Isia focuses her practice on preparation for and defense of cases at trial in a diverse range of substantive areas, including product liability, mass torts, First Amendment and media law, antitrust law, and commercial disputes. She has tried cases in courts and before arbitrators both domestically and internationally. She also has experience handling appeals in both federal and state courts and has represented clients in all stages of litigation. Her clients include major pharmaceutical manufacturers and distributors, news media organizations and journalists, and business corporations.
Isia was born and raised in Lexington, Virginia. She received her undergraduate degree, summa cum laude, in Art and Archaeology from Princeton University. Isia received her J.D. from Yale Law School, where she was Notes Editor on the Yale Law Journal and student director of the Media Freedom and Information Access Clinic. Prior to joining Williams & Connolly, Isia was a law clerk to Judge Scott M. Matheson, Jr. on the United States Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit in Salt Lake City.
Publications
- Note, "A Dangerous Undertaking": The Problem of Intentionalism and Promise of Expert Testimony in Appropriation Art Infringement Cases, 26 Yale J.L. & Human. 143 (2014).
- Comment, Copyright Protection in an Opt-Out World: Implied License Doctrine and News Aggregators, 122 YALE L.J. 837 (2012).
Representative Experience
Though all cases vary and none is predictive, Isia’s experience includes:
- Ongoing representation of Cardinal Health in high-profile national litigation relating to the company’s distribution of opioid medications, including as trial counsel in a three-month bench trial in 2021, marking the first bellwether case to be tried in the federal prescription opioid MDL.
- Ongoing representation of a cancer medication manufacturer in product liability litigation in multiple jurisdictions, including a trial-set bellwether case in a nationwide MDL.
- Successful defense at trial of a libel suit against HBO by a major soccer ball company based on HBO’s report of child labor in India, resulting in a complete jury verdict in HBO’s favor.
- Successful defense of a Fortune 100 company in a confidential, binding arbitration of product liability claims.
- Representation of a company in a 2-month bench trial in the Southern District of New York, defending against $1 billion + in fraud and civil RICO claims. The case resolved after trial while awaiting the judge’s decision.
- Representation of a company in ICC arbitration involving a construction dispute at international airport in the Middle East, including a weeklong evidentiary hearing in Brussels.
- Representation of a life sciences company in an antitrust case set for an 8-week jury trial in the Northern District of California. The case resolved four days before jury selection.
- Successful appeal of a criminal conviction and 68-year prison sentence in Maryland state court, resulting in a new trial for the defendant.
- Representation of a major business news publication and its journalists in a libel case arising out of an article about a Hong Kong payday lender’s misappropriation of client funds.
- Representation of a major private equity firm in a commercial contract dispute in Delaware Chancery Court.