The Wharf
1000 Maine Ave. SW
Suite 450
Washington, D.C. 20024
Hillary Weis Coustan represents companies and individuals in complex commercial litigation nationwide. For more than two decades, she has handled high-stakes disputes involving securities fraud, consumer fraud, unfair competition, breach of contract, breach of fiduciary duty, fraudulent transfer, intellectual property, and other business torts.
Hillary has experience across all phases of litigation, including discovery, dispositive motion practice, trial, remedies, attorneys’ fees proceedings, and appeals. She also represents clients in internal investigations, mediations, and arbitrations.
In addition to her practice, Hillary has taught disability law at both Northwestern Pritzker School of Law and Loyola University Chicago School of Law.
Before joining the firm, Hillary was a partner at Agrawal Evans in Chicago and previously practiced at Sachnoff & Weaver (now part of Reed Smith). She earned her law degree from Stanford Law School, where she was a Public Interest Fellow and served as a teaching assistant in the Youth and Education Law Clinic.
Representative Matters
- Retained by client’s board of directors to investigate potential fraud and breach of contract.
- Represented Baxter in a $130 million arbitration involving alleged failure to use commercially reasonable efforts to commercialize a product, securing a unanimous defense award after a six-day evidentiary hearing.
- Represented a publicly traded online gaming and sports betting company in a nearly $10 million international contract arbitration arising from a business partner dispute, managing witness preparation and expert testimony and securing a favorable defense award after an eight-day evidentiary hearing.
- Represented a national insurance company in a confidential internal investigation and employment dispute involving discrimination and retaliation allegations against a former senior executive, conducting witness interviews and developing strategy that led to a pre-suit resolution through mediation.
- Represented Nuveen in a defamation action exceeding $500 million arising from statements concerning the high-yield municipal bond market, securing summary judgment in the client’s favor.
- Defended JPMorgan Chase & Co. at trial in Los Angeles Superior Court in a dispute brought by two foreign investors alleging they had been defrauded by their former business partners.
- Obtained summary judgment for a defendant in federal court on claims for breach of contract, fraud, negligence, conversion, and subrogation.
- Obtained dismissal of a complaint alleging libel and unfair competition.
- Represented a former chief financial officer in an 11-week federal jury trial involving allegations of securities fraud.
- Defended a corporate CEO and company against claims for breach of contract and breach of fiduciary duty.
Education
- Stanford Law School, J.D., with distinction, 2002
- University of Michigan, B.A., with honors and highest distinction, 1997
Clerkship
- Hon. Robert W. Gettleman, U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois
Awards
- Super Lawyers, Business Litigation (2022–present), Illinois Super Lawyers
Admissions
- U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit
- Illinois
Publications and Speaking Engagements
- “United States Supreme Court October 2021 Term and October 2020 Term in Review,” CLE presentation (September 2021)
- “United States Supreme Court October 2020 Term in Review,” CLE presentation (June 2021)
- “United States Supreme Court October 2018 Term in Review,” CLE presentation (August 2019)
- “How In-House Counsel Can Best Assist Outside Counsel and Assess Their Readiness for Trial,” CLE presentation (March 2019)
- “Briefcraft: The Art of Briefwriting,” panelist, Natural Resources Defense Council (August 2016)
- “New Frontiers: Technology, the Internet and the ADA,” moderator, Federal Bar Association (June 2016)
- “A Retrospective on the Corey H. Litigation,” moderator, Loyola University Chicago School of Law (June 2015)
- “The Educational, Social and Economic Benefits of Early Childhood Education,” moderator, Loyola University Chicago School of Law (May 2013)
- “Charter Schools and Special Education,” panelist, American University Washington College of Law (February 2011)
- “Enabling Legislation: How the ADA Amendments Act of 2008 Amended Ten Years of Supreme Court Precedent,” Litigation Magazine (Fall 2009) (with Hon. Robert W. Gettleman)
Community Involvement
- Soup Kitchen Site Supervisor, Beth Emet Synagogue (2020–present)
- Executive Committee and Board Member, Beth Emet Synagogue (2015–2018)
- Early Childhood Committee Co-Chair, Beth Emet Synagogue (2013–2015)
- PTA Education Chair, Bessie Rhodes School of Global Studies (2013–2016)