Ashwin G. Shandilya joined Williams and Connolly after serving as an officer and judge advocate in the U.S. Marine Corps for four years. As defense counsel, he first-chaired multiple jury and bench trials involving a variety of felony and misdemeanor charges, including sexual assault, child abuse, drug distribution, and aggravated assault. He also represented numerous Marines at motions arguments and administrative hearings. For his efforts, he was recognized as the 2020 Marine Corps Defense Counsel of the Year. Prior to his service in the Marine Corps, he clerked for Judge Albert Diaz on the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit.
Ashwin received his Juris Doctor from the University of Virginia School of Law, where he served on the Managing Board of the Virginia Law Review, and worked as an appellate law clerk for the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Virginia. As part of a two-person team, he won the school’s Lile Moot Court Competition, and received the Stephen Traynor Award for best individual oral advocate. Before law school, he worked as an equity research analyst and received his Bachelor’s degree in Economics from the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School.