Overview
Leah M. Quadrino is an accomplished litigator and trial lawyer, representing plaintiffs and defendants in business and intellectual property disputes across a variety of global industries, including financial services, technology, real estate, oil and gas, and waste management, among other areas. Named a "Next Generation Lawyer" in Dispute Resolution: General Commercial Disputes by the Legal 500 US, Leah has tried cases before state and federal courts (jury and bench trials) and arbitration panels, including before Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA), the American Arbitration Association (AAA) and AIDA Reinsurance and Insurance Arbitration Society (ARIAS). In 2022, the National Law Journal listed her successful $64 million jury verdict as a Top 100 Verdict, and TopVerdict listed it as a Top 20 Commercial Litigation Verdict in the United States.
A significant portion of Leah's practice is international in scope. She frequently represents foreign clients with global business interests who are engaged in disputes in US courts, and she has broad experience navigating cross-border discovery and advising clients on the domestic and extraterritorial application of US laws.
Active in her pro bono practice and in her community, Leah has represented recent immigrants, refugees, and homeless persons, as well as victims of sex trafficking, employment discrimination, and excessive force violations. She is a member of the Board of Trustees for the Legal Aid Society of the District of Columbia. At Steptoe, she has previously served as deputy practice group leader for Commercial Litigation, and is a past chair of Steptoe's firm-wide Professional Training Committee.
- District of Columbia
- New York
- US District Court, District of Columbia
- US District Court, Southern District of New York
- US Court of Appeals, Fourth Circuit
- US Court of Appeals, District of Columbia
- US Court of Appeals, Federal Circuit
- J.D., Fordham University School of Law, 2002, Member, The Fordham Urban Law Journal; Captain, National Moot Court Competition Team; Captain, Philip C. Jessup International Law, Moot Court Competition Team; Lawrence J. McKay Prize
- B.A., Yale University, 1997, Literature
Areas of Work
Representative Matters
- Represented Fortune 500 waste disposal company in obtaining full dismissal of complaint alleging breach of contract, unjust enrichment and unfair competition claims through successful summary judgment briefing and trial.
- Represented Fortune Global 500 chemical manufacturer in class action litigation involving medical monitoring claims that ended in a successful settlement.
- Represented major international law firm in obtaining summary judgment dismissal of suit against firm and former partner under NY Judiciary Law Section 487.
- Represented insurer in arbitration proceeding in defeating multimillion-dollar claim based on scope of an asbestos exclusion.
- Represented, on a pro bono basis, family members of a man who died in police custody after being tased eight times in 14 minutes in successful petition for writ of certiorari to the US Supreme Court.
- Represented plaintiff inventor against one of the world's largest tire manufacturers in obtaining $64 million jury verdict for willful and malicious trade secret misappropriation.
Speaking Engagements
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"Negotiation Strategies," National Legal Malpractice Conference, San Diego, CA, September 13, 2019
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"Direct Insurance and Reinsurance Dispute Resolution Trends," 2016 ARIAS US Spring Conference, Palm Beach, FL, May 13, 2016
News & Publications
Press Releases
Steptoe Raises $80,693 for Legal Aid’s Making Justice Real Campaign
August 16, 2024
Press Releases
Steptoe Receives Two China Business Law Journal 2023 Deal of the Year Awards
March 20, 2024
Press Releases
September 20, 2022
Publications
Business and Commercial Litigation in Federal Courts
March 28, 2022
Press Releases
February 16, 2021
Press Releases
Steptoe Raises Record-Breaking Funds for Legal Aid's Making Justice Real Campaign
August 25, 2020
Press Releases
Steptoe Receives 28 Practice Rankings, 29 Individual Awards in Legal 500 US 2020
July 7, 2020
Client Alerts
Lender Beware Series - Part III: Criminal Exposure for Banks Participating in the CARES Act
May 5, 2020
By: Michael Campion Miller, Leah M. Quadrino, Jeremy B. Glen, Caitlin Conroy
Client Alerts
Lender Beware Series - Part II: Key Sources of Civil Liability
April 29, 2020
By: Leah M. Quadrino, Patrick F. Linehan, Michael Campion Miller, Jeremy B. Glen, Caitlin Conroy
Noteworthy
- Law360, The Most Significant Trade Secrets Cases Of 2024 (2024)
- China Business Law Journal, Deal of the Year (2023-2024)
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The National Law Journal, Top 100 Verdicts (2022)
- Legal 500 US, Next Generation Lawyer, Dispute Resolution: General Commercial Disputes (2019-2020)
- Legal 500 US, Dispute Resolution: General Commercial Disputes (2019-2020)
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Euromoney's Expert Guide to the World's Leading Insurance and Reinsurance Lawyers (2021)
- Euromoney's Expert Guide to the World's Leading Insurance and Reinsurance Lawyers, Rising Star (2015-2018)
Professional Affiliations
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Appointed Member, Leadership Development Committee, DC Bar (2018-2022)
- Member, Board of Trustees, Legal Aid Society of the District of Columbia (2019- )
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Elected Member, DC Bar Board of Governors (2015-2018)
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Fellow, American Bar Foundation (2013-present)
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Appointed Member, Standing Committee on Law in Public Service, Tort Trial and Insurance Practice Section, American Bar Association (2013-2017)
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Chair, Scholarship Fund Board, Tort Trial and Insurance Practice Section, American Bar Association (2016-2018)
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Chair, Committee on Excess, Surplus Lines and Reinsurance, Tort Trial and Insurance Practice Section, American Bar Association (2012-2013)
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ARIAS-US (2007-present)