Women's White Collar Defense Association

Women's White Collar Defense Association WWCDA is an Association of women attorneys and other professionals who specialize in white collar Department of Justice).

The Women's White Collar Defense Association is a coalition of attorneys and other professionals with relevant expertise who specialize in white collar criminal defense. Our practices focus on a range of issues including antitrust actions, complex commercial litigation, Foreign Corrupt Practices Act issues, government contracting, healthcare fraud and abuse, insider trading, securities litigation,

qui tam and whistleblower cases, and more. Our members are nationwide, with regional groups organized by city. The Association exists to provide:

• networking opportunities and business referrals for its members

• substantive resources

• a forum to hear from government officials and the private sector

• a clearing house for discussion of pressing white collar bar issues

• a vehicle for information sharing related to job openings and other items of interest. The Washington and New York Chapters were founded in the late 1990’s when our founders recognized a glaring lack of equal opportunity in existing professional white collar organizations. Such professional organizations are crucial for networking to develop business in the practice area. Since those early days, chapters have been organized in eleven cities -- Boston, Chicago, Dallas, Los Angeles, London, Miami, New York, Philadelphia, Phoenix, San Francisco, & Washington, D.C. -- and membership has grown to more than 4,500 members. Our members have served in government positions and in corporate roles. Notable members have included corporate General Counsels and Chief Compliance Officers, as well as prosecutors and high ranking government officials (e.g., the White House Counsel and the Chief of the Criminal Division at the U.S. Please see WWCDA Terms of Use: https://www.wwcda.org/termsandconditions

Today we spotlight   Washington DC Chapter Member Brigida Benitez, Partner and General Counsel at Steptoe. Brigida is a ...
07/02/2026

Today we spotlight Washington DC Chapter Member Brigida Benitez, Partner and General Counsel at Steptoe. Brigida is a distinguished leader advising clients on investigations, compliance with anti-corruption guidelines and other sensitive matters.

Brigida represents clients in all phases of World Bank and Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) proceedings including audits, investigations, litigation of allegations, and arguments before the World Bank Sanctions Board and the IDB Sanctions Committee. She has also represented clients before the Asian Development Bank, the African Development Bank, and the European Bank of Reconstruction and Development in sanctions-related matters. Brigida previously served as Chief of the Office of Institutional Integrity at the IDB.

The   Italy Chapter hosted an engaging discussion on "EU Sanctions Violations: Is a New Compliance Approach Needed?" The...
07/01/2026

The Italy Chapter hosted an engaging discussion on "EU Sanctions Violations: Is a New Compliance Approach Needed?" The event brought together legal and compliance professionals to explore one of today's most relevant regulatory challenges.

We were honored to hear from an outstanding panel of speakers: our chapter members Emanuela Bertolli, Italia Caminiti and Francesca Castelli together with our guest Elio Leto, who shared engaging and insightful contributions to the discussion. A special thank you to Kroll for hosting the event.

  German Chapter met in Munich for its Summer Annual Chapter Meeting, where members, alumnae, and invited speakers discu...
06/30/2026

German Chapter met in Munich for its Summer Annual Chapter Meeting, where members, alumnae, and invited speakers discussed compliance, leadership challenges, and personal branding.

New members of the Chapter Leadership team were also elected: Katharina Humphrey was elected as Chapter Leader, Marina Dorn is the new Social Media Coordinator, and Judith Aron remains our Chapter Secretary. Thank you to all of our members and leadership, and to Gibson Dunn for hosting the event!

Member Spotlight:   San Francisco Chapter Development Chair Ellen London is the co-founder of London & Naor, an Oakland,...
06/23/2026

Member Spotlight: San Francisco Chapter Development Chair Ellen London is the co-founder of London & Naor, an Oakland, CA, based boutique that focuses on civil False Claims Act defense, commercial litigation, internal investigations, and other civil matters.

Ellen’s experience as a civil Assistant United States Attorney in SDNY and NDCA has allowed her to be particularly adept at navigating complex matters involving multiple stakeholders and high-stakes events.

