Driving Diversity in Law & Leadership: New York

Elaine Horn represents clients in a broad range of complex civil and commercial litigation matters, with an emphasis in the areas of employment disputes, products liability, and commercial contracts.  Her trial experience includes the representation of both defendants and plaintiffs in federal and state court, bankruptcy court, and arbitrations.

In her products liability practice, Elaine represents major pharmaceutical companies in mass tort litigation, including serving on the national coordinating counsel team.   Her employment practice includes conducting internal investigations, providing counseling on corporate and non-profit employment policies, defending employers in class action litigation, and litigating individual civil and administrative cases.   Elaine serves as Co-Chair of Williams & Connolly’s Employment Litigation and Counseling practice group.

Over the course of her career, Elaine has also litigated claims involving major hospitality and commercial real estate companies, and a wide variety of plaintiffs’ litigation, including favorable multi-million dollar judgments for a defrauded plaintiff.  Elaine’s pro bono work has included the representation of asylum applicants, supervising representation in landlord-tenant matters and administrative proceedings involving disability benefits, and supervising attorneys on appellate criminal matters

Elaine grew up in Fort Worth, Texas, and received double degrees from Texas A&M University in 1991, and her J.D., with honors, from the University of Chicago Law School, where she was on the Editorial Board of The University of Chicago Law Review.  Following law school, Elaine clerked in Los Angeles for Judge Stephen Reinhardt of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit.  Following her clerkship, Elaine spent a year in New York working for the Office of the Appellate Defender, a non-profit organization that represents indigent criminal defendants on appeal.  Elaine joined Williams & Connolly in 1996.  She previously served on the Williams & Connolly Hiring Committee from 1999 to 2005.  Elaine currently serves on the Board of Directors for the House of Ruth, a local non-profit organization that provides housing and other services to homeless and abused women and their children.

Stephanie Smiertka Riley focuses her practice on corporate, commercial, and intellectual property litigation in all Delaware Courts, especially the United States District Court for the District of Delaware, Delaware Court of Chancery, and Delaware Superior Court. Her experience in complex commercial litigation extends to business disputes, including misappropriation of trade secrets, breaches of contract, and tortious interference; consumer protection and RICO claims; constitutional law claims; and pharmaceutical and medical device multi-district litigations. Because of her vast array of experience, as Delaware lead or local counsel, Stephanie offers a unique perspective on litigation strategy in addition to her knowledge of Delaware practice and procedures. She has also served as Delaware counsel assisting outside counsel in intellectual property litigation. After law school, Stephanie served as judicial clerk for several Delaware state court judges, which laid the foundation for Stephanie’s familiarity with Delaware best practices.  

In addition to litigating disputes, Stephanie advises companies and individuals on best practices to avoid litigation and assists with drafting contracts. From her experience in advising companies on whether to initiate or defend litigation, she is able to identify and prioritize a business’s big picture goals. She has also represented government entities in a variety of capacities, including advising and litigation. 

Stephanie is involved in the Delaware community. She serves on the Board of Directors for the Delaware Children’s Museum. In addition to that role, she serves on the Development Committee for the Delaware Combined Campaign for Justice which provides life-changing legal services for Delawareans in need. 

Deneen C. Howell, a transactional lawyer, is a highly skilled negotiator adept at guiding her clients to achieve what they’re worth and obtain the flexibility they need to meet their goals. Her practice includes helping authors secure book deals; advising current and former government officials, senior executives, public speakers, broadcasters and journalists (many of whom also are authors) in their professional pursuits; and counseling privately held businesses and non-profit organizations in employment and publishing-related matters. Deneen also chairs the firm’s Budget Committee. She is Co-Chair of both Williams & Connolly’s Transactions and Business Counseling practice group as well as its Employment Counseling practice group. Deneen regularly advises current and former government officials in connection with their professional, academic and publishing endeavors, including Presidents, Cabinet Members, White House officials, Senators, Representatives, Department of Justice, Department of State and other agency officials as well as representatives of state and local government, whether it be serving as a consultant, senior advisor, board member or senior executive to corporations, joining a law firm, writing their memoirs, running major foundations, academic institutions or joining faculties, undertaking paid speaking engagements, serving as contributors to media outlets, or some combination of the above. In her publishing practice, apart from non-fiction, Deneen also has a thriving practice representing thriller-writers as well as authors of literary fiction for adult and young readers and illustrated children’s books. Deneen has an extensive executive compensation practice where she represents top executives as well as fiduciary and advisory board members of public and privately-held companies. In addition, she regularly advises senior executives leading colleges and universities, major non-profits, trade associations, professional sports organizations, and media companies. In her media practice, she represents on-air and off-air talent, including anchors, correspondents, reporters, contributors, writers, editors and producers.

