Carolyn W. Wagner

, Counsel Washington, D.C.
cwagner@crowell.com
Phone: +1 202.624.2612
1001 Pennsylvania Avenue NW
Washington, DC 20004-2595

Carolyn W. Wagner is a counsel in Crowell & Moring's Washington, D.C. office. She is a member of the firm's Mass Tort, Product, and Consumer Litigation and Product Risk Management groups. In her practice, Carolyn represents clients in a wide-range of commercial and product liability litigation, and product regulatory counseling matters. She has experience defending clients in class action and multi-district proceedings, as well as other complex litigation.

Carolyn's practice includes all aspects of torts and contract litigation with a concentration in product liability and warranty matters. Carolyn also represents clients in negligence, personal injury, and property damage actions. She defends sellers, manufacturers, and suppliers in a diverse range of statewide and nationwide individual, multi-district, and class action lawsuits. Carolyn’s recent tort litigation experience includes:

  • Representing a Class 1 railroad in numerous class action litigations arising from derailments and similar events.
  • Winning dismissal of a putative nationwide class action alleging defects in a commercial product due to cybersecurity and hacking concerns. 
  • Using expert testimony to disprove product causation theories in a series of lawsuits alleging harm from personal care products.
  • Counseling clients on new litigation risks presented by the rapidly expanding "internet of things," including commercial products with software components and internet connectivity.
  • Serving as national coordinating counsel for a transportation client’s docket of diesel exhaust exposure litigation. 
  • Representing a telecommunications client involved in a large group of cases alleging health risks posed by mobile phones, encompassing an effort to persuade the District of Columbia to adopt new evidentiary standards for expert witness testimony.   

As part of the Product Risk Management Group, Carolyn advises clients on the full range of consumer protection issues with particular focus on consumer product safety and regulatory compliance. She performs due diligence reviews of target companies for consumer protection and product compliance issues. Carolyn also works with clients to identify and analyze potential legal risks associated with new ventures or new products. She then helps clients mitigate risks by reviewing product testing plans, crafting product labels and warnings, and establishing legal risk management protocols such as compliance programs, recall policies, and early warning detection systems. When consumer product issues do arise, Carolyn represents clients before the Consumer Product Safety Commission, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, the Food and Drug Administration, the Environmental Protection Agency, and other product-related agencies, assisting clients with identifying agency reporting obligations, agency notification, and corrective action plan negotiations when necessary. Carolyn also represents clients in litigation with various agencies, including defending against civil penalty enforcement actions.

Carolyn also has an active pro bono practice. In 2012, she was selected as Crowell & Moring's loaned associate to The Legal Aid Society of the District of Columbia. From October to April 2013, she represented indigent tenants in eviction actions, successfully negotiating favorable settlement agreements for her clients and participating in all stages of the pre-trial litigation process. In addition to working at Legal Aid, Carolyn has also represented pro bono clients in political asylum, child custody, and criminal sentencing matters.

Carolyn received her J.D. from Duke University School of Law. While at Duke, she served on the editorial board of the Duke Law Journal and was a Guardian ad Litem for child victims of abuse and neglect in Durham County. Carolyn graduated Phi Beta Kappa, magna cum laude, from Wake Forest University in 2006, where she studied political science and psychology.


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Admitted to practice: Maryland, District of Columbia


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Jan.04.2016 Crowell & Moring Elects Nine New Partners and Promotes 15 Associates to Counsel