Litigators Join Latham & Watkins in Boston

Boston, October 9, 2012 … Latham & Watkins LLP is pleased to announce that Kenneth Parsigian, Gwyn Williams and William J. (“B.J.”) Trach have joined the firm’s Boston office as partners in the Litigation Department. The attorneys bring market-leading litigation capabilities to the firm’s Boston office, which has built a broad client base advising local, national and global financial and corporate clients since opening in March 2011.

The attorneys are recognized as renowned litigators and strategists with deep experience in their respective areas. Mr. Parsigian and Ms. Williams focus on complex mass torts and products liability matters, class actions and litigation under the federal Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (“RICO”) Act for Altria, Philip Morris International and others. Mr. Trach focuses on white collar cases, government investigations and complex civil litigation. All three attorneys join from Goodwin Procter LLP in Boston, where they were partners.

Phil Rossetti, Latham & Watkins’ Office Managing Partner in Boston, said: “Ken, Gwyn and B.J. are an excellent anchor team to develop a strong litigation presence for our firm in Boston. We have already established robust corporate, private equity, mergers and acquisitions and emerging companies practices here, so the addition of these talented litigators makes it clear that Latham’s Boston office will continue to grow and offer a broad and deep set of practice capabilities to our local and global clients.”

Sean Berkowitz, the Global Chair of Latham & Watkins’ Litigation Department, added: “These litigators come to us with outstanding national reputations as trusted advisors to their clients and stellar litigators in the courtroom. They will particularly add strength to our national products liability and mass torts practices due to their deep experiences in high-profile litigation matters.”

Ken Parsigian, who will chair the Litigation Department of Latham & Watkins in Boston, said: “The opportunity to build the litigation practice of Latham & Watkins in Boston is particularly compelling, and the experience of the national and global teams, backed by extensive litigation talent and resources, is also appealing. I know Gwyn and B.J. share my enthusiasm, and we look forward to growing Latham’s litigation group in Boston.”

Gwyn Williams said: “I look forward to continuing to grow my products liability and class action practice in Boston and globally, and being able to provide my new and existing clients with the expertise and resources that the Latham platform provides.”

B.J. Trach said: “As regulatory scrutiny increases and companies become more attuned to these issues, the breadth and depth of regulatory and litigation experience for white collar and government investigations is becoming increasingly important, and I’m excited to join Latham’s unparalleled expertise in this area.”

Mr. Parsigian graduated from the University of Michigan and received his law degree with honors from Boston University School of Law in 1987. Mr. Parsigian served as a law clerk for the Honorable Stephen G. Breyer on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit, and he also served as the Associate Independent Counsel for the Department of Justice – Iran Contra Independent Counsel in 1992 and 1993.

Ms. Williams graduated from Princeton University and received her law degree with honors in 1993 from Boston University School of Law, where she was a member of the Boston University Law Review.  

Mr. Trach graduated from Harvard University and received his law degree with honors in 2004 from Harvard Law School, where he was Articles Editor of the Harvard Law Review. He served as a law clerk to the Honorable Sandra L. Lynch of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit. In January 2012, he was appointed by Governor Deval Patrick to the Massachusetts State Ethics Commission. 

About Latham & Watkins

Latham & Watkins is a global law firm with approximately 2,000 attorneys in 31 offices, including Abu Dhabi, Barcelona, Beijing, Boston, Brussels, Chicago, Doha, Dubai, Frankfurt, Hamburg, Hong Kong, Houston, London, Los Angeles, Madrid, Milan, Moscow, Munich, New Jersey, New York, Orange County, Paris, Riyadh, Rome, San Diego, San Francisco, Shanghai, Silicon Valley, Singapore, Tokyo and Washington, D.C. For more information on Latham & Watkins, please visit the Web site.