In addition, Deneen advises corporate clients on a wide array of legal issues, including restrictive covenants, corporate governance, employment-related internal investigations and publishing. In 2018 and 2019, Chambers USA recognized Deneen as a member of Williams & Connolly’s “renowned” media and entertainment practice. Chambers notes that the team is expert in the publishing field and “sought out by leading authors and politicians to negotiate book deals.” Deneen also has been honored as one of Savoy magazine’s Most Influential Black Lawyers (2018) and has been selected as one of the top 500 lawyers overall (Lawdragon, 2018-2023).
Deneen joined Williams & Connolly in 1998 and has been a partner since 2006. She has served as a member of the Board of Governors of the Folger Shakespeare Library (2010-20), and currently serves on the Board of Directors of The Fuller Project, the White House Historical Association and Georgetown Day School.
When advising authors, Deneen helps to craft book proposals, pitch book ideas and negotiate resulting publishing and ancillary agreements. Throughout her practice, Deneen has represented such non-fiction authors as former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, Senator Tammy Duckworth, Dr. Sanjay Gupta, Senator Edward M. Kennedy, Amanda Knox, Congressman John Lewis, Col. Oliver North, President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama, Liberian President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, and David Plouffe. Her skills also range beyond political memoirs and into the literary world where she represents fiction authors, including Alex Berenson, Mary Higgins Clark, Khaled Hosseini, and James Patterson, and children’s book authors as well as musicians, restauranteurs and other public figures, including Lidia Bastianich, Jewel, Herbie Hancock and Barbra Streisand. In her executive compensation practice, Deneen has represented C-suite executives, general counsels, fiduciary board members and advisory board members at organizations such as Airbnb, AT&T, Axios, Bank of America, BitFury, the Brunswick Group, Discovery, FleishmanHillard, Hilton Hotels, Google, Lyft, PepsiCo, Politico, RLJ Equity Partners, Snap, Ralph Lauren, Uber and Viacom. Deneen’s higher education practice has included senior executive employment agreement and head coach negotiations for at such institutions American University, Baylor University, George Washington University, Georgetown, Harvard, Case Western Reserve, University of California – Davis, Columbia University, Drexel

University, Franklin & Marshall College, George Washington University, Kalamazoo College, Meharry Medical College, Morehouse, University of Pennsylvania, Pitzer, University of Southern California (USC), Spelman College, Tulane, the University of Miami and Vanderbilt. In her practice advising executives as they join not-for-profit organizations, Deneen has represented senior executives serving the Chan Zuckerberg Foundation, the Huntington Library, the March of Dimes, the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, the Rockefeller Foundation, the ACLA, ASCAP, the Business Roundtable, the Private Equity Growth and Capital Council and the Managed Funds Association. Her representation of senior executives of professional sports teams has included the Baltimore Ravens, Golden State Warriors, the Houston Rockets and the Philadelphia 76ers. In her media practice, Deneen regularly negotiates employment agreements for her clients at ABC, CBS, CNBC, CNN, Discovery, ESPN, FOX, MSNBC, NBC, NPR and WETA. Deneen also represents print journalists such as Washington Post editorial cartoonist Tom Toles. Deneen’s pro bono work has centered on contract negotiations for, and advice and counsel to various non-profit organizations, including the National Military Families Association and the Air Force Aid Society and the Vietnam Veteran’s Memorial Fund (VVMF). Her pro bono work for the Folger Shakespeare Library led to an invitation to join its Board of Governors. Born in Philadelphia, Deneen grew up in Sudbury, Massachusetts, and graduated cum laude from Yale University in 1993. She spent a year working in the New York District Attorney’s office as an investigation coordinator in the child abuse bureau before going to Stanford Law School, where she received her J.D. and was President of the Stanford Law Review. After law school, Deneen became corporate counsel to the Times Mirror Company, a Los Angeles-based news and information company whose holdings included the Los Angeles Times. There her responsibilities included employment-related matters, mergers and acquisitions, intellectual property, commercial speech, and First Amendment issues.

Ms. Watson is the President and Managing Shareholder of the Firm.  She has been litigating asbestos matters since 1999, and joined our firm in 2000.  She handles general insurance defense, asbestos and toxic tort litigation, products liability and premises liability matters.  She is part of the National Coordinating Counsel Team for a supplier of asbestos- containing products and in her role she oversees all aspects of those matters .

Due to the strong profile she has developed in the asbestos litigation community, Ms. Watson serves on the sub-committee for asbestos cases that manages all cases pending in Western Pennsylvania and determines the expert witnesses to be retained by the joint defense group.  She also serves on the defense liaison committee that regularly meets with the judges handling the asbestos docket to discuss amendments to the case management order.

Ms. Watson regularly defends suppliers, equipment manufacturers, contractors and employers in asbestos related matters in Pennsylvania.  She oversees all cases handled by our Pittsburgh office, as well as handling all negotiations on behalf of our clients there.  In addition to her trial experience, she is actively involved in working with insurers and clients to determine baseline discovery to be used nationally in the defense of asbestos related lawsuits.  She has an active trial docket and has tried several asbestos cases to verdict in Allegheny County.

Christopher C. Robinson is a partner in the Private Funds Group and member of the Corporate Department. He primarily focuses his practice on representing buyers and sellers, as well as market intermediaries, in connection with complex secondary transactions, including traditional sales and purchases of fund interests, secondary direct transactions, captive fund spin-out arrangements, fund recapitalizations and restructurings and “stapled” secondary transactions.

In addition, he regularly represents sponsors of, and institutional investors in, private investment funds, including buyout, energy, credit, mezzanine, healthcare, real estate, venture capital, special situation and secondary funds, as well as separate and other managed accounts.

Christopher has significant experience with a diverse group of private investment firms and investors, and representative current and past clients include 50 South Capital, Audax Group, Blackstone (Strategic Partners), FlowStone Partners, General Motors Investment Management, Hollyport Capital, Landmark Partners, Lexington Partners, Method Advisors, OMERS Private Equity, OPTrust, Partners Group, Platinum Equity, Prudential Insurance Company of America, Quilvest Private Equity, RLJ Equity Partners, Siris Capital, Solace Capital Partners, Soros Fund Management, Starwood Capital Group and Vesey Street Capital Partners, among others.

Prior to joining Proskauer, Christopher was a corporate partner at Kirkland & Ellis LLP.

As Faegre Drinker’s chief diversity officer, Maria Lewis provides vision and leadership for promoting and instilling a firm culture that builds, values and supports diversity and inclusion. In partnership with firm leadership, Maria serves as the champion for the firm’s overall diversity and inclusion initiatives by developing and facilitating strategies, decision making, priority setting and actions necessary to advance diversity and inclusion at all levels. She also serves the firm’s clients by providing litigation counsel on challenging employment issues in the workplace and conducting corporate training programs to improve workplace culture and reduce legal risks.

