Katie Maechler, Maslon LLP

Katie Maechler is a partner and co-chair of the litigation and tort & product liability groups at Maslon LLP in Minneapolis, where she leads more than half of the firm’s attorneys. With nearly 20 years of litigation experience, she has established herself as a prominent defender of complex product liability matters in state and federal courts, representing clients across diverse product industries.

Maechler currently co-leads the Maslon team serving as national trial and coordinating counsel for a major diversified water treatment company in personal injury and wrongful death claims arising from residential pool filter misuse. She also co-leads the written discovery team for a world-leading manufacturer’s national portfolio of PFAS litigation. In her previous role as national counsel for Medtronic’s diabetes business unit, she successfully co-managed a portfolio of more than 100 claims and cases related to multiple medical device recalls.

She earned her law degree with honors from the University of Texas School of Law in 2005, where she served as an intern to the Honorable Priscilla Richman of the Texas Supreme Court, who later served as a federal judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit. After joining Maslon in 2012, she was elected to partnership in 2018 and appointed co-chair of the litigation group in 2021.

In 2023, Maechler was nominated for membership in the International Association of Defense Counsel, a select organization open by invitation only to attorneys of high professional standing. She has since become active in the organization and served on the planning committee for the annual Product Liability Roundtable. Her recent speaking engagements include presentations on defending mass torts in virtual law teams and minimizing product liability risk for manufacturers.

Colleagues describe her leadership style as drawing out team members’ talents while efficiently driving cases toward successful outcomes. She is recognized for her ability to organize complex, voluminous information in ways that add significant value for clients, combined with her commitment to mentoring younger attorneys and maintaining work-life balance within her teams.