WASHINGTON — Wilkinson Stekloff today announced the addition of five new associates in its Washington D.C. office. Samiyyah Ali, Alysha Bohanon, Jenna Pavelec, Benjamin Raker, and Caitlin Callahan join Wilkinson Stekloff’s team of expert litigators as the firm nears its fourth year.
“We are thrilled to welcome Samiyyah, Alysha, Jenna, Benjamin, and Caitlin to the Wilkinson Stekloff family,” said Sean Eskovitz, Wilkinson Stekloff Founding Partner. “As our firm continues to grow, the diversity of our new associates’ experiences and training will further empower us to continue delivering the best results for our clients.”
Samiyyah Ali comes to Wilkinson Stekloff after completing three clerkships, most recently on the Supreme Court for Justice Sonia Sotomayor. She previously clerked for Judges Sri Srinivasan of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit and Judge Amul Thapar of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Kentucky. Before clerking, Samiyyah worked at Williams & Connolly as a Summer Associate. Samiyyah graduated from Vanderbilt Law School and received her Master’s degree in Higher Education from Ohio State University.
Before joining Wilkinson Stekloff, Alysha Bohanon clerked for Judge Stephanie D. Thacker of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit, and Judge Mark R. Hornak of the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania. Alysha earned her bachelor’s and law degrees from the University of Minnesota, where she was the editor-in-chief of the Minnesota Law Review.
Jenna Pavelec joins Wilkinson Stekloff after completing two clerkships on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit, first for Judge Amul Thapar, and most recently for Judge Raymond Kethledge. Prior to her clerkships, Jenna worked for the Jerome N. Frank Legal Services Organization representing clients in parole and federal sentencing hearings. Jenna graduated from Yale Law School and received her bachelor’s degree from the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
Benjamin Raker served as a law clerk for Judge John Rogers of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit and Judge James Bredar of the U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland. Ben has also worked at Latham & Watkins, where he focused on appellate, pro-bono asylum, and inter-state water rights matters. Ben graduated from Vanderbilt Law School and received his bachelor’s degree from Bard College.
Caitlin Callahan joins Wilkinson Stekloff after clerking for Judge Paul L. Friedman of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. Prior to her clerkship, Caitlin served as the Dale & James Pinto Fellow at Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights where she litigated cases of violence against women and indigenous communities before international mechanisms. Caitlin graduated from Georgetown University Law Center and received her bachelor’s degree from Northwestern University.
In addition, Sophie Cooper joined Wilkinson Stekloff as an associate in April 2019. Before joining the firm, Sophie served as a law clerk to the Honorable John A. Houston of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of California and the Honorable Susan Illston of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California. Sophie graduated from the University of California, Berkeley School of Law, where she served as a director of the Berkeley Law Appellate Advocacy team and as an Articles Editor for the Berkeley Journal of African-American Law and Policy.
Founded in February 2016, Wilkinson Stekloff has grown to over 40 lawyers and has quickly established itself as the leading boutique trial firm in the country. The firm was recently selected as a Top Litigation Boutique Firm by Vault and has twice been named “Boutique Firm of the Year” by Benchmark. In just over three years, Wilkinson Stekloff has tried 17 cases to verdict across the country, winning the vast majority, and has delivered favorable results to clients before trial in other bet-the-company cases.
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