Williams & Connolly is pleased to announce the election of Elise M. Baumgarten, Matthew B. Nicholson, Jessica L. Pahl, Carol J. Pruski, and Alexander S. Zolan to its partnership, effective January 1, 2020.
“We are extremely proud to congratulate and welcome five enormously talented lawyers into our partnership this year,” said Executive Committee Chairman Joe Petrosinelli. “Each of these outstanding attorneys epitomizes the firm’s unwavering commitment to excellence and dedication to our clients.”
The five new partners are:
Elise M. Baumgarten – Elise litigates civil and criminal cases, with an emphasis on patent and complex commercial disputes. Elise has represented corporations, professional firms, and individuals in a broad range of cases, at both the trial and appellate levels, in federal and state courts, and in FINRA and AAA arbitration proceedings. Her patent litigation practice focuses primarily on disputes concerning pharmaceuticals and software. She has represented clients in Hatch-Waxman litigation, in inter partes review proceedings before the United States Patent and Trademark Office, and disputes dealing with the intersection of patent and antitrust law.
Matthew B. Nicholson – Matt litigates complex civil matters, focusing on financial services litigation, professional liability defense, and appellate work. He has represented financial institutions in cases involving mortgage-backed securities, litigating such matters through summary judgment and trial. He also has defended law firms in cases involving allegations of malpractice, breach of fiduciary duty, or conflicts of interest.
Jessica L. Pahl – Jessica’s practice focuses on complex civil litigation and government investigations. She represents corporations, professional firms, and individuals in federal and state courts throughout the country, at both the trial and appellate levels, in arbitration proceedings, and before government agencies. Jessica has first-chair trial experience in bench and jury trials, has represented a major financial institution in an arbitration merits hearing, and has argued multiple dispositive motions in state and federal courts. She has significant experience in accountant liability defense, including the representation of an accounting firm in multiple matters arising out of the multi-billion dollar Petters Ponzi scheme.
Carol J. Pruski – CJ handles all types of civil and criminal cases. She has represented corporations and individuals in a broad range of substantive areas of civil litigation, including matters regarding the antitrust laws, the securities laws, and complex contract disputes. And she has represented clients in investigations by, and litigation against, the Department of Justice, the Securities and Exchange Commission, the Federal Trade Commission, and other government agencies. As such, CJ has experience with all aspects of litigation, including early-stage litigation strategies, dispositive motions practice, discovery, and trial.
Alexander S. Zolan – Alex has experience representing clients involved in a variety of litigation matters in federal and state court, and before government agencies. He also has experience defending clients facing civil and criminal investigations. His clients have included individuals, large and small businesses, financial institutions, pharmaceutical companies, professional organizations, and non-profits. Alex’s trial experience includes bench and jury trials in state and federal courts, including the Delaware Court of Chancery.