Barbara S. Wahl

Partner

Barbara’s practice encompasses a wide range of complex commercial litigation, representing both plaintiff and defendant.

Barbara Wahl Portrait

Barbara’s litigation practice involves all phases of litigation from business counseling, including the use of litigation as a business tool and risk avoidance, to the preparation and the filing of a lawsuit, through discovery, pretrial motions, consideration of settlement, trial, and appellate review. She is also a third-party neutral, providing mediation services to parties interested in dispute resolution outside of litigation, and is a member of the panel of mediators for the DC Circuit and District Court’s Mediation Program.

Barbara currently serves as a firm EEO Coordinator. She has been chair and co-chair of the Complex Civil Litigation practice group and the recruitment committee, and the founder and chair of the Women’s Leadership Development Initiative.

Client Work

Barbara has experience in litigating disputes involving commercial contracts, libel law, intellectual property including the areas of patent, trademark, trade dress, trade secrets and copyright, trusts and estates (probate), torts (particularly fraud), and eminent domain. She also represents clients in mediation and alternative dispute resolution, outside of the traditional litigation process.

Representative cases litigated by Barbara include the following:

  • Kennedy v. Dabbiere, C.A. No. 1:20-cv-00882
  • Khodorkovskaya v. Gay, Case No. 1:19-CV-00809-DCF (D.D.C.)
  • Behnke v. Hoffman, Case No. 2017 CV 005989B (D.C. Sup. Ct.).); 20-cv-0318 (D.C. Ct. App.)
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Previous Work

Following law school graduation, Barbara clerked for the Honorable Albert V. Bryan, Jr., of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia, Alexandria Division. Following the end of the clerkship, she became associated with a law firm specializing in commercial litigation. Thereafter, she joined the firm as an associate and was later elected to the partnership.

Professional Activities

An active member of the legal community in the Washington, DC area, Barbara has been selected to be a mediator in the DC Circuit’s Mediation Program; she was President of the Northern Virginia chapter of the Federal Bar Association for the 2004-2005 term; and she has served on the boards of the Council for Court Excellence, Appleseed, and the Washington Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights.

Publications, Presentations & Recognitions

Barbara has been listed in Chambers USA every year since 2014 for practice in litigation. She is also consistently listed in The Best Lawyers in America, in addition to being ranked in Super Lawyers.

Awards

Awards

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