Currently, Jeff serves as Executive Vice President, General Counsel and Corporate Secretary with Apple Bank. As General Counsel, Jeff overseas the Legal Division, and as such, is ultimately responsible for the work performed by the members of the Legal, Compliance, Financial Crimes Compliance, Corporate Governance, Privacy and Regulatory Exam Management Departments. In addition to managing the work of these critical departments within Apple Bank, Jeff regularly advises the Chairman and CEO, as well as other members of senior management, on regulatory, legal, reputational, compliance and corporate governance matters as a member of Apple Bank’s Executive Management team. 

Prior to joining Apple Bank, Jeff served as a Director and Assistant General Counsel within Deutsche Bank’s legal department, where he covered all aspects of the U.S. banking laws and regulations that impacted Deutsche Bank. He often advised the bank’s management on the following laws and regulations, among others, Capital Planning and Stress Testing, SCCL, TLAC, the Dodd Frank Act’s Enhanced Prudential Standards, the Bank Holding Company Act and Regulation W. In addition, Jeff advised the board of directors of various Deutsche Bank legal entities on corporate governance matters.

Jeff started his legal career as an attorney with the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation and later moved into private practice as an associate within Schulte Roth & Zabel’s Financial Institutions practice group. Jeff received his B.S. from the University of Delaware, his J.D. from Rutgers School of Law-Camden and his LL.M. in Banking and Financial Law from Boston University School of Law.

Jeff resides with his wife, Yadira, and two children, Julyssa and Tomas, in New Rochelle, New York. Outside of work, Jeff serves as Chairman of the Weekday Nursery School in New Rochelle, board member of the New York Legal Assistance Group and as a member of the University of Delaware – Alfred Lerner College of Business and Economics Dean’s Council.

Jane leads the Enterprise Commercial team at Uber which supports commercial, real estate and marketing initiatives across the company. Prior to taking on this role, she led the legal team that supports Uber’s various advertising and marketing activities — from brand campaigns, social impact initiatives, sponsorships and promotions to rider/driver communications and social media.  Before Uber, Jane served as Citigroup’s Chief Advertising Counsel, where she led the legal team that counseled Citi’s global consumer marketing and corporate sponsorship groups, as well as the US cards, mortgage, retail bank and personal wealth management marketing teams.  In prior roles at Citi, she provided legal support for the company’s rewards and cards advertising teams. 

Jane started her career as an associate in the competition and intellectual property/media law practice groups at Weil, Gotshal & Manges LLP. She previously served as the general counsel at FAIR Health, Inc., a not-for-profit organization, and as an associate in the advertising, marketing and media law practice group at Manatt, Phelps & Phillips, LLP. Jane was a James Kent Scholar at Columbia Law School and graduated with honors from Wesleyan University.

In addition to her work at Uber, Jane is a member of the Beacon Giving Group, a grant-making community of women that makes grants to smallish not-for-profits in New York City.

Sarah focuses her practice on a broad range of general corporate matters, including, mergers and acquisitions, corporate finance transactions, corporate governance, early stage corporate formation and federal securities law compliance. She counsels both public and private companies and advises companies and their boards on fiduciary duty matters, commercial contracts and a broad array of day-to-day corporate matters. 

In particular, Sarah has considerable experience advising public companies in connection with capital markets transactions, including offerings of both debt and equity. Sarah’s securities-related experience includes ’34 Act reporting work and ’33 Act registration statements for capital-raising transactions. She has represented public companies, as well as passive and activist investors, on issues such as beneficial ownership reporting, fiduciary duties, SEC disclosure, annual meeting and proxy-related matters, and the rules and regulations of the SEC.

Jessica Cicali is Vice President, General Counsel, and Corporate Secretary at Cardone Industries, Inc. In this role, Ms. Cicali oversees the legal and risk management functions of the company and is responsible for all aspects of Cardone’s legal work, including litigation, commercial contracts, compliance, privacy, labor and employment, real estate, sourcing, and corporate governance. With more than 20 years in the legal profession, she has held many positions of increasing responsibility at large, multinational public and private companies, including previously serving as Vice President, Assistant General Counsel at Ricoh USA., and General Counsel for Canada and Associate General Counsel for the Americas at Axalta Coating Systems, LLC. 

Ms. Cicali is a proven leader of high-performing legal teams. She is a results-oriented and collaborative business partner who focuses on the big picture to assist the company achieve its strategic objectives while managing and mitigating risk. She brings a pragmatic and creative approach to problem solving and is a trusted advisor with a high level of integrity and professionalism. She has received internal and external recognition for her performance, including a Rising Star Award at the Philadelphia Business Journal’s fourth Annual Corporate Counsel Awards. 

She earned her J.D. from Temple University, Beasley School of Law and her Bachelor of Arts in Organizational Dynamics, magna cum laude, from Immaculata University.  

Ms. Cicali lives in Chester County with her husband and five children. She enjoys running, gardening, reading, writing, and volunteering in her spare time. 

Anjli Garg currently serves as Director, Associate General Counsel in the legal department of Citibank, N.A., where she counsels the global B2B card payments business, working with Citi’s largest global institutional clients.  She is part of Citi Legal’s Global Diversity Council and Vice Chair of the ABA SIL Wellness Taskforce. Before joining Citibank, she served as V.P. and Senior Counsel in the General Counsel’s Office of American Express, supporting the global commercial card and interactive businesses. In her in-house roles, she practices in a variety of legal disciplines, including privacy and data security, internet/e-commerce, intellectual property, bank regulatory, securities and bankruptcy. Before moving in-house, she was an associate at Sullivan & Cromwell, engaged primarily in securities and project finance transactions.  Anjli has also spoken at conferences and published articles on privacy and data security.  She has 20 years of experience as a corporate transactional attorney, and obtained her J.D. from NYU School of Law.  Anjli is also an Energy Leadership Index – Master Practitioner, and in the process of becoming a Certified Professional Coach through iPEC, which is an ICF accredited coach training program.

