Dorsey & Whitney has hired Chelsea Hilliard as a partner as part of the firm’s efforts to expand its reach in Texas and grow its litigation practice. Hilliard joins Dorsey from McGuireWoods.
Hilliard’s first day was Monday, and she said she is looking forward to practicing alongside a friend.
(Photo courtesy of Chelsea Hilliard)
“I’m excited about the opportunity to collaborate with Eddie,” she said, referring to Dorsey partner Edward Loya, who joined the firm last May. “It’s the opportunity to try cases with someone that I respect professionally, and also to grow and build out a national trial presence based out of Dallas.”
Loya said he’s excited to have Hilliard at the firm, too. They developed a friendship through their interactions with the Dallas Bar Association.
“Our Dallas colleagues and I are thrilled to add a litigation partner of Chelsea’s caliber to our office. She’s a widely respected leader in the Dallas legal community, whose strong reputation, client relationships and credibility with judges and other attorneys will be tremendous assets to our firm. We’re thrilled to have her join us,” Loya said.
He added that he hopes to continue growing the firm’s litigation practice.
“The idea is that we want to grow the practice group by adding high-quality people like Chelsea, who are widely respected, with strong client relationships and the respect of judges and lawyers in Dallas,” Loya said. “Obviously, there’s an uptick in the growth in the group with Chelsea here; there’s a plan to continue to grow in the near future.”
Hilliard said she feels aligned with Dorsey’s plans to grow the firm’s litigation practice.
“I’m hoping to be a bridge and a joiner in a lot of different ways,” Hilliard said.
Her practice includes business litigation, securities and shareholder derivative litigation, securities class actions, internal investigations, and enforcement matters involving the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and the U.S. Department of Justice.
She regularly advises boards and senior executives on litigation and regulatory risk arising from transactions, including mergers and acquisitions and private equity- and venture capital-backed investments, and on enterprise-level governance and risk management issues.
“Chelsea’s depth of experience in high-stakes litigation, corporate governance, and financial services matters makes her an outstanding addition to our team and to our growing Dallas office,” Commercial Litigation Practice Group Co-Leader Christopher Karagheuzoff said in a news release. “Her practice aligns seamlessly with Dorsey’s strong financial services platform, and we are excited about the collaboration her arrival enables.”
Hilliard serves on the Dallas Bar Association Board of Directors. She is the immediate past president of the Dallas Women Lawyers Association.
During her tenure as president of DWLA, Hilliard created a documentary that has won awards.
She earned her law degree from Southern Methodist University Dedman School of Law. She also earned her undergraduate degree from SMU.