
Stephany Reaves is an experienced trial attorney and former public defender in the Washington, D.C., office of Munger, Tolles & Olson.
Ms. Reaves represents companies and individuals at every stage of litigation—from pre-suit investigation through trial and appeal. Her practice encompasses complex civil litigation in a wide range of industries, including energy, entertainment and technology. She also represents individuals under investigation and facing charges for white-collar allegations.
She maintains an active pro bono practice representing indigent clients at trial and on appeal. In 2022, she successfully defended a pro bono client against federal criminal charges. A jury in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia returned a full acquittal in the client’s favor, avoiding a mandatory life sentence.
Ms. Reaves is an active participant in MTO’s internal governance, including being elected as an associate representative to MTO’s management committee. In 2025, MTO selected Ms. Reaves as a Fellow with the Leadership Council on Legal Diversity. Ms. Reaves was also named to the Top 40 Under 40 list by The National Black Lawyers (NBL) in 2023 and Lawyers of Color’s 2022 Hot List. The NBL recognizes an attorney’s outstanding reputation among their peers, the judiciary, and the public. The annual Hot List honors diverse attorneys who show promise in their careers and demonstrate a strong commitment to advancing diversity in the legal profession.
Prior to joining the firm, Ms. Reaves served as a Public Defender Service trial attorney and supervising attorney in the District of Columbia Superior Court where she represented over 100 clients facing felony charges brought by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia. In that role, Ms. Reaves successfully tried both bench trials and jury trials to verdict, including securing acquittals for clients facing mandatory felony sentences. Before her work as a public defender, Ms. Reaves served as a law clerk for Judge Diana Gribbon Motz of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit.
While attending Stanford Law School, Ms. Reaves was a member of the Stanford Supreme Court Litigation Clinic and the Stanford Criminal Defense Clinic. Additionally, Ms. Reaves was the co-editor-in-chief for the Stanford Journal of Civil Rights and Civil Liberties.
Prior to law school, Ms. Reaves taught high school math in Washington, D.C., as part of the Teach for America program. She began her education at Yale University, where she earned a B.A. in political science while running varsity cross-country and track, followed by her M.A. in teaching secondary mathematics from American University. Ms. Reaves lives in Washington, D.C., with her husband and two children.
Experience
Ms. Reaves’ significant representations include:
- Snap in ongoing multidistrict litigation and California state court coordinated proceeding, alleging injuries to minor users and school districts.
- Activision Blizzard in a complex class action involving parallel state and federal proceedings regarding alleged sexual discrimination and harassment.
- Chevron in a putative antitrust class action alleging oil companies and foreign governments fixed gasoline prices in 2020.
- MGM Resorts International in a putative antitrust class action alleging that the defendants improperly used pricing software.
- A leading streaming platform in mass arbitrations involving alleged state and federal data privacy violations.
- Securing a full acquittal for a pro bono client in a federal homicide and kidnapping case in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. A jury returned a verdict in our client’s favor after less than a day of deliberation.
- Representing a pro bono client before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, arguing for the court to affirm a District Court’s decision denying qualified immunity to state officials for the client’s Section 1983 claim.
The following includes representations prior to Ms. Reaves’ affiliation with Munger, Tolles & Olson:
- Trying numerous bench trials and jury trials to verdict, including securing acquittals for individuals accused of homicide, assault, weapons charges and other serious offenses.
- Securing numerous dismissals for individuals accused of felony offenses, including after successful motions practice and evidentiary hearings to prove the government’s constitutional violations.
- Negotiating favorable resolutions for clients facing charges brought by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia and by the D.C. Office of the Attorney General.
- Litigating and developing a record for novel procedural issues, leading to multiple successful reversals of convictions on appeal.
Education
-
Stanford Law School (J.D., 2015)
-
American University (M.A., 2012)
-
Yale University (B.A., 2010)
Clerkships
- Judge Diana Gribbon Motz, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit, 2015-2016
Bar Admissions
- District of Columbia
- Virginia
Experience
Ms. Reaves’ significant representations include:
- Snap in ongoing multidistrict litigation and California state court coordinated proceeding, alleging injuries to minor users and school districts.
- Activision Blizzard in a complex class action involving parallel state and federal proceedings regarding alleged sexual discrimination and harassment.
- Chevron in a putative antitrust class action alleging oil companies and foreign governments fixed gasoline prices in 2020.
- MGM Resorts International in a putative antitrust class action alleging that the defendants improperly used pricing software.
- A leading streaming platform in mass arbitrations involving alleged state and federal data privacy violations.
- Securing a full acquittal for a pro bono client in a federal homicide and kidnapping case in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. A jury returned a verdict in our client’s favor after less than a day of deliberation.
- Representing a pro bono client before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, arguing for the court to affirm a District Court’s decision denying qualified immunity to state officials for the client’s Section 1983 claim.
The following includes representations prior to Ms. Reaves’ affiliation with Munger, Tolles & Olson:
- Trying numerous bench trials and jury trials to verdict, including securing acquittals for individuals accused of homicide, assault, weapons charges and other serious offenses.
- Securing numerous dismissals for individuals accused of felony offenses, including after successful motions practice and evidentiary hearings to prove the government’s constitutional violations.
- Negotiating favorable resolutions for clients facing charges brought by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia and by the D.C. Office of the Attorney General.
- Litigating and developing a record for novel procedural issues, leading to multiple successful reversals of convictions on appeal.
News
Industries
Education
-
Stanford Law School (J.D., 2015)
-
American University (M.A., 2012)
-
Yale University (B.A., 2010)
Clerkships
- Judge Diana Gribbon Motz, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit, 2015-2016
Bar Admissions
- District of Columbia
- Virginia