HarrisMartin's MDL Conference Speaker Profiles

Jennifer M. Hoekstra is a partner with Aylstock, Witkin, Kreis & Overholtz, PLLC. A native of Saint Paul, Minnesota, Ms. Hoekstra boasts an impressive academic and professional record, including graduation from two of the nation’s top schools. She earned her Bachelor of Arts in Environmental Science from Columbia College, Columbia University in the City of New York. She relocated to Louisiana to attend Tulane Law School, where she earned her J.D. while also completing a certificate in Environmental Law. During her law school career, she spent a semester studying at the University of Wisconsin School of Law and visited on their International Law Journal as a Junior Member during her Hurricane Katrina evacuation semester.

Stacy Hauer represents clients who have been injured as a result of defective drugs or faulty medical devices. Since she began practicing law, she has focused much of her practice in this area on large national cases including: Baycol, Zyprexa, Medtronic Defibrillators, Guidant Defibrillators, Medtronic Sprint Fidelis leads, Digitek, and Transvaginal Mesh. Ms. Hauer’s extensive background in science and medicine make her uniquely qualified for drug and device litigation.

Andrew Kaufman is a skilled and polished writer and oral advocate with ten years of experience representing plaintiffs in complex mass torts and class actions. He currently serves as Co-Chair of the Law & Briefing Committee in the multidistrict litigation against Uber on behalf of passengers sexually assaulted by drivers. Previously, Mr. Kaufman was co-lead of Law & Briefing for the bellwether team in the Juul multidistrict litigation that tried a school district case against Altria (the parent company of Philip Morris), resulting in a $235 million settlement after the plaintiff rested its case. He also led the briefing teams defending several historic verdicts on behalf of smokers in the Florida Engle litigation. He represented injured municipalities, native American tribal entities, and third-party payors in the McKinsey opioid litigation, including navigating complex issues of preclusion and municipal authority, resulting in nationwide settlements. He played key roles in landmark class actions, including serving as class counsel in the Kona coffee litigation that protected the hardworking farmers of the Kona region of Hawaii by prosecuting Lanham Act claims against alleged manufacturers and sellers of fake Kona coffee. Before joining Girard Sharp, Mr. Kaufman was a partner at a national Plaintiffs’ firm and clerked on the Sixth Circuit and the District of Columbia Court of Appeals.