Stephen Skinner was born and raised in Charles Town, West Virginia. He graduated from Jefferson High School in 1986. During high school, he attended Mountaineer Boys State and the West Virginia Governor’s Honors Academy. He attended West Virginia Wesleyan College, graduating with honors in 1990. After working abroad for one year in London, he attended the West Virginia University College of Law, from which he graduated in 1994.
Stephen is a former President of the Board of Trustees of the Contemporary American Theater Festival at Shepherd University. He was appointed to and served on the West Virginia Commission on the Arts by then Governor Manchin and served as a member of the Shepherd University Foundation Board of Directors. From 2012-2016, Stephen served two terms in the West Virginia House of Delegates, where he held leadership positions.
Legal Background
Stephen began his legal career by working in Charles Town with his father, John Skinner, from 1994 until 1999. He then moved to New York City, where he represented aviation disaster and other catastrophically injured victims, including victims of the September 11th terrorist attacks. He traveled extensively with his New York firm before returning to West Virginia in 2004.
He has handled personal injury, wrongful death, consumer rights, and products liability suits across the country. He is a member of the American Association for Justice, the Trial Lawyers Association of Metropolitan Washington, D.C., the West Virginia Association for Justice, the Maryland Association for Justice, Public Justice, and the National Trial Lawyers. In 2014, the West Virginia Association for Justice honored Stephen with the “Stanley E. Preiser Member of the Year Award.” Stephen was recognized by his peers as a West Virginia Super Lawyer for being a top-rated personal injury lawyer in 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023, and 2024.
Stephen has litigated high-profile cases including Jefferson County Commission v. Tennant, a congressional redistricting case ultimately decided by the United States Supreme Court. Most recently, Stephen successfully represented governmental entities in national opioid litigation.
Additional Honors:
The West Virginia Martin Luther King, Jr. Holiday Commission honored him with its Living the Dream Award for Human and Civil Rights in 2011. In 2014, WVWC awarded Stephen its Alumni Achievement Award. He was also honored with the Governor’s Lifetime Achievement Award for the Arts in 2014.