Skip to Main Content
Overview

Emily blends legal insight, project management, and people-first advocacy to help clients navigate contract disputes with confidence.

Emily is a commercial litigator who helps clients bring order and clarity to the often-chaotic world of contract disputes. She’s known for her practical, people-first approach—combining deep legal knowledge with a focus on communication, consistency, and minimizing business disruption.

Clients rely on Emily not just for legal strategy, but also for her ability to lead teams, manage complex projects, and keep business priorities front and center. She guides companies through every stage of litigation—from pre-dispute analysis and negotiation, through discovery, trial, appeal, and alternative resolution—with a steady hand and an eye for creative solutions.

Emily’s approach is rooted in clear systems, proactive communication, and a belief that litigation shouldn’t derail a company’s momentum. Drawing on advanced study in well-being (Yale), artificial intelligence (Vanderbilt), and business fundamentals (Wharton), she integrates modern tools and best practices to drive efficiency and support long-term client goals.

Above all, Emily is committed to being a true partner, helping clients weather uncertainty, safeguard their interests, and keep their businesses moving forward.

Industries

Services

Recognition

  • The Best Lawyers in America®
    • Commercial Litigation, 2026
  • Best Lawyers: Ones to Watch® in America
    • Alternative Dispute Resolution, 2021-2025
    • Commercial Litigation, 2021-2025
  • Corporate Counsel, Women, Influence & Power in Law, Mental Health & Well Being Initiative, 2024
  • BizTimes Milwaukee
    • Rising Stars in Law, 2022
  • Wisconsin Super Lawyers
    • Rising Star, 2021-2023
  • Wisconsin Access to Justice Commission, Wisconsin Pro Bono Honor Society, 2016-2019
  • Wisconsin Law Foundation, Fellow, 2023

Education

  • J.D., University of Mississippi School of Law
    • Mississippi Law Journal, Editor-in-Chief
    • magna cum laude
  • B.A., Wake Forest University
    • cum laude

Admissions

  • Wisconsin
  • U.S. District Court, Eastern District of Wisconsin
  • U.S. District Court, Western District of Wisconsin

Professional Memberships and Certifications

  • The American Lawyer's Young Lawyers Editorial Board, Inaugural Member, 2017-2022
  • State Bar of Wisconsin, Young Lawyers Division, Past President; Wisconsin Taskforce on Lawyer Well-Being, Inaugural Member and Committee Chair, 2020-2022
  • Milwaukee Bar Association, Board Member, 2024-present
  • Eastern District of Wisconsin Bar Association, Board Member, 2025-present; Co-Chair of Membership Committee, 2022-2025
  • Forward 48 Class of Fall 2021 and Member, Alumni Advisory Board, 2022-2025
  • The Science of Well-Being, Yale University, March 2020
  • Mental Health First Aid, National Council for Mental Wellbeing, October 2024
  • Generative AI for Leaders, Vanderbilt University, March 2025
  • Generative AI for Legal Services Primer, Vanderbilt University, March 2025
  • Business Foundations, The Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania (in progress)

Clerkships

  • Hon. Pamela Pepper, U.S. District Court, Eastern District of Wisconsin
  • Hon. Pamela Pepper, U.S. Bankruptcy Court, Eastern District of Wisconsin
2025 Pro Bono Contributor
Experience

Litigation

  • Advised and consulted on practices and procedures for clients across practice areas and industries facing claims in federal court, particularly the Eastern District of Wisconsin.
  • Defended client against claims under Wisconsin's minimum-markup law and related to proving up daily gas prices.
  • Obtained favorable arbitration awards for nationwide client facing consumer breach of contract claims.
  • Advised clients making changes in dealer, distributor, and sales representative relationships, including litigating cases arising under relationship terminations laws, such as the Wisconsin Fair Dealership Law.
  • Defended client against complex and multi-million dollar breach of contract claim, arising from multifaceted business transaction and financial advisor agreement.
  • Defended client against breach of trust claims and negotiated favorable settlement.
  • Managed sophisticated and sizeable document collection, review, and production in large breach of contract case.

Contract Review and Counseling

  • Negotiated contract termination between family-owned Wisconsin business and SaaS provider.
  • Reviewed and provided strategy for adjusting contract terms and potential termination of agreement between manufacturer and IT service provider.
  • Researched and advised on options for addressing breach of real estate broker agreement and potential claims against mortgage corporations.

Pro Bono

  • Successfully challenged conditions of confinement at Wisconsin's juvenile prison.
  • Obtained favorable jury verdict for defamation against Sandy Hook conspiracy theorist; affirmed in all aspects on appeal.
  • Created end of life documents for first responders and other public servants through Wisconsin's Wills For Heroes Program.
Podcast | April 03, 2023
Lawyer, Affirmed: Emily Stedman
Media Mentions | September 13, 2022
BizTimes: Rising Stars in Law: Emily Stedman
Outside the Office

As a junior and mid-level associate, Emily became passionate about lawyer well-being and how the realities of big law impact anxiety and mental health. She pressed the topic while president of the Young Lawyers Division for the State Bar of Wisconsin, creating programming on mindfulness for attorneys. That developed into serving on the Wisconsin Taskforce for Lawyer Well-Being and ultimately building a platform on LinkedIn where she posts regularly on the realities of being a Big Law associate and the need to destigmatize lawyer well-being. Emily also produces her own podcast, The Grace Period, covering topics that affect the legal industry like mental health and wellbeing, the billable hour, and time and practice management.

Part of how Emily prioritizes her own well-being is by keeping up with her tennis game. Emily has been playing tennis from the age of five, staying with the sport for its camaraderie, community building, and competition.

Emily and her husband, Dave, enjoy their family cabin Up North, cheering for the Packers, and traveling (recently visiting Whistler and Vancouver, Canada, as well as the Houston Rodeo).

Community Leadership

Emily is dedicated to pro bono and community service.

Before beginning her legal career, Emily served as a Corps Member with Teach for America, teaching fifth grade in rural Arizona, outside of Phoenix.

Emily now maintains an active pro bono practice, including creating end of life documents for first responders and other civil servants through Wisconsin’s Wills for Heroes Program. She also accepts pro bono appointments in prisoner litigation, and her past significant cases have included challenging confinement conditions at Wisconsin's only juvenile prison and obtaining a favorable jury verdict for defamation damages against a Sandy Hook conspiracy theorist.

LinkedIn Blogging

Emily is passionate about attorney wellbeing and routinely uses her LinkedIn profile as her blog on the subject. Connect with Emily and follow her posts to stay in tune with wellness and what it's like to be an associate in "Big Law."