WASHINGTON, D.C. — Wilkinson Stekloff announced today that Moira Kim Penza has joined the firm’s rapidly growing litigation practice as a partner in its New York office. Moira is an experienced prosecutor who has handled numerous high stakes matters, most recently serving as an Assistant United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York, primarily in the Organized Crime and Gangs Unit.
“It is an honor and pleasure to join such a young but already renowned firm,” said Penza. “Wilkinson Stekloff has made a name for itself over the last few years as a litigation powerhouse led by skilled attorneys. I am thrilled to work with such a talented group of litigators on winning high-profile and high-stakes trials.”
“We are excited to welcome Moira to the Wilkinson Stekloff family,” said Wilkinson Stekloff founding partner Beth Wilkinson. “Moira’s experience as a trial lawyer and her experience with both criminal and civil trials is exactly what we are looking for as we continue to grow the firm. We are all confident that Moira will help us achieve the best possible outcomes for our clients and provide leadership for our younger associates.”
During her tenure as an AUSA, Moira personally handled a wide variety of criminal investigations and prosecutions, including racketeering, money laundering, wire fraud, tax fraud, public corruption, violent crime, and sex trafficking. Moira also successfully handled several appeals before the Second Circuit.
Most recently, Moira spearheaded the successful investigation and trial of Keith Raniere, the leader of a purported self-help organization called “Nxivm.” In a groundbreaking prosecution, Raniere and his co-defendants were charged with racketeering and racketeering conspiracy, involving an array of crimes including child exploitation, sex trafficking, forced labor, identity theft, extortion, money laundering, wire fraud and obstruction of justice, as well as stand-alone counts of sex trafficking and other crimes. Following a six-week trial, where Moira served as first chair for the government, Raniere was convicted of all charges. Moira’s prosecution of Raniere has generated worldwide media attention and has been credited with paving the way for other high profile sex trafficking prosecutions against powerful individuals.
Prior to becoming an AUSA, Moira worked for over six years as an as an associate at Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison, where she handled product liability, mass tort, securities, and other complex civil and corporate litigation matters. In 2008, Moira graduated cum laude from Cornell Law School, where she served as an Article Editor for the Cornell Law Review. In 2005, Moira graduated summa cum laude from Binghamton University, where she double-majored in English and History.
Founded in February 2016, Wilkinson Stekloff has grown to nearly 45 lawyers and has quickly established itself as the leading boutique trial firm in the country. The firm has tried over a dozen cases to verdict across the country, and in 2018 alone, Wilkinson Stekloff won all three of its high-profile jury trials (each led by a different partner), achieved a positive result in a bench trial led by another partner, and won several other pre-trial victories in bet-the-company cases. Benchmark Litigation has twice named Wilkinson Stekloff “Boutique Firm of the Year,” calling the firm a “litigator’s dream shop.” In addition, Vault has ranked Wilkinson Stekloff as a premier midsized law firm and a leader in selectivity, compensation, and diversity; Law360 selected Wilkinson Stekloff as a “Best Law Firm for Female Attorneys”; and our attorneys have received recognitions ranging from Benchmark’s “Trial Lawyer of the Year” to Law360 “Rising Stars.”
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