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 Advertising & 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 litigation with a concentration in product liability and warranty matters. Carolyn also represents clients in 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:
- Winning dismissal of a putative nationwide class action alleging defects in a commercial product due to cybersecurity and hacking concerns.
- Counseling clients on new litigation risks presented by the rapidly expanding "internet of things," including commercial products with software components and internet connectivity.
- Representing a Class 1 railroad in numerous class action litigations arising from derailments and similar events.
- 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 Advertising & 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. Carolyn works with clients to identify and analyze potential legal risks associated with new ventures or new products. She then helps clients mitigate risks by crafting product labels and warnings and establishing legal risk management protocols such as 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 agency notification and corrective action plan negotiations when necessary.
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.
Affiliations
Admitted to practice: Maryland, District of Columbia
Speeches & Presentations
Publications
Client Alerts & Newsletters
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"Recent Happenings in Advertising & Product Risk Management – July 2017,"
Advertising & Product Risk Management Alert
(July 25, 2017).
Contacts: Christopher A. Cole, Cheryl A. Falvey, John Fuson, Michelle Gillette, David Ervin, Lauren Aronson, Josh Thomas Foust, Carolyn W. Wagner, Matthew Cohen, Lauren Bell
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"CPSC Hears Rare Oral Argument in Zen Magnets Recall Litigation ,"
Advertising & Product Risk Management Alert
(June 13, 2017).
Contacts: Rebecca Baden Chaney, Scott L. Winkelman, Cheryl A. Falvey, Matthew Cohen, Carolyn W. Wagner
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"Recent Happenings in Advertising & Product Risk Management – May 2017,"
Advertising & Product Risk Management Alert
(May 17, 2017).
Contacts: Christopher A. Cole, Cheryl A. Falvey, John Fuson, Michelle Gillette, David Ervin, Lauren Aronson, Josh Thomas Foust, Carolyn W. Wagner, Matthew Cohen, Lauren Bell
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"Recent Happenings in Advertising & Product Risk Management – March 2017,"
Advertising & Product Risk Management Alert
(March 27, 2017).
Contacts: Christopher A. Cole, Cheryl A. Falvey, John Fuson, Michelle Gillette, David Ervin, Lauren Aronson, Josh Thomas Foust, Carolyn W. Wagner, Matthew Cohen, Lauren Bell, Brendan Sepulveda
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"A Highlight Reel: FTC's Amendment to Fair Packaging and Labeling Act Rules,"
Advertising & Product Risk Management Alert
(October 2015).
Contact: Carolyn W. Wagner
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"Breathing New Life Into Vapor Intrusion Concerns: EPA Issues Long-Awaited Final Guidelines,"
Environment & Natural Resources Law Alert
(June 29, 2015).
Contacts: Kevin C. Mayer, Kirsten L. Nathanson, Jennifer A. Giblin, Carolyn W. Wagner
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"FTC's Enforcement of Promotional Tweeting Has Teeth,"
Advertising & Product Risk Management Alert
(December 19, 2014).
Contacts: David Ervin, Carolyn W. Wagner
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"New Danger in Delay: FDA Guidance Merits Review of Internal Procedures for Facility Inspections ,"
Advertising & Product Risk Management Alert
(November 21, 2014).
Contacts: John Fuson, Carolyn W. Wagner
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"New California Law Allows Minors to Remove Regrettable Digital Content,"
Advertising & Product Risk Management Alert
(October 24, 2013).
Contact: Carolyn W. Wagner
Firm News & Announcements