Leslie C. Rohrbacker is a Partner and Chief Operating Officer of Berry Appleman & Leiden LLP. Leslie’s decades of experience as an operations executive and practicing attorney drive her agile, cross-functional approach at BAL. As COO, she oversees daily operations, harnessing the transformational power of human talent and empowering global teams to meet quickly changing client needs.

Leslie’s experience in complex enterprise risk management and analytical, data-driven thinking ensures that BAL grows swiftly and smartly, maximizing the potential of the firm’s global reach, elite talent, and superior technologies. Prior to BAL, Leslie was Chief Human Resources Officer at Fragomen where she led the worldwide people function, including talent acquisition, total rewards, learning and development, and HRIS.

She also founded Smart Girl Enterprises and Just Talent, LLC, woman-owned consulting firms, and served as Vice President of a global pharmaceutical company after working as a Congressional aide and practicing law for more than a decade. In transitioning from her role as a litigator to a human resources leader, Leslie harnessed a passion for building highly effective teams and transforming organizations through operational acuity and a people-centric culture.

Leslie earned her J.D. from Seton Hall University School of Law, where she taught as an Adjunct Professor, and her Bachelor of Arts, cum laude, from Boston College. She also attended post-graduate study at The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. She is frequently invited to speak on topics including women and diversity in the workplace, building global teams and cultural change and transformation.

Keji Ayorinde serves as Associate General Counsel at Meta.  As Associate General Counsel, Keji is part of the Global Employment Law team responsible for advising Facebook on all labor and employment matters, including those relating to wage and hour issues, workplace investigations, reductions-in-force and post-employment restrictive covenants.   

Prior to joining Facebook, Keji served as Assistant General Counsel at The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. (“IPG”), a fortune 500 global marketing and advertising company.  Keji began her career as an Associate at Proskauer Rose, in the firm’s Labor & Employment group in New York City.  As an Associate, Keji served as the co-chair of the firm’s Associate’s Council and its Black Lawyer Affinity Group. 

Keji is currently a member of the Association of Corporate Counsel-NYC, and has had the pleasure and honor to participate as a panelist facilitating discussions on trending labor and employment issues.  Keji obtained her JD from Pace Law School and served as a Symposium Editor for the Pace Law Review.  Prior to that, she earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Criminology from The College of New Jersey.

Kerri Ann Law is an experienced trial lawyer and counselor with a diverse practice representing clients, including Fortune 500 companies, in complex commercial litigation in both state and federal courts, as well as in domestic and international arbitration forums. She also represents companies and individuals in connection with sensitive and high-profile criminal and regulatory matters, and related civil matters. On behalf of her clients, Kerri Ann regularly interacts with the Securities and Exchange Commission, the U.S. Department of Justice, the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office and other governmental agencies.

Among her more notable representations, Kerri Ann secured a multimillion-dollar jury victory for a manufacturing company in an unfair competition case. The jury found that the defendant had stolen trade secrets relating to unique and state-of-the-art manufacturing processes that the plaintiff had developed over decades. Kerri Ann represented Bear Stearns in several shareholder derivative actions and class actions arising out of the collapse of two hedge funds in 2007. She also represented an individual in a putative class action alleging manipulation of the platinum and palladium markets, including the trading of futures contracts, in violation of the Commodity Exchange Act, the Sherman Antitrust Act, and the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act.

Kerri Ann has litigated numerous false advertising matters for pharmaceutical and other companies. Legal 500, which ranked Kramer Levin’s advertising practice “in the top tier,” designated Kerri Ann as a “highly recommended” counsel in this area. Among other representations, Kerri Ann successfully defended AstraZeneca in a false advertising suit related to the company’s Nexium product.

Legal 500 also designated Kerri Ann as a “recommended” counsel for her employment litigation practice, which includes representing and advising companies in employment disputes alleging discrimination, sexual harassment and retaliation, and violations of the Fair Labor Standards Act, as well as those arising from employment contracts. Kerri Ann successfully defended several subsidiaries of one of the world’s largest financial services companies in an arbitration commenced by a former manager, who asserted a breach of contract claim in connection with her termination. Kerri Ann also achieved a favorable settlement of allegations of wage and hour violations under the Fair Labor Standards Act and New York’s Labor Law for a client in the travel industry.

Kerri Ann undertakes many pro bono matters, with a particular focus on human rights. She successfully obtained asylum for a woman who had been repeatedly persecuted in Kosovo and Montenegro because of her nationality and her religious and political opinions.

Kerri Ann serves on the firm’s Operating Committee, Planning Committee, Branding Committee and Women’s Initiative Committee, and as chair of the firm’s Hiring Committee. Kerri Ann regularly serves on the firm’s Compensation Committee.

After getting her bachelor’s degree at Boston College, Jayshree went to law school at Fordham University. With a genuine love for the law, she was excited to put her legal degree to work in the technology field. When she came across Shutterstock, she was intrigued by its great success—and quickly applied.

Alex focuses her practice on financial services litigation, advising corporate clients in a wide variety of litigation matters. Prior to joining McGuireWoods, Alex served as a law clerk to the Honorable Marianne Espinosa, J.A.D., of the New Jersey Superior Court, Appellate Division. Alex received her J.D., magna cum laude, from Rutgers Law School – Newark, and was elected into the Order of the Coif. She also earned a Corporate and Business Law Certificate from Rutgers Law. While in law school, she served as an Articles Editor for the Rutgers University Law Review and as a Research Fellow for the Rutgers Center for Corporate Law and Governance. Alex holds a B.A. in Political Science and Economics, cum laude, from Northeastern University.

