in the field of complex litigation, primarily in the areas of antitrust actions (both direct purchaser and indirect purchaser cases), as well as in consumer fraud and securities actions. Over the course of her career, Renae has worked on novel issues of antitrust law, including some of the first post-Illinois Brick class actions, some of the first post-Actavis class actions, in establishing antitrust standing under Florida’s consumer protection statutes, in establishing the co-conspirator theory of state court jurisdiction in Florida, and on issues related to CAFA (Class Action Fairness Act) and standing arguments for indirect purchasers of price-fixed goods. She has worked cooperatively with many state Attorneys General in their related litigation against antitrust defendants.

Likewise, in the Grand Casinos securities litigation, Renae was part of the lead counsel team at Heins Mills & Olson that was the first to address the new pleading standards for motions for summary judgment under the newly-enacted PSLRA’s scienter requirements.

Recently, Renae has actively participated in the representation of former and current college athletes in the landmark In re NCAA Student-Athlete Name & Likeness Licensing Litigation, No. 4:09-cv-1967 (N.D. Cal.) (commonly called the “O’Bannon case”) (challenging policies that prevent U.S. collegiate student-athletes from receiving a share of the revenue generated from use of their likeness). In O’Bannon, Renae lead the discovery team, deposed key witnesses and was one of the trial counsels in the three-week trial, where she presented the testimony of the plaintiffs’ key survey expert and cross-examined two of the NCAA’s witnesses. The O’Bannon case is widely heralded as the biggest sports law case in the last 30 years.

Renae is currently serving as a Lead Counsel for the classes in In re Lidoderm Antitrust Litigation (N.D. Cal.) and In re Aggrenox Antitrust Litigation, MDL No. 2516 (SRU) (D. Conn.) and on the Executive Committees for the proposed end-payor classes in In re Niaspan Antitrust Litigation, MDL No. 2460 (E.D. Pa.) and In re Suboxone (Buprenorphine Hydrochloride and Naloxone) Antitrust Litigation, MDL No. 2445 (E.D. Pa).

Renae and James Anderson were recently appointed as liaison counsel in Första AP-fonden v. St. Jude Medical, Inc. (D. Minn.), a securities fraud class action alleging on behalf of purchasers of common stock of St. Jude Medical, Inc. that the company failed to disclose problems with leads it made for implantable cardiac defibrillators.

Past representative cases include: In re Aftermarket Filters Antitrust Litigation (N.D. Ill.) (as lead counsel; antitrust, consumer protection and unfair competition claims of price-fixing against leading manufacturers of replacement vehicle filters on behalf of indirect purchasers); In re Prograf Antitrust Litigation (D. Mass.); In re Lipitor Antitrust Litigation (D.N.J.); In re DRAM Antitrust Litigation (multiple federal and state court actions); In re St. Paul Travelers Securities Litigation (D. Minn.) (securities fraud); In re Ready-Mixed Concrete Antitrust Litigation (S.D. Ind.) (Indiana price-fixing case involving concrete); In re Iowa Ready-Mixed Concrete Antitrust Litigation (N.D. Iowa); In re Universal Service Fund (USF) Telephone Billing Practices Litigation (D. Kan.) (alleged consumer fraud in the assessment of USF fees); Fiber Optic Cable Litigation (multiple state and federal court actions related to the installation of fiber optic cable); Infant Formula Antitrust Litigation (price-fixing claims as to infant formula; multiple state court actions; Wisconsin trial team); and In re Thermal Facsimile Paper Antitrust Litigation (multiple state court actions).

Renae has lectured on antitrust and sports law topics at conferences sponsored by the American Antitrust Institute, the Minnesota Section of the American Bar Association (ABA), at Women Antitrust Plaintiffs Attorneys’ conferences, at Northwestern University’s Sports Law Symposium and at the ABA’s Class Action Institute. Topics have included the intersection of sports and antitrust law, pay-for-delay generic drug litigation, cooperation in parallel litigation with Attorneys General, class certification issues and arbitration clauses in antitrust litigation.

B.A., University of Minnesota; J.D. with distinction, University of Nebraska College of Law.

Admitted: Minnesota; U.S. District Court, Districts of Minnesota, Nebraska, Colorado, and E.D. of Wisconsin; U.S. Court of Appeals, Seventh and Eighth Circuits.