Keith E. Whitson

Keith Whitson is a partner in the Litigation Services Department and is Managing Partner of the Firm’s Pittsburgh Office. He concentrates his practice in general commercial litigation, professional liability, product liability, appellate advocacy and mediation. He also has substantial experience in aviation litigation, insurance coverage and environmental law. A member of the Alternative Dispute Resolution Practice Group, he is an approved mediator and early neutral evaluator with the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania and serves in a variety of ADR roles, including settlement counsel.

Mr. Whitson represents corporations facing significant potential liabilities, including claims of environmental contamination, antitrust violations, misappropriation of trade secrets, unfair competition, breach of contract, and product liability involving damages from fires that were believed to have originated in a variety of products, such as a printing press, batteries, UV generators, and at a chemical plant. He regularly represents design professionals in actions involving construction defects or professional liability claims. He also represents companies of all sizes in shareholder disputes, allegations of breach of fiduciary duties and disputes stemming from acquisitions.

Mr. Whitson also has substantial experience advising insurance companies with respect to insurance coverage questions and representing insurance companies in breach of contract, bad faith or declaratory judgment actions.

Clerkships

•Honorable Thomas A. Wallitsch, Court of Common Pleas of Lehigh County

Other Distinctions

•Listed in The Best Lawyers in America for Commercial Litigation, 2018-2020 and Product Liability Litigation-Defendants, 2020
•Named a “Pennsylvania Super Lawyer,” 2017-2019 and a “Pennsylvania Rising Star,” 2005, by the publishers of Law & Politics and Super Lawyers
•Recognized in Who’s Who in Energy, 2014-17
•Sole recipient of the Client Choice Award for Product Liability in Pennsylvania (Client Choice Guide - USA & Canada), 2014
•Recipient of the Earl G. Harrison Pro Bono Award, 2012
•Named as a 2008 “Lawyer on The Fast Track” by The Legal Intelligencer and Pennsylvania Law Weekly
•Recipient of the Pennsylvania Bar Association Pro Bono Award, 2008

News & Publications

•Schnader Attorneys Named to The Best Lawyers in America 2020
•Schnader Leads the Implementation of Model Career Advocate Programs for the Pittsburgh Legal Diversity & Inclusion Coalition
•Schnader Lawyers Named to PA Super Lawyers and Rising Stars
•Pro Bono Victory Protects Attorney-Client Communications for Incarcerated Individuals in PA
•Schnader Attorneys Named to The Best Lawyers in America 2019
•Many Schnader Lawyers Named to PA Super Lawyers
•Schnader Harrison Helps Train Youth Court Judges
•Schnader Attorneys Named to Super Lawyers 2017
•40 Schnader Attorneys Named to The Best Lawyers in America 2018
•Keith Whitson Appointed Managing Partner of the Pittsburgh Office
•Schnader Receives Pennsylvania Youth Court Champion Award
•Pittsburgh Attorneys Lead Constitution and Youth Court Projects at Local Charter School
•Schnader Participates in Volunteer Day at Ronald McDonald House of Pittsburgh
•Roman Catholic Diocese of Pittsburgh Asking Supreme Court to Hear Case
•Third Circuit Weighs in on Application of Daubert at Class Certification Stage
•Schnader Attorneys Obtain Dismissal of Defamation Lawsuit Against Pennsylvania News Website
•“Takeaways From NY’s Dietary Supplement Investigation”
•Pennsylvania Raises the Bar: New Paradigm for Strict Liability Claims
•PA Supreme Court Declines to Extend Multiple Trigger Theory to Property Damage Claims
•The New Product Liability Paradigm in Pennsylvania
•2014 William A. Schnader Print Media Award Winners Announced
•Supreme Court Holds That CERCLA Preemption Is Inapplicable to Statutes of Repose
•Keith Whitson Selected as the Exclusive Winner of the Client Choice Awards for Product Liability in Pennsylvania (Client Choice Guide - USA & Canada 2014)
•Keith Whitson Offers Comment Regarding PA Access to Justice Commission
•New York’s Highest Court Does Not Recognize Claims for Medical Monitoring - For Now: Using “Phobia” Claims as a Backdoor to “Medical Monitoring?”
•Keith Whitson Offers Comment Regarding ACBA Small Business Legal Assistance Program
•Clarifying Media Reports Regarding Maryland Law and Causation in Asbestos Exposure Cases - part 1
•Does Mutual Pharmaceutical Co., Inc. v. Bartlett Herald the Demise of the “Failure-To-Withdraw” Theory?
•Superior Court Affirms Dismissal of Paxil Birth Defect Case Lacking Proximate Causation
•Limited scope engagements useful in pro bono representation
•Does New York Law Contain a Heeding Presumption? It Depends Who You Ask
•Keith Whitson Quoted in Charitable Work Refugee Article
•Recent Trends in Asbestos Litigation
•Inside the Minds: Settling Products Liability Claims
•Pro Bono Newsletter Summer 2012
•Schnader Honors Keith Whitson with Earl G. Harrison Pro Bono Award
•Pennsylvania Supreme Court Decision Expands Scope of Frye Challenges
•Schnader to Partner with Civil & Environmental Consultants, Inc. to Support the 2012 Pittsburgh Marathon
•Pennsylvania District Court Finds Supreme Court Failed to Adopt Clear Personal Jurisdiction Standard Over Foreign Defendant
•A Team of Schnader Attorneys Achieve Appellate Victory for Client in In re SK Foods
•Keith Whitson Appears on “Our Region’s Business” to Discuss Pennsylvania’s Fair Share Act
•Pro Bono Newsletter Summer 2011
•Cloudy Skies Ahead: A Divided Supreme Court Provides Uncertain Course for Jurisdiction Over Out-of-State Manufacturers
•Supreme Court Strengthens Preemption Defense for Manufacturers
•Schnader Mentioned in Law360 Article on Air France Suit
•Design Defect Claims Against Vaccine Manufacturers Are Preempted by Federal Law
•Superior Court Interprets Oil and Gas Lease in Favor of Landowners
•Manufacturers of Generic Pharmaceuticals Must Warn of Dangers Learned After Obtaining FDA Approval
•H. Lee Schwartzberg to Co-Chair Schnader’s Business Services Department
•“BNA Insights: House, Senate Bills Attempt to Expand Personal Jurisdiction Over Foreign Manufacturers”
•“‘Equalizing’ the Playing Field with Foreign Manufacturers”
•Whitson Quoted in Article Detailing the Case of a Scientist Seeking to Clear His Name
•Pro Bono Newsletter Fall 2009
•“New Reporting Requirements Under MMSEA”
•New Mandatory Reporting Requirements Affect Companies Who Pay Money to Resolve Personal Injury Claims
•California’s Green Chemistry Initiative Promises Many Changes for Manufacturers and Distributors of Products Sold in California
•Two Schnader Attorneys Named 2008 “Lawyers on the Fast Track”
•Two Schnader Attorneys Are Honored With a 2008 Pennsylvania Bar Association Pro Bono Award
•Whitson at Forefront of Changing Product Safety Landscape
•Pro Bono Newsletter
•Five Schnader Attorneys Honored as Pennsylvania Rising Stars
•Whitson Quoted on Pittsburgh-Area Veterans Dispute
•Litigation Alert - Joint and Several Liability in Pa.
•Keith Whitson Quoted on Asbestos Trust Funds
•Pro Bono Newsletter