Hon. Tanya R. Kennedy is an Associate Justice of the Appellate Division, First Department. Prior to her appointment in July 2020, Justice Kennedy served as a Justice of the Supreme Court, New York County, commencing in January 2016, after election in November 2015. She was elected to Civil Court in November 2005 and thereafter served in Criminal Court, Civil Court, Family Court, as Acting Supreme Court Justice, and as Supervising Judge of Civil Court, New York County. She is also a former Adjunct Professor at Fordham University School of Law, where she taught a Juvenile Justice seminar for ten years.

Justice Kennedy is a member of the Board of Directors of the New York City Bar Association and past chair of the organization’s Special Committee to Encourage Judicial Service. She is also an Executive Committee member of the Women in Law Section of the New York State Bar Association; member of the Committee on Pattern Jury Instructions of the Association of Supreme Court Justices of the State of New York; member of the Board of Overseers of the Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law, where she received her law degree; and an Advisory Board Member of Penn State Law. Justice Kennedy is also the Past President of the National Association of Women Judges (NAWJ). 

A frequent speaker at various conferences, she has received numerous professional awards, including the 2021 Distinguished Alumna Award from Penn State University; the 2021 John E. Higgins, Esq. Diversity Trailblazer Award from the New York State Bar Association; the 2020 Inspiration Award from the New York Coalition of Women’s Initiatives in Law; the 2019 Igniting Change Award Recipient and the 2012 Patricia L. Irvin Personal Service Award from the Association of Black Women Attorneys; the 2017 Diversity Leadership Award from Penn State Law; and the 2015 Alumni of the Year Award from Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law.

Justice Kennedy is also an ABWA member, as well as a life member of the Metropolitan Black Bar Association (MBBA) and a former MBBA Board Member. 

Rachel B. Passaretti-Wu represents defendants in products liability, mass torts, and putative class actions, and dedicates the majority of her practice to representing manufacturers and producers of various products, including in nationwide pharmaceutical and environmental tort litigation. Ms. Passaretti-Wu defends companies as part of a team that serves as national coordinating and trial counsel in both large, complex matters, and individual cases. She is integral in the formulation of nationwide strategies and coordinates the defense of complex litigations. Ms. Passaretti-Wu has also been involved in the defense of consumer fraud cases, qui tam actions, and related governmental subpoenas. In addition, she has participated in the representation of various pro bono clients and gained invaluable trial and other experience through those endeavors.

Nefertiti J. Alexander’s practice focuses on complex commercial and civil litigation and white-collar defense and government investigations.  She represents plaintiffs and defendants in high-stakes disputes involving business tort, breach of contract, antitrust, securities fraud, and other matters in federal and state courts and arbitration. 

Nefertiti is a frequent speaker on diversity and inclusion in law firms, serving as a panelist for “The Power of Sponsorship” discussion at the Ms. JD Law Student Leadership Academy 2020 program, the Thomson Reuters and Ms. JD. “How Women of Color Can Gain Visibility through Volunteer Leadership” podcast, and moderating the “Navigating the Path to Partnership” webinar, as part of Teale & Co.’s Women in Law Series.

Nefertiti was a 2021 Leadership Council on Legal Diversity Fellow, a program that identifies high-potential diverse attorneys for leadership positions in the legal profession and offers participants training on developing leadership and relationship-building skills.  She was awarded a 2021 40 Under 40 – Nation’s Best Advocates Award by the National Bar Association (NBA) and named a 2021 Woman Worth Watching by Diversity Journal.  She was also named a Rising Star in the areas of Litigation and White-Collar by Legal Media Group: Expert Guides, recognized by Best Lawyers on its 2021 Ones to Watch list and by The National Black Lawyers on its 2019 Top 40 Under 40 in New York State list.

Prior to entering private practice, Nefertiti served as a law clerk to the Honorable Joseph A. Greenaway, Jr. of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit.  She also clerked for the Honorable George B. Daniels of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York.

Jessica Mastrogiovanni is the Vice President, General Counsel & Corporate Secretary of Brooks Brothers. Jessica has extensive experience overseeing highly regarded legal departments and serves as a trusted advisor to C-level executives and business leaders. She is a key contributor to operations and business planning and is skilled at taking on complex legal problems and delivering strategic legal solutions.

Christine J Chao is the General Counsel of The Foremost Group, an international shipping company where she provides general corporate legal advice.   Christine has extensive corporate and commercial law experience having worked in senior legal positions for three Fortune 100 companies:   GE (Stamford, CT), Federal Express (Hong Kong and London) and Ultramar Corporation (Greenwich, CT).  Christine began her legal career with the Wall Street law firm of Dewey Ballantine.

Christine lived abroad for nearly ten years – five years in Asia and five years in Europe before repatriating to Greenwich, CT.   

Christine currently serves as a Trustee for Colgate University and the Foremost Foundation, which strives to help young people access higher education and greater opportunities generally.  Christine also serves on the Boards of LitWorld, an organization devoted to promoting literacy around the world, and The One Love Foundation, which is committed to educating our young people about healthy and unhealthy relationships. 

Christine received her BA from Colgate University, majoring in English and her JD from Columbia Law School.  She is married to Jos Shaver, and they have two sons, Ben (Babson ’22) and Tyler (Stanford ’22).

