California Partner Krysta Pachman and Washington Associate Katy Peaslee have been named Rising Stars by Law360 for 2023. Pachman has been recognized for her work in class action litigation while Peaslee is honored for her work in entertainment and media law. Each lawyer is just one of five attorneys nationwide to be recognized in their respective category. Winners were selected based on their career accomplishments in their respective disciplines and considered to be lawyers whose, “legal accomplishments transcend their age.” Overall, Law360 received over 1,300 applications to be part of this prestigious list of attorneys under the age of 40.
Krysta Pachman – CLASS ACTION
Partner Krysta Pachman has emerged as a rising star in class action litigation across the country. Krysta was appointed in 2021 to serve as co-lead counsel in the Blackbaud Customer Data Security Breach action, making her one of the youngest women to ever lead a national MDL. She is also serving as co-lead counsel to plaintiffs in news-making class actions such as In re: Pattern Energy Group Inc. Securities Litigation, where she recently obtained class certification for a class of Pattern Energy shareholders in a class action relating to Pattern Energy’s $6.1 billion sale to the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board, and in Pino v. Grant Cardone & Cardone Capital, where her team just prevailed at the Ninth Circuit defeating a motion to dismiss on behalf of a class of investor plaintiffs who invested in Grant Cardone’s real estate syndication business. The latter case is the first case to analyze whether social media posts, which are considered “test the waters” communications under federal securities laws, can give rise to Section 12 liability for purposes of a Regulation A+ offering.
Katy Peaslee – MEDIA & ENTERTAINMENT
Katy is part of the Susman Godfrey team that secured the historic $787.5 million deal with Fox News on behalf of Dominion Voting Services in its billion-dollar defamation lawsuit over false statements made by Fox related to Dominion’s involvement with the 2021 presidential election. Katy has taken a leading role on the team since the outset of discovery, briefing and arguing discovery motions, attending and arguing at weekly discovery hearings, serving and responding to written discovery, coordinating discovery strategy, and preparing and defending witnesses in depositions. In addition to the litigation against Fox News and Fox Corp., Katy has also pursued defamation claims on behalf of Dominion against One America News Network. In 2022 Katy successfully briefed and co-argued Dominion’s opposition to One America News Network’s motion to dismiss of transfer, appearing before Judge Nichols in the District Court of D.C. to argue that the case should move forward in D.C. court. Read her profile with Law360 here.
To see the full list of Law360’s 2023 Rising Stars click here (subscription required).
