Current Role
  • Associate, Hagens Berman Sobol Shapiro LLP
  • Ms. Siehl’s Plaintiffs’ litigation practice focuses on complex class-action and individual cases in the areas of data privacy, sexual abuse, sexual harassment, consumer protection, antitrust and sports law. Her notable cases include:
    • Representing students against U.S. colleges and universities that closed and only offered online courses due to the outbreak of COVID-19 but continued to charge full tuition and fees
    • In Re: MOVEit Customer Data Breach Security Litigation (MDL No. 1:23-md-03083-ADB) (D. Mass) representing consumers against Progress Software and over 100 other Defendants. The 2023 MOVEit data breach is believed to be the largest data breach in history, compromising the sensitive personal information of more than 85 million people.
    • Represented an actress and entertainment industry class against The Weinstein Company, Harvey Weinstein and related companies for racketeering and sexual assault
    • Represented students and alumnae of the University of Southern California in a class-action lawsuit against the university and Dr. George Tyndall for his alleged decades-long sexual abuse of patients
Recent Success
  • Shaffer v. George Washington University (D.C. Circuit), $5.4 million settlement
  • Rocchio et al v. Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey (Superior Court N.J.), $5.0 million settlement
  • Metzner v. Quinnipiac University (D. Conn.), $2.5 million settlement
  • Choi et al. v. Brown University (D.R.I.), $1.4 million settlement
  • Geiss et al. v. The Weinstein Company Holdings LLC (S.D.N.Y.), part of team that secured $17.1 million settlement fund on behalf of survivors of Harvey Weinstein’s sexual harassment and abuse.
  • USC, Dr. Tyndall Sexual Harassment, (C.D. Cal.), part of team that secured $215 million settlement on behalf of class of sexual assault survivors against university and OB-GYN
  • Played a significant role in a $4 million settlement for a child who suffered severe and permanent brain damage due to the medical providers’ delay in recognizing a placental abruption
  • Assisted in a $3.5 million settlement for a child with a hypoxic-ischemic brain injury that resulted from too much Pitocin and a physician's failure to recognize fetal distress
Experience
  • Prior to joining Hagens Berman, worked as an associate in the Chicago office of a well-respected Plaintiffs’ firm representing families and children in birth injury and birth trauma litigation nationwide
  • Worked previously at another Chicago firm where she gained experience in all aspects of civil litigation with a focus on medical malpractice and professional liability matters
Pro Bono
  • In 2017, received an Award for Excellence in Pro Bono Service from the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois and the Chicago Chapter of the Federal Bar Association for her dedication to representing underserved individuals in employment discrimination matters
Activities
  • Board Member, Chicago Area Runners Association,  a non-profit organization committed to serving and advocating for the local Chicago running community
  • Professional Board Member, PAWS Chicago — the Midwest’s largest no-kill animal shelter, 2015-2020
    • TEAM PAWS Marathon Team 2015--2019
Recognition
  • 500 X — The Next Generation, Lawdragon, 2023
  • Maurice Weigle Exceptional Young Lawyer Award, Chicago Bar Foundation, 2023
  • Service Award, Women's Bar Association of Illinois, 2022-2023
  • Rising Star, Super Lawyers, 2019-2023
  • Excellence in Pro Bono Service, U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois and the Federal Bar Association Chicago Chapter, 2017
  • National Champion Team Member, Sutherland Cup National Constitutional Law Moot Court Competition, 2013
  • CALI Award for Highest Grade in Legislation Clinic, Dispute Systems Design, and Comparative Legal Professions
  • Public Service Fellow with Dean’s Special Recognition, The Ohio State University Moritz College of Law, 2013
Publications
  • "#Us Too: Gender Inequality in the Legal Profession," American Association for Justice, Birth Trauma Litigation Group Newsletter, February 2018
Personal Insight

Whitney is an avid golfer and chairs the annual golf outing for the Women’s Bar Association of Illinois. At Northwestern, she was a member of the women’s golf team. She was previously a member of the Miami University cross country and track teams, where the cross country team was selected as NCAA Academic All-Americans. As a four-sport athlete, Whitney was recently inducted into the Port Clinton High School Athletic Hall of Fame.

Whitney is the 2006 Women’s Catawba Island Club Golf Champion. She enjoys volunteer marathon pace coaching with Chicago Area Runners Association, guiding first-time marathoners to achieve what they once thought was impossible. In 2021, she received her training location’s Service Award. She has completed 16 marathons and multiple triathlons including Ironman 70.3 Ohio and the Escape from Alcatraz in San Francisco.