Madhu Goel-Southworth is Senior Vice President, Legal & Business Affairs for AMC Network Entertainment LLC, Sundance TV, IFC TV. In that capacity, she advises and counsels AMC, Sundance TV, and IFC TV network departments with respect to unscripted development and production matters, digital productions and webisode series, product integrations, linear and digital advertising, marketing, merchandising and consumer products, licensing and acquisitions, location based entertainment, gaming, intellectual property and other business affairs matters concerning AMC’s top shows.  Madhu joined AMC in 2009, just three weeks before AMC greenlit The Walking Dead and had a significant role in the launch of AMC Studios.

 Prior to AMC, Madhu worked at A&E Television Networks as Director, Legal and Business Affairs providing counsel and negotiating development, production, and talent agreements in both their unscripted and documentary departments working on television series and documentaries. While at A&E, Madhu negotiated and drafted the option sale of the movie rights to “The Great Gatsby” to Sony Pictures and Baz Luhrman. 

Madhu graduated from University of Chicago Law in 2001, spent a year at a federal judicial clerkship in the Southern District of New York, and then was an associate at Sidley & Austin in New York. Following her time at Sidley, Madhu joined Frankfurt Kurnit Klein & Selz, P.C., an entertainment law firm, where Madhu worked on cases involving the Mutant-X/X-Men properties, a variety of productions including Juno, The Namesake, and Synecdoche, and represented talent in their deals with HBO, Viacom, and other networks and studios. 

As an experienced litigator now serving as Nixon Peabody’s firmwide Chief Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Officer, Rekha brings her career-spanning passion for diversity and inclusion in the legal profession to oversee the firm’s diversity initiatives. She develops trainings and other programming featuring inspiring thought leaders, and works with the firm’s practice groups and recruiting, professional development and business development teams to ensure that diversity and inclusion are woven into all aspects of the firm. Additionally, Rekha frequently assists firm clients with the development of their own diversity and inclusion programming, trainings and related initiatives.

Robyn Silvermintz is a partner with Winget, Spadafora & Schwartzberg, LLP. Her practice focuses primarily on the defense of professionals and entities against a wide variety of claims, including, but not limited to discrimination, malpractice and other employment disputes. She has also successfully represented management in employment practices disputes, including wrongful discharge, discrimination litigation and labor matters.

Prior to joining the firm, Robyn worked for the New York City Law Department where she defended all city agencies in various labor and employment disputes. Robyn also defended all city agencies, including the Department of Education, NYPD and FDNY, in various matters ranging from administrative hearings to federal court matters. These matters frequently involved discrimination and due process violation claims.

Nikki Lewis Simon, a commercial litigator with more than 21 years of experience, primarily serves as the firm’s Chief Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Officer. In this capacity, Nikki designs and guides strategic initiatives and programs to deepen firmwide diversity and inclusion efforts that further enrich client engagements and community investments.

Her role is indicative of, and integral to, Greenberg Traurig’s core values of collaboration and inclusion – principles that inform the firm’s operations and legal business in meaningful, positive ways.

Prior to assuming primary responsibilities on the business side of the firm, Nikki has represented her cross-industry clients’ business objectives by protecting their capital – human, intellectual, and financial – against claims of wrongdoing in complex commercial and class action litigation. Those matters have spanned the panoply of issues and claims businesses often face, from discrimination to wrongful death, defamation to fraud and misrepresentation, professional negligence and malpractice to breach of fiduciary duty and securities law violations.

Omnicom Health Group’s General Counsel, Jennifer Schatzman, guides the world’s largest healthcare and marketing group through the legal complexities of its business while focusing on its core values and strategic direction. Jennifer has 20+  years of experience counseling advertising and marketing industry leaders, both as in-house counsel at Omnicom Health Group’s corporate parent, and as outside counsel. Throughout her career, she has developed and conducted in-house trainings for employees on matters ranging from employment issues to restrictive covenants to contract negotiation and data privacy issues. She is a member of the Senior Leadership Team of OHG, a mentor to women and BIPOC employees, and works closely with OHG’s Chief Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Officer. In 2020, Jennifer founded the non-profit Racism Has No Home Here (www.racismhasnohomehere.org), which has been featured on GMA3.  She is a proud mom of a 7-year-old (who really runs the show).  She is also a member of the 4A’s Legal Affairs Committee and the International Association of Privacy Professionals, and a graduate of Boston University School of Law and Penn State University.

James P. Chou is a partner in the firm’s Litigation Practice Group and a co-chair of the firm’s COVID Litigation Task Force. He is resident in the firm’s Manhattan office.

A seasoned trial lawyer and fierce advocate, Mr. Chou has a broad range of experience in litigating all manner of complex commercial and business litigation in state and federal courts and other tribunals. His clients have included hedge funds, private equity firms, independent investment banks, real estate developers, manufacturers and distributors of consumer products, and companies in the food and beverage industry. As a co-chair of the Firm’s COVID Litigation Task Force, he oversees the Firm’s primary resource for clients considering or facing litigation arising from COVID-19-related issues and provides thought leadership on the evolving legal landscape as a result of the pandemic. Mr. Chou also serves as outside general counsel for several middle market companies who regularly seek his advice in navigating thorny legal issues and requirements.

For over two decades, Mr. Chou has litigated and handled bankruptcy-related matters primarily on behalf of formal and ad hoc creditor and bondholder committees in high profile chapter 11 cases.  Such matters have included valuation disputes, federal and state law fraudulent conveyance claims, preferences claims, challenges to involuntary petitions, and post-emergence litigation. Most recently, Mr. Chou was engaged to serve as special conflicts counsel for the Litigation Designees of Sears Holdings Co. to investigate and potentially bring constructive fraudulent conveyance claims against Sears’ public shareholders. He also recently settled constructive fraudulent conveyance claims against several affiliated investment funds brought by the Litigation Trustee of Boston Generating. Additionally, Mr. Chou recently represented and counseled the principal of a high-tech company in connection with a multi-faceted workout of its debt structure, which involved an assignment for the benefit of creditors, an accompanying sale of assets to the firm’s private equity investor, and subsequent litigation against certain chapter 7 petitioning creditors.

