Adrienne E. Van Winkle has litigated a wide variety of complex civil matters before state and federal courts. She also has extensive experience in arbitration, including cases before AAA, JAMS, and CPR. Adrienne’s practice focuses on professional liability defense, financial services litigation, copyright, and trade secret. Adrienne defends both companies and individuals in auditing and accounting malpractice matters, including representing clients before the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (PCAOB). In her copyright practice, Adrienne has secured dismissal of copyright infringement claims on various grounds, including failure to register a copyright and lack of substantial similarity. Adrienne also assists clients in protecting against the misappropriation of trade secrets, including through the use of state tort claims and the federal Defend Trade Secrets Act. Adrienne has experience with all aspects of litigation, including dispositive motions practice, discovery, and trial, and has argued an appeal. Adrienne also has an active pro bono practice and recently secured a victory for a client in an asylum matter. She is a member of the Firm’s Pro Bono Committee.
Adrienne grew up in rural Southern Illinois, where she regularly (and with great interest) observed both her father and grandfather practice law. She earned a B.S. in Economics from Washington University in St. Louis and graduated summa cum laude, while also playing basketball for the Division III Bears and serving as team co-captain her senior year. Adrienne then graduated magna cum laude from Washington University in St. Louis School of Law. Before joining Williams & Connolly in 2011, she served as Law Clerk to the Honorable Deborah Cook, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit, in Akron, Ohio; and the Honorable Cecilia Altonaga, U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida, in Miami.
Representative Experience
- Representation of a “Big Four” accounting firm in a three-week arbitration trial involving claims by a bankruptcy trustee for a large insurer, in which the panel issued an award in favor of the accounting firm on all claims
- Representation of a “Big Four” accounting firm in a PCAOB investigation
- Representation of a national accounting firm in a tax-preparation malpractice lawsuit
- Representation of law firms in malpractice matters, including allegations of negligently preparing transaction documents and negligently naming the wrong plaintiff in an underlying litigation
- Representation of a mutual bank and its officers and directors against tort claims brought by depositors seeking distribution of surplus capital
- Representation of officers and directors of community banks in lawsuits brought by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) alleging negligence and breaches of fiduciary duty
- Representation of mass media company in a federal lawsuit alleging copyright infringement and related torts, in which all claims were dismissed
- Representation of an international commercial real estate data firm in a federal lawsuit alleging copyright infringement and related torts, in which all claims were dismissed
- Representation of a technology sales intelligence company in a lawsuit seeking to defend trade secrets
- Representation of a major international investment bank in actions against an indenture trustee and collateral agent of a failed commercial paper facility sponsored by the largest independent mortgage originator in the United States, in which the firm’s client ultimately recovered hundreds of millions of dollars