Benchmark Names Lawyers to ‘Top 250 Women in Litigation’ and ‘40 and Under’ Lists

NEW YORK, August 1, 2023 – Leading international law firm Proskauer is pleased to announce that seven of its partners have been recognized as top talent in litigation by Benchmark Litigation in its “Top 250 Women in Litigation” and “40 and Under” annual lists.

The “Top 250 Women” list honors lawyers who have worked on some of the year’s most impactful litigation matters and earned the hard-won respect of their peers and clients. Benchmark Litigation’s “40 and Under” list honors the best and brightest litigators across the U.S. and Canada.

Named to this year’s “Top 250 Women in Litigation” list are:

• Elise Bloom is widely hailed as one of the nation’s top employment lawyers and is well-known for handling high-profile, bet-the-company matters on behalf of significant national employers and several sports leagues.
• Sandra (Sandy) Crawshaw-Sparks has handled litigation and dispute resolution for the most iconic names in the music business for 35 years. She is chair of the Firm’s Entertainment, Copyright & Media group and maintains a bi-coastal practice.
• Margaret Dale is a first-chair trial lawyer handling complex business disputes for clients across a broad range of industries and subject matters, including asset management, securities, corporate governance, bankruptcy and restructuring, and privacy and data security.

This is the seventh consecutive year that Elise, Sandy and Margaret have been named to the list.

Named to this year’s “40 and Under” list are:

• Susan Gutierrez is co-head of the Firm’s Product Liability & Consumer Litigation group. She is renowned for representing Fortune 500 companies in high-profile and intricate civil and commercial trials and litigation matters. Her expertise spans across various industries, including consumer products, pharmaceuticals, media, entertainment and sports.
• Shawn Ledingham  is a litigator in the Firm's Trial Strategies group. In the past five years, Shawn has established himself as a go-to trial lawyer, taking six cases to jury trials on behalf of clients in a variety of industries, including pharmaceutical, health care, and consumer products.
• Rachel Philion is a member of the Firm’s Labor & Employment Law department and Wage and Hour group. She represents management across all industries in a range of employment matters and has extensive experience litigating nationwide class and collective actions.
• Lee Popkin is a trial lawyer and co-head of Proskauer’s Product Liability & Consumer Litigation group. She has extensive experience handling complex “bet-the-company” cases across a wide array of industries, including pharmaceutical, health care, and consumer products.

About Proskauer

We are 800+ lawyers serving clients from 12 offices located in the leading financial and business centers in the Americas, Europe and Asia. We work with asset managers, private equity and venture capital firms, Fortune 500 and FTSE companies, major sports leagues, entertainment industry legends and industry-redefining companies.

Since 1875, Proskauer has been devoted to our clients’ successes. Our lawyers are known for their unusually high accessibility, responsiveness and attentiveness. We go the extra mile to understand a client’s business — and think like savvy businesspeople in the process.

With top-tier litigation and labor & employment practices, Proskauer lawyers are at the cutting edge of contentious matters with extensive trial experience in virtually every major forum across the globe and winning make-or-break cases, changing laws, and establishing precedents.