Jeanette L. Dixon is a founding and managing partner of the New York office of Manning & Kass Ellrod, Ramirez, Trester LLP.  Ms. Dixon, who joined the firm in 2014 with more than 14 years of experience within the areas of insurance coverage and defense, presently heads the firm’s Insurance Coverage/Bad Faith Practice Area.  Ms. Dixon developed an expertise in insurance coverage early in her career and is nationally regarded as one of the leading experts in insurance coverage/bad faith law.  Dixon practices in the areas of insurance coverage/bad faith, cyber liability, employment law, professional liability, commercial general liability, general liability, miscellaneous professional liability, healthcare liability, corporate and commercial transactions and insurance regulatory matters.

On June 2, 2013, Ms. Dixon appeared as a legal analyst on Fox News Channel’s America’s News Headquarters with Gregg Jarrett, wherein she participated in a live panel discussion regarding the admissibility of audio evidence against George Zimmerman in the Trayvon Martin murder case venued in Florida.   She is currently a finalist in the inaugural University at Buffalo Fast 46 competition.  Ms. Dixon was also an active arbitrator on behalf of the New York State Small Claims Court for numerous years.

Ms. Dixon is admitted to the State Bar of New York, Southern and Eastern Districts of New York, and the United States Supreme Court. She was named the 2020 New York State Attorney of the Year and a Lawyer of Distinction within the area of Insurance Coverage in 2019.  Ms. Dixon is a an adjunct attorney member of the International Associations of Claims Professionals (IACP), member of the Federation of Defense and Corporation Counsel (FDCC) and Claims, Litigation Management Alliance (CLM), and the Plus Liability Underwriting Society (PLUS).

Ms. Dixon received her Juris Doctorate from the State University of New York at Buffalo School of Law and her BA in Social Science Legal Studies/English from the State University of New York at Buffalo.

As an Associate General Counsel in the Public Policy, Law and Security department at Verizon Communications Inc., Rippi handles contracts for Sourcing involving Human Resources Benefits/Plans, Supplier Diversity, Advertising Agencies, Contact Centers, Contingent Workforce and Executive Recruiting. In addition, she works with the Diversity Equity & Inclusion Council, PACE and WAVE organizations at Verizon.

She has received the prestigious Verizon Pro Bono Service Award for her legal contributions in domestic violence and corporate matters. Rippi speaks frequently on diversity and business law at various conferences.

In 2021, she was appointed to the New Jersey Supreme Court Committee on Diversity, Inclusion, and Community Engagement. Furthermore, she is the Treasurer of WEN – Women’s Excellence Network – an organization dedicated to impacting high performing women lawyers. Additionally, she serves as the 2023 President of SABA-NJ and Co-Chair of the NJ Punjabi Chamber of Commerce. Lastly, in early 2022, Rippi was appointed to the Asian American Pacific Islander (AAPI) Commission of New Jersey by Governor Murphy.

As a complimentary service, she runs a LinkedIn series titled “Attorney of the Week” to highlight the notable achievements of diverse attorneys.

Kawana T. King is a Senior Technology Advisor and Counsel at Google LLC, where she supports Google’s advertising business. In her role, Kawana leads a global team and advises on a wide array of complex technology, privacy, advertising, media and consumer protection matters. She also negotiates deals with some of the world’s largest companies utilizing Google’s technology and advertising solutions.  Kawana’s expertise in the areas of technology, privacy, advertising and media stem from her diverse professional experience and background.  

 After graduating from Harvard Law School, Kawana started her career as a litigation associate at Proskauer Rose, LLP,  an international law firm, where she represented clients in false advertising, media, technology and intellectual property matters. Kawana also worked with The New Press, a nonprofit publishing house, where she was chiefly responsible for reviewing, negotiating and drafting a wide range of licensing agreements and other contracts touching practically every aspect of the business.  In 2011, Kawana joined the law firm of Manatt, Phelps, and Phillips. While at Manatt, Kawana established herself in the fields of technology, media, and advertising; and she was often the lead advisor to several Fortune 500 companies on technology and privacy matters, key marketing and advertising campaigns, and on compliance with federal and international regulations. 

At Google, Kawana is a “go-to” advisor on a number of high-stakes matters and is recognized by her colleagues and clients as a true partner and thought leader. Google has featured Kawana in The Keyword, Google’s official blog spotlighting powerful, dynamic female Googlers. Kawana also received Google’s inaugural NYC Site Citizenship Award in 2019 for her active role in various social impact efforts, including Tech Exchange, Google’s applied computer science residency program for students attending Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) and Hispanic Serving Institutions (HSIs).  Kawana’s work in the tech field has also been recognized outside of Google.  In March 2018, Kawana was invited to be a featured speaker at the African American Women in Tech Conference hosted by the Internet & New Tech Subcommittee of the New York State Assembly.  Kawana also received a Proclamation in recognition of her work in the tech field and her community efforts.

Kawana is a Brooklyn native, born and raised in the neighborhood of Bedford-Stuyvesant (“Bed-Stuy”). Prior to law school, she attended Howard University, graduating summa cum laude with degrees in political science and sociology.  Kawana continues to reside in Bed-Stuy where she is active in various community affairs and initiatives, particularly in the areas of community development and criminal justice reform.  Kawana serves on the Board of Directors for the Ifetayo Cultural Arts Academy and chairs the Nominating and Board Governance committees. She is also a member of the Collective of Concerned Black Professionals, for which she is the chair of the organization’s Criminal Justice and Policing Committee.

