Judy Bao

Judy is an associate at ArentFox Schiff, where she draws on first-chair government and private practice experience to represent companies and individuals in complex civil litigation, government investigations, and appellate matters. She advises clients on litigation strategy from investigation through trial and appeal, with a focus on high-stakes disputes implicating federal statutes, administrative law, and civil enforcement risk.

Prior to joining the firm, Judy served as a trial attorney at the U.S. Department of Justice, in both the Civil Rights Division’s Voting Section and the Civil Division’s Fraud Section. In that role, she developed and executed case strategy; led discovery; briefed and argued motions; and tried cases, including successfully defending the constitutionality of a federal statute in an eight-day trial. She managed multidisciplinary teams of agency counsel, assistant U.S. attorneys, case agents, and experts; coordinated parallel civil and criminal proceedings; and negotiated resolutions, including drafting settlement agreements and securing settlement authority from senior leadership. Judy also collaborated with the Appellate Section on issues of first impression and appellate briefing.

Judy began her career as a litigation associate at a prominent international firm, where she was lead associate in complex civil matters involving employment, derivative actions, contracts, and trade secrets in state and federal courts. Her practice included a robust motions docket, comprehensive trial preparation, and discovery management, alongside an active pro bono docket as lead attorney in more than a dozen matters. Judy then clerked for the Honorable Ron Clark of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas and the Honorable Jane Kelly of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit. She also previously earned an appellate victory as a student attorney in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit.