Description of field of expertise

Tiffani Otey assists businesses with protecting their valuable brands by securing registry-based trademark protection across the globe. She focuses her practice on international brand strategy, portfolio management, and multijurisdictional registry dispute management.  She serves clients across industries, including food and beverage, finance, gaming and social media. Tiffani takes a wholistic approach to brand management and seeks to understand her client’s business and goals when providing trademark-specific guidance. Tiffani was recognized by The Best Lawyers in America® in 2025 and the four years immediately preceding for Trademark Law. She is listed in the 2024 and 2025 editions of World Trademark Review 1000 – The World’s Leading Trademark Professionals. Tiffani was selected by Triad Business Journal as one of its “40 Leaders Under 40” in 2023. She was named one of the “40 Under 40 Nation’s Best Advocates” award recipients in 2022 by the National Bar Association.

What advice would you offer to new attorneys interested in your field?

My advice to new attorneys entering trademark law is to embrace the dynamic nature of this field. Build a solid foundation in intellectual property law but also take the time to connect with your clients’ creative and business goals. This perspective will allow you to craft strategies that protect their work and elevate their brands. Also, don’t be afraid to seek guidance from seasoned colleagues and engage with peers through industry groups to expand your network. Be willing to take on challenges that stretch your abilities, as each experience will refine your skills and deepen your understanding of how to effectively safeguard your clients’ intellectual property while helping their brands thrive.

Description of field of expertise

Ty Lord specializes in trademark and advertising counseling and litigation, representing brand owners across industries such as sports, consumer products, intimate apparel, and hospitality. Early in her career, she prosecuted and litigated patents and briefly served as an assistant district attorney. She also acted as interim in-house counsel for a Fortune 500 consumer products company. Ms. Lord leverages her diverse experience to help clients achieve business objectives, offering practical and creative solutions to legal issues. Her litigation approach has delivered excellent results in federal courts nationwide and in proceedings before the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. She also advises clients on trademark clearance, portfolio management, social media advertising, and intellectual property issues to minimize risks while maximizing brand visibility.

Ms. Lord has earned extensive accolades for her work. She has been listed in World Trademark Review 1000 for the past 11 years, named a Georgia “Super Lawyer” every year since 2013, and recognized as a “Rising Star” in Intellectual Property Litigation earlier in her career. She is listed in The Best Lawyers in America® for Intellectual Property Litigation, Trademark Law, and Food and Beverage Law, and has been recommended by Legal 500 US for Non-Contentious Trademark Law. Managing Intellectual Property magazine named her an “IP Star” in 2022 and 2023 and one of the “Top 250 Women in IP” in 2023. In 2024, she was honored as a “Trademark Leader” by World IP Review and a “Woman of Influence” by Atlanta Business Chronicle. Ms. Lord also received awards for mentoring, diversity, and corporate citizenship, including being named a “Leader in Corporate Citizenship” in 2021 and a “Best Mentor” in 2020 by Georgia Legal Awards.

What advice would you offer to new attorneys interested in your field?

My advice to new attorneys in trademark and advertising law is to be curious and open to learning. Find mentors who inspire you and invest in building genuine relationships within the legal community. Take time to understand your clients’ industries and what matters most to them—it’ll make you a better partner in their success. And don’t shy away from new challenges; the more experiences you take on, the more confident and well-rounded you’ll become.

Description of field of expertise

Nadira Clarke is known for her tenacious defense of corporations and executives facing large-scale, multi-faceted governmental investigations. A first-chair trial lawyer who is engaged in high-stakes matters, she focuses her practice on technically complex regulatory enforcement matters. She draws upon her knowledge of the government decision-making process and provides calm, decisive counsel in a crisis.

Nadira previously served as an Assistant U.S. Attorney for the District of Maryland, and a Special Assistant U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia. Well-versed in the area of corporate compliance and business ethics, she worked with two separate corporate monitor teams appointed by the court to oversee compliance of companies in the wake of criminal prosecution. She previously served as counsel to the Department of Justice’s (DOJ) Office of Professional Responsibility, where she led internal professional ethics investigations involving federal prosecutors and high-ranking DOJ officials.

Early in her career, Nadira served in the highly selective U.S. Attorney General’s Honor Program for the DOJ, and worked as a trial attorney with the Environment and Natural Resources Division (ENRD), including the Environmental Crimes Section and the Natural Resource Section. She was also selected to serve as a Special Assistant to the Assistant Attorney General for the Environmental and Natural Resources Division of the DOJ.

Nadira is a frequent industry speaker, and has been recognized by Chambers USA for “excellent experience in government investigations arising from environmental and workplace safety incidents.” Her pro bono work includes mentoring and litigating sex discrimination and political asylum cases.

What advice would you offer to new attorneys interested in your field?

The more specialized your area of practice, the greater the demand for your work and expertise.  I am first and foremost a litigator, but the fact that I focus on environmental crimes and crisis –a relatively specialized area of the law — has meant that there has been a consistent demand for my services.  Clients feel better hiring an environmental litigator that is conversant in the underlying environmental regulations.  Being a strong litigator is not enough.  Additionally, if you elect to focus on white collar crime as an area of practice, it is important to structure your career so that you can spend at least several years as a federal or state prosecutor or public defender.  Only in government service can you obtain the necessary trial experience, and clients strongly prefer engaging counsel with real-world experience and contacts.

Final thoughts…

The key to success, in my view, is firmly planted in being comfortable in your own skin and self aware.  Employers and clients are attracted to people who are friendly, curious and confident.  Certainly they expect competence, but it is generally assumed.  Enthusiasm and diligence are irresistible characteristics!

Description of field of expertise

Stacey Halliday brings more than a decade of experience in environmental law, regulatory compliance, transactional due diligence, and enforcement defense. A former senior member of the Environmental Protection Agency’s oversight response team, she draws on a deep well of government and private-sector insight to advise clients navigating complex environmental challenges. Her regulatory practice spans a wide range of environmental statutes, including RCRA, SDWA, and TSCA counseling and enforcement. Stacey is a trusted advisor on emerging product stewardship compliance considerations, regularly guiding clients through issues related to extended producer responsibility, digital right-to-repair, product labeling, and material restrictions. She also has extensive experience counseling clients on waste and recycling compliance, including requirements applicable to electronics, batteries, plastics, PFAS, and textiles. In addition to traditional environmental counseling, Stacey has developed specialized expertise in related areas, including corporate environmental justice strategy, environmental marketing claim risk mitigation and ESG disclosure preparation.

What advice would you offer to new attorneys interested in your field?

Environmental law is evolving rapidly beyond the silos of air, water, and waste – to include broader considerations of climate, waste reduction, and product stewardship. This time of expansion offers a great opportunity for new practitioners to dive in, learn as much as they can, and grow alongside new laws in the early days of implementation. New environmental attorneys will benefit from closely tracking emerging issues and getting to know others (including potential mentors, non-lawyers, and peers) who are closely following the same issues to gain perspective from different viewpoints.