Jeff Hsi is a Shareholder in Wolf Greenfield’s Pharmaceutical Group, where he focuses his practice on all aspects of the development of IP and commercialization of technology, including corporate counseling, formation and execution of IP strategy, and patent prosecution and opinion work in the areas of chemistry, pharmaceuticals, biotechnology, health and beauty, agriculture, animal health, nutraceuticals, polymers, diagnostics, and medical devices. 

Jeff currently serves on the boards of Asian Americans Advancing Justice – AAJC (Asian American Justice Center, Washington DC), the Asian Community Development Corporation (Boston) and is Past President of the Asian American Lawyers Association of Massachusetts (AALAM).

Dania Nasser is the Senior Associate General Counsel at Canon Business Process Services. Prior to working in this role she was the Business Operations and Compliance Counsel at Ralph Lauren. Dania acquired her law degree from Yale University.

Shelly Burke is a Miami, Florida native who has leveraged her professional experience  and personal interest to support communities  and major  corporations to build equitable skylines and blitz scale programming. Shelly is an entrepreneur, real estate developer and attorney in the real estate industry.  She currently serves as Assistant General Counsel, Investment Management, at Lendlease providing legal support to the Investment Management group and overseeing investment structure deals.

Prior to working at Lendlease,  she served as Corporate Counsel at Amazon where she oversaw the operations for delivery stations, last mile deliveries and Amazon’s delivery service partners for North America, Senior Counsel and Director of Community Engagement and Diversity Compliance at Sterling Bay, LLC, a Chicago based real estate investment and development company, and an associate at an AM 100 law firm, Katten Muchin Rosenman, LLP, where she represented commercial banks, lending institutions, real estate developers and other clients in a variety of commercial real estate matters.

Shelly has extensive experience in a variety of commercial real estate transactions, including acquisitions and dispositions, financing, joint venture formation and construction. Shelly has placed over $1 billion in equity in real estate ventures, bought and sold more than $2 billion in real estate assets, negotiated leases and loans, and led community zoning change processes.

Shelly earned her Juris Doctor from Howard University School of Law and B.A. in Public

Relations at the University of Florida. She has earned a real estate finance certificate from MIT.  Outside of the practice of law, Shelly enjoys competing in triathlons, is a patron of the arts, avid reader, and enjoys traveling. She is passionate about  leveraging her voice to build more inclusive environments and empower others. 

CASSANDRA LABBEES is a Member of the Firm in the Employee Benefits and Executive Compensation practice, in the New York office of Epstein Becker Green. For more than a decade, she has provided counsel to clients in the financial services and health care industries, corporate clients, and tax-exempt and not-for-profit institutions on a wide range of employee benefit issues involving tax-qualified and non-qualified plans, 401(k) plans, ESOPs, defined benefit plans, the Affordable Care Act (ACA), multiemployer plans, and health and welfare plans.

Alnisa Bell is a Labor & Employment Partner in the New York office of Seyfarth Shaw LLP, and is licensed to practice in New York and New Jersey. Alnisa defends employers against individual and multi-plaintiff discrimination cases and high-stakes litigation. She has served as counsel for several high profile employment disputes and has litigated over one hundred cases in state and federal courts across the country. Not only is Alnisa a skilled litigator, but companies look to Alnisa to provide advice and counsel on compliance with state and federal laws. As an advocate for diversity in the legal profession, Alnisa speaks regularly on equity and inclusion and was a contributing writer of a blog that provided advice to women of color attorneys navigating law firm culture. Alnisa is also a member of the New Jersey Supreme Court’s Committee on Minority Concerns and is active in various professional organizations in New York and New Jersey. Alnisa earned her J.D. from Rutgers Law School and her A.B. degree, magna cum laude, from Bryn Mawr College.

Mian R. Wang focuses her practice on high-stakes business litigation. She represents public and private companies, financial institutions, directors, officers, and individuals before state and federal courts in commercial and bankruptcy litigation. She has broad experience handling matters related to breach of contract, fraud, breach of fiduciary duties, preference claims, UCC secured transactions, negligence, wire fraud, and unfair and deceptive trade practices disputes. Her practice covers multiple disciplines and industries, including education, health care, event management, start-up firms, financial institutions, and commercial finance and asset management firms.

Prior to joining the firm, Mian served as a law clerk for the Honorable Alvin W. Thompson in the U.S. District Court for the District of Connecticut. She also worked in Delaware as a business litigator in a national firm where she represented clients on both state and federal matters.

Inna N. Jackson is SVP & Managing Associate General Counsel, serving as U.S. Head of Legal, Wholesale Lending & Transaction Banking as well as Regional Legal Head, North America, GLCM and GTRF.  In this role, Inna leads a cross-functional legal focused on transforming customer and employee experiences through integrated offerings, digital evolution, alliances and innovation in Payments, Liquidity, Cash Management, Trade and Receivables Finance, Wholesale Lending and Issuer Services.  Inna is also a key member of the cross-functional team standing up HSBC’s global Banking-as-a-Service proposition for businesses and financial institutions.  Prior to joining HSBC in October 2019, Inna spent 9 years at American Express, most of that time focused on enabling initiatives for Amex Digital Labs, Enterprise Digital and Digital Partnerships and Development teams.  Among her accomplishments, Inna led a key team supporting the launch and expansion of numerous strategic partnerships and related product launches with Apple, Google, Amazon, Facebook, PayPal and Samsung.  Inna also served as a key thought leader and contributor in the development and evolution of Amex’s data strategy framework.  Prior to Amex, Inna spent 7 years in private practice as an M&A lawyer.   Inna Graduated from Fordham University Law School, where she was Editor-in-Chief of the International Law Journal and a Louis Stein Scholar in Law and Ethics.  She is fluent in Russian and Spanish and speaks Italian and French.