Jo Peifer is a shareholder in the Philadelphia office of the Lavin firm. She is trial and appellate counsel for major automotive, pharmaceutical, industrial, construction and consumer product companies, in product liability, toxic tort and commercial cases.

Ms. Peifer’s trial practice includes the defense of products liability, toxic tort, catastrophic personal injury, and warranty actions. She has defended major corporations in every stage of a civil case from pleadings and motions, through fact and expert discovery to trial, mediation and appeals. Ms. Peifer has extensive experience with complex discovery and appellate matters. For automobile manufacturers she has defended the design of fuel systems, roofs, glazing, primary and supplemental restraint systems, and the handling and stability of automobiles. She manages a regional warranty docket for a major automobile manufacturer. Ms. Peifer has defended catastrophic automotive cases to verdict, including a case where the jury returned a defense verdict on a product liability wrongful death claim involving a post-collision fire. She has recently defended a pharmaceutical company subject to multiple lawsuits alleging defective medical devices, and a automobile manufacturer in a high-profile class action, in which plaintiffs alleged the product violated federal regulations.

Ms. Peifer graduated magna cum laude and Phi Beta Kappa from Lehigh University. She earned her Juris Doctor from the Villanova University School of Law, where she was elected to the Moot Court Board and served as an executive officer.

Following graduation from law school, Ms. Peifer was selected by the Honorable Robert F. Kelly, United States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, to serve a two year term as his law clerk.

Ms. Peifer is admitted to practice in Pennsylvania and New Jersey, including the United States District Courts for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania and the District of New Jersey. She is an active member of several bar and client-related industry associations including the American and Philadelphia Bar Associations, and the Defense Research Institute.