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Janet L. Conigliaro

Member

Janet Conigliaro is a litigation management strategist, a unique title she carved for herself from the years she has spent in complex automotive products liability and class action defense. Besides state and federal courtroom advocacy, Janet oversees discovery and case handling protocols, contributes to overarching trial strategies, and assures her teams meet and exceed client expectations.

Not your traditional litigator, Janet is a new kind of lawyer for today's high-stakes products liability, class action arena. Her career started with paralegal experience with an OEM law department and also includes teaching written and oral advocacy as an adjunct law school professor, and directing legal regulatory affairs for a Tier-1 auto supplier. Janet has capitalized on her background and Dykema's resources to establish herself and the firm as leaders in developing and implementing best practices and strategies for pattern product liability litigation.

Janet is a master communicator. As an advocate, she has written winning class action and dispositive briefs, successfully argued complex discovery motions, secured protective orders, and maneuvered the nuances of NHTSA inquiries and investigation responses. More important, Janet facilitates close communication between clients and their Dykema client teams. By treating their business as her business, she deeply invests herself in each matter and cares as deeply for the people she works for and with.

As a litigation manager and national discovery counsel, Janet participates in defense strategy discussions—even as the voice of the client among OEM law firm networks or in suits where the client retains another firm as defense counsel. Janet's presence is felt everywhere; she leads fact investigations, prepares discovery responses to requests for sensitive information, negotiates complex discovery disputes, takes and defends depositions, and closely collaborates with in-house counsel throughout each case, from pleadings to trial to appeal.

Consistent with Dykema's pledge, Janet is actively involved in pro bono matters, changing the lives of people deprived of access to justice. She has blocked removal proceedings, giving immigrants opportunities to live and work in the U.S., and has represented survivors of human trafficking.

“My clients and colleagues tell me I have redefined what it means to manage our relationships. I would go one step further and say I'm not a relationship partner; I'm the relationship partner.”
    • University of Detroit Mercy School of Law, J.D., 2008
    • University of Detroit Mercy, B.A., 2002, summa cum laude

  • Bar Admissions

    • Michigan

  • Court Admissions

    • U.S. District Court , Eastern District of Michigan

    • Recognized by The Legal 500 United States as a Key Lawyer for Rail and Road - Litigation and Regulation, 2024; for Automotive Litigation, 2023

    • Recognized in Michigan Super Lawyers® as a Rising Star for Class Action/Mass Torts, Business Litigation and Personal Injury - Products: Defense, 2012-Present

    • Dykema Women’s Business Initiative, Michigan Leader

    • State Bar of Michigan
    • American Bar Association
    • Federal Bar Association

    • Director, Legal Regulatory Counsel, ZF Group

    • Adjunct Professor of Law, University of Detroit Mercy School of Law

Contact

Bloomfield Hills313-568-6673

Latest News and Insights

Press Releases6.12.24

Legal 500 U.S. 2024 Ranks Dykema Among Nation’s Best in Automotive, Cannabis, and Native American Law

Dykema, a leading national law firm, announced today that the firm’s Automotive Product Liability…

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Press Releases6.7.23

Legal 500 U.S. 2023 Ranks Dykema Among Nation’s Best in Two Automotive Categories, as Well as Cannabis and Native American Law

Dykema, a leading national law firm, announced today that the firm’s Automotive Product Liability…

Read More

Dykema Litigation Institute Webinars3.15.22

Seven Habits Of Highly Effective Class Action Litigators

Defending class action litigation requires a strategy that encompasses all seven major phases of the…

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