Description of field of expertise

Nana Asante-Smith is a litigation, white collar, and investigations attorney who helps clients navigate high-stakes moments where legal risk, reputation, and business priorities converge. Her practice focuses on internal and government investigations, white collar crime, complex business litigation, and allegations of sex discrimination in higher education.

Drawing on her experience as a former prosecutor, Nana approaches each situation with a prosecutor’s mindset by carefully evaluating facts and positioning clients to respond strategically. She also routinely leads internal investigations across industries that include financial services, healthcare, manufacturing, and education. She helps clients uncover critical information while assessing potential civil, criminal, and regulatory risk.

In addition to her investigations work, Nana maintains an active litigation practice, representing clients in a wide array of litigation disputes across industries. She has experience in federal and state courts as well as administrative proceedings and quasi-judicial forums.

A significant component of her work involves sensitive and high-profile investigations under Title IX, where Nana has examined allegations of sexual misconduct and discrimination at major institutions. In each case, she balances the demands of legal compliance with the broader considerations of institutional integrity and public trust. She also serves as a Hearing Advisor for reporting and responding parties in Title IX proceedings.

Nana is known for her ability to distill complex situations into clear, actionable guidance. Ultimately, regardless of the industry or circumstances, her primary goal is to help clients get to the root of the challenges they face, identify solutions, and seize opportunities.

 

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

Don’t underestimate the value of your lived experiences. Whether you are a parent, first-generation professional, survivor, or someone who has had to overcome significant obstacles, those perspectives are not barriers. They are assets. They sharpen your judgment, deepen your empathy, and make you a more effective advocate. Honoring your lived experiences in the legal field will also help you stay grounded in your purpose. There will be long days and moments where the path forward is not always clear. In those moments, it is especially important to remember why you chose this work and what lights your fire. I sincerely believe that if you stay committed, remain adaptable, and keep pushing forward in this work, you will always find your voice and show your impact. 

Additional Information

Fun facts:

1. My kids and husband have the same middle name.
2. If I was not an attorney, I would be one of the following: an event planner, a mortician, or a funeral home director.
3. Being a contestant on the Wheel of Fortune is a dream of mine!

Description of field of expertise

Rasheed McWilliams is a first-chair trial counsel who is always ready to tackle his client's pressing commercial and intellectual property problems. From handling contract terminations and prelitigation disputes to taking a client's case to trial, he leverages over two decades of litigation and trial experience to help sophisticated companies solve complex legal problems. As a trial attorney, Rasheed has tried numerous bench and jury trials to verdict, including obtaining a number of complete defense verdicts. Rasheed makes frequent appearances before state courts, U.S. district courts, the ITC, and arbitral bodies (JAMS, AAA, IFTA, and the ICC). He has been lead counsel in over 150 intellectual property and commercial litigation matters.

Named as one of the country's top trademark attorneys (WTR Gold), Rasheed is a skilled partner in enforcing and protecting his clients' valuable brands in trademark infringement litigation. His trademark clients include business consultancies, financial institutions, and food and beverage companies. Rasheed's copyright work includes enforcing and defending against claims for copyright infringement based on diverse copyrights, including books, business spreadsheets, computer software, motion pictures, and musical compositions. His clients in the copyright space include film distributors, financial institutions, large hospital groups, and healthcare technology companies. Rasheed's high technology practice focuses on the prosecution and defense of claims for trade secret misappropriation and patent infringement. His patent and trade secret clients include companies operating across diverse fields such as automotive, computer hardware and software, consumer electronics, e-commerce platforms, electronic payment systems, fintech, high-voltage transformers, network security, speech recognition software, telephony and Voice over IP (VoIP), and video game development.

Rasheed also has extensive experience with entertainment and technology transactional matters, particularly in relation to content acquisition, intellectual property sales, and intellectual property valuation for M&A.

 

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

My most important advice to new attorneys is to master your craft.  A successful trial lawyer has mastered a number of skills that allow for success, but the most important is the attention to detail. Document review is often viewed as a mundane task that is not very exciting, however, mastering the document production in your cases will allow you to master the facts, which will allow you to gather the evidence needed to solve your client’s problems. In my early career as a member of trial teams, it was my mastery of the documents that allowed me to get more chances to take and defend depositions and to take witnesses at trial. Taking and defending countless depositio

 

Final thoughts...

Never underestimate the power of your networks.  Business development is a career long endeavor that starts with the networks formed in undergraduate and law school.  Each of your contacts is a potential source of business so cultivate a reputation for excellence and integrity.

Description of field of expertise

Lindsay Samuel has broad experience litigating claims of workplace discrimination, harassment, retaliation, wrongful termination, wage-and-hour, and other employment related claims under various state and federal laws. Her practice also includes counseling on employee discipline, separations, terminations, and severance negotiations. Lindsay frequently advises clients in the development of personnel rules and policies including discipline and grievance procedures, and the investigation of grievances. She also represents employers in arbitrations and administrative proceedings involving disciplinary actions and grievances.

An experienced litigator, Lindsay served for five years as a staff attorney and supervising attorney with the Orleans Parish Public Defender's Office in New Orleans where she passionately defended indigent defendants through all phases of the criminal justice system.

 

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

One thing I always tell new attorneys is that careers in law rarely follow a straight line—and that’s okay. You don’t have to follow a defined path to get where you want to go. In law school, I really liked my juvenile defense clinic, but I never imagined I would actually end up in criminal defense, and definitely not for five years. The recession pushed me into public service, and it turned out to be one of the most formative parts of my career. As a public defender, I learned how to build a defense from the ground up—conducting investigations, interviewing witnesses, reviewing evidence closely, trying cases, and learning how to really talk to people. When I decided I wanted to try something new, I leaned on those skills to transition into employment law and eventually into Big Law. The foundation was already there; I just needed to build subject-matter expertise. I studied relentlessly, took every continuing education opportunity I could, and read every practice guide I could get my hands on. Trust that your experiences will carry forward, even when the path shifts.

 

Final thoughts...

I encourage lawyers not to be afraid of change. Good lawyers can learn new areas of the law, move between practice settings, and even change jurisdictions. Strong foundational skills travel well and remain valuable no matter where your career takes you.