Seven Arnold & Porter Attorneys Named as 2020 National Law Journal Trailblazers for Litigation, Intellectual Property, Political Activism, and Sports

Arnold & Porter attorneys Daniel Asimow, Sheila Boston, John Freedman, David Gersch, Dori Hanswirth, Stanton Jones, and Elisabeth Theodore were named to the 2020 National Law Journal Trailblazers reports for their groundbreaking work. The reports highlight attorneys who have "achieved remarkable successes" in the areas of litigation, intellectual property, political activism, and sports law.

The outstanding work of the seven attorneys was featured in the following Trailblazer reports:

• Sports and Entertainment Trailblazers—Daniel Asimow's recent wins in sports antitrust litigation garnered him a spot on this list. Asimow successfully represented the Las Vegas Raiders against a lawsuit brought by the city of Oakland alleging the team's relocation violates the Sherman Act (currently on appeal in the Ninth Circuit) and previously represented the Golden State Warriors in antitrust litigation brought by StubHub concerning restrictions on the secondary ticket market.

• Litigation Trailblazers—Sheila Boston's exceptional work for clients like Pfizer was recognized in the report, which also highlighted her pioneering work on diversity and inclusion. "I'm well known for getting women and racially diverse people onto cases," and want "to introduce more doctors and scientists of color in the litigation realm" to serve as litigation experts, she said in the profile. In May 2020, Boston was installed as the president of the New York City Bar association. She is the first woman of color to serve as the organization's president in its 150 years of existence.

• Political Activism/First Amendment Trailblazers—John Freedman and Elisabeth Theodore were commended for their trailblazing victory on behalf of immigration advocacy groups that challenged the US government's attempt to add a citizenship question to the 2020 census. The case had profound consequences for the US, averting a potential undercount of an estimated 6.5 million people. The story hasn't ended there. "We are now in another round of Supreme Court litigation," Freedman said. "The efforts to undermine the census are exceptionally alarming, and I hope that we, and others, are successful in fighting them," said Theodore, who was also named to National Law Journal's "DC Rising Stars" list in August 2020 for her work on the census case and high-profile gerrymandering lawsuits.

• Political Activism/First Amendment Trailblazers—David Gersch and Stanton Jones were lauded for their groundbreaking victory in a high-profile gerrymandering lawsuit in the Pennsylvania Supreme Court. Thanks to a novel legal strategy utilized by Jones and Gersch in defending 18 individual petitioners and the League of Women Voters in Pennsylvania, the Court struck down Pennsylvania's congressional districting map as an unconstitutional partisan gerrymander exclusively under the Pennsylvania Constitution. The Pennsylvania gerrymandering win showcased how invested both Jones and Gersch are when it comes to pro bono work and political activism. Jones told the National Law Journal that Arnold & Porter's commitment to pro bono drew him to the firm because it allowed him to combine his "strong interest in pro bono work with [his] sense of political activism." Gersch said that after retiring from partnership at the firm, he decided "working on the integrity of election is the most important thing" he could do.

• Intellectual Property Trailblazers—Dori Hanswirth, who co-leads the firm's Technology, Media and Telecommunications industry group, was recognized for her pro bono work successfully defending the Psychotherapy Action Network in a $41 million lawsuit brought by the teletherapy platform Talkspace and her career-long commitment to free speech issues. "I've always been a big believer in free speech, but also understand how careful those of us who have free speech should be with it because it's a precious thing," Hanswirth said.