Join the   Rankings and Endorsement (REC) and Small Firm Initiative (SFI) Committees for WWCDA’s Annual Chambers Ranking...
06/22/2026

Join the Rankings and Endorsement (REC) and Small Firm Initiative (SFI) Committees for WWCDA’s Annual Chambers Rankings Program on June 23, 2026.

Krista Tongring, co-chair of WWCDA REC will present an overview, best practices and preview of the application and referee process. SFI Chapter Liaisons Gail Shifman from the San Francisco Chapter and Effie Blassberger from the New York Chapter will share their experiences and successes in the ranking process.

A Question-and-Answer session will follow. All members of WWCDA are invited and welcome to attend. Register here: https://ow.ly/7ONq50Zfjn1

Congratulations to   LA Chapter member Alyssa Bell, who was recently ranked by Chambers in the Litigation: White-Collar ...
06/19/2026

Congratulations to LA Chapter member Alyssa Bell, who was recently ranked by Chambers in the Litigation: White-Collar Crime & Government Investigations area for California.

She also recently achieved a major win in the Ninth Circuit regarding an insider trading case, with the news being covered by many major trades including Law360 and Bloomberg. Great work, Alyssa!

  New York Chapter member Elizabeth Kelley spent five weeks in Singapore working with the Center for Asian Legal Studies...
06/11/2026

New York Chapter member Elizabeth Kelley spent five weeks in Singapore working with the Center for Asian Legal Studies at the National University of Singapore, organizing a series of educational programs regarding invisible disabilities and the criminal justice system.

What an incredible evening in London! Thank you to everyone who joined us! Yesterday, WWCDA welcomed members, colleagues...
06/10/2026

What an incredible evening in London! Thank you to everyone who joined us!

Yesterday, WWCDA welcomed members, colleagues, and friends from across the investigations, enforcement, compliance, and white-collar defense community for our London | Programme & Reception at Apothecaries' Hall.

The evening featured Part 2 of our Global Enforcement & Compliance Series, Through the Eyes of the Accused: A Firsthand Perspective of the Experience of Being a Suspect/Defendant in a White-Collar Criminal Investigation, where attendees heard a powerful and candid discussion from Rachel Rhodes about her firsthand experience navigating a lengthy white-collar criminal investigation and prosecution.

Following the program, attendees gathered for an evening of meaningful conversation, new connections, and global perspectives during our reception.

Thank you to everyone who joined us, and to our speakers, volunteers, and partners who helped make the event such a success. We were especially pleased to welcome many attendees from the GIR Women in Investigations Conference and continue fostering connections across our professional communities.

We look forward to seeing you at future WWCDA events and programs!

 's DC Chapter held a Summer Networking Reception featuring luxury charcuterie, dessert, and beverages from women-owned ...
06/10/2026

's DC Chapter held a Summer Networking Reception featuring luxury charcuterie, dessert, and beverages from women-owned businesses, along with a rooftop view of downtown DC and the National Cathedral. The event brought women across the chapter together for a night of conversation, community, and refreshments. Thank you to HKA and Pamela Verick for hosting the event!

Today's the day! While in-person capacity has been reached, you can still join us virtually (at no cost to you) for toda...
06/09/2026

Today's the day!

While in-person capacity has been reached, you can still join us virtually (at no cost to you) for today's WWCDA Global Enforcement & Compliance Panel, Part 2:

Through the Eyes of the Accused: A Firsthand Perspective of the Experience of Being a Suspect/Defendant in a White-Collar Criminal Investigation.

This excellent discussion will kick off at 5:30 PM BST.

Hope to “see” you there!

https://www.wwcda.org/events/event-description?CalendarEventKey=fcac32ba-9037-44ad-b1d3-019d8d897abd&CommunityKey=955d0007-3f22-4a42-88fc-ff533fab325f&Home=%2fhigherlogic%2fccadmin%2fadmin%2fevents%2fmanagecalendarevents.aspx

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1800 M Street NW, Suite 400 S
Washington D.C., DC
20036

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