Community & Pro Bono

•Mr. Whitson’s community and pro bono focus is on diversity and inclusion and protecting rights of recent immigrants. He was part of the Allegheny County Bar Association’s Gender Equality Task Force and currently serves on the Gender Equality Committee. He also serves on the Firm’s Diversity Committee and is very active on the Pittsburgh Legal Diversity & Inclusion Coalition. He is a member of the Board of Directors of the Women and Girls Foundation.
•Mr. Whitson has assisted dozens of individuals in obtaining asylum or other protected status in the United States, either for themselves or their family members. He also has represented individuals facing deportation in the Immigration Courts and in the Courts of Appeals. He regularly works with the Pittsburgh Regional Immigration Assistance Center (PRIAC), part of Jewish Family & Children’s Service, and the University of Pittsburgh Immigration Law Clinic. He serves on the board of Legal Services to Immigrants and Internationals.

Related Events

•Risk Transfer For Construction Defect Claims: Minimizing and Allocating Costs of Defense and Indemnity
•Asylum Law for Non-Immigration Lawyers
•Whitson Spoke on Advanced Issues in Civil Practice and Procedure
•Keith Whitson and Nancy Winkelman Participated in DRI Appellate Advocacy Seminar
•Schnader’s Whitson Moderated DRI Appellate Advocacy Committee Discussion
•Megan Harmon, Elliot Dater and Keith Whitson Presented M&A - Expanding Successor Liability Trends in Asset Sales CLE
•Keith Whitson Presented CLM Webinar
•Schnader Attorneys Gave CLE on Ethics
•Keith Whitson Presented at DRI’s 11th Appellate Advocacy Seminar
•Keith Whitson Presented “Early Resolution of Claims Using Settlement Counsel” for the Western PA Chapter of the Association of Corporate Counsel
•Keith Whitson Presents CLE Program “How to Properly Document A Settlement Agreement (After the New Joint and Several Liability Law)”
•Schnader’s Whitson and Winkelman Attend DRI’s 10th Annual Appellate Advocacy Seminar
•Keith Whitson Presented Appellate Practice Workshop at the Allegheny County Bar Association’s Bench-Bar Conference
•Schnader’s Keith Whitson Presented at CLE Seminar “Pennsylvania’s New Joint and Several Liability Law”
•Schnader’s Whitson Serves as Moderator at Allegheny County Bar Association CLE, “Preserving Issues At Trial and On Appeal”
•Taking and Defending Effective Depositions: Including a View From the Bench
•Navigating the Risks of Aerospace Product Liability