News

13 Oct 2008

Decorated JAG Corps lawyer Tara Lee joins DLA Piper in Northern Virginia

Top National Security and Defense Contract Attorney Strengthens Firm's Litigation Group

Press Release

(Northern Virginia) – DLA Piper today announced that Tara Lee has joined the firm's Litigation practice group as a partner in the Northern Virginia office. Lee was formerly in the Litigation practice group and National Security practice group at Cooley Godward Kronish LLP.

Lee focuses her practice on the areas of battlefield incident litigation, complex commercial litigation, white collar and regulatory defense, and government contracts litigation. She has particular experience in areas related to defense industry issues and government contractors. Lee has represented a broad range of clients in cases involving contract disputes, government investigations, commercial transactions, intellectual property, business torts, employment law and security clearance matters.

"With an extensive military litigation background, Tara will be able to leverage her experience to develop a niche expertise in battlefield contractors' oversight and liability, which is an active and growing area of the law," said Robert J. Mathias, joint global leader and US chair of the firm's Litigation practice. "She will be a tremendous asset as the firm increases its ability to provide risk management counseling and litigation representation to clients on a variety of topics related to their presence in conflict areas."

Lee has led several trial teams to successful jury verdicts and is experienced in litigating Torture Victims Protection Act and Alien Tort Claims Act cases before federal district courts and US Courts of Appeal. Lee is also an accomplished appellate attorney, and has handled cases before numerous federal Circuit Courts of Appeal. She most recently argued the leading US case on foreign sovereign immunity before the Fourth Circuit.

"Tara is one of the leading experts in the rapidly developing area of advising defense contractors on liability, risk assessment, and litigation matters involving battlefield incidents," said Dale Lazar, Managing Partner of DLA Piper's Northern Virginia office. "Well-known and well-regarded by the defense contractor industry, Tara is recognized as one of the foremost leaders in this new practice and her addition will help meet an accelerating need for litigation and risk assessment expertise in this area."

Before joining Cooley, Lee was a Resident Fellow at the US Naval Academy's Center for the Study of Professional Ethics, where she focused on national security law and war crimes.

Lee is a Vice Chair of the ABA's Battle Space and Contingency Procurements Subcommittee and a member of the ABA's Standing Committee on Law and National Security. On behalf of the ABA, she has led teams of attorneys in producing white papers on the expansion of the Uniform Code of Military Justice and Military Extraterritorial Jurisdiction Act over contractors on the battlefield, and in drafting the ABA public comment to proposed regulations related to combating human trafficking. A frequent author and speaker, Lee was recently invited to consult with the Special Rappateur to the United Nations on battlefield incidents risk issues and contractor accountability.

Lee received a J.D. from the University of San Diego School of Law and a B.S. from the US Naval Academy. Following graduation from the Naval Academy, Lee served as a naval officer at several helicopter commands before transferring to the JAG Corps, where she received the American Trial Lawyers Association Outstanding Military Trial Advocate Award. While in law school, Lee was recognized as the Outstanding Future Trial Lawyer and Outstanding Student in Public Interest Law. In 2008, Lee was named by the Washington Business Journal as a "Top Washington Attorney" in the Young Gun category.