Pillsbury Adds Renowned Appellate Lawyer Anne Voigts to Lead U.S. Appellate Practice

“Anne represents an important addition to our firm, bringing an incredible background with experience as a Supreme Court clerk, as an Assistant U.S. Attorney at the U.S. Department of Justice, and as a very successful private practitioner representing clients in high stakes appellate and data privacy challenges,” said Firm Chair David Dekker. “Her impressive combination of skills will afford clients additional important insights into critical aspects of the law and materially enhance our capabilities in California and beyond.”

Voigts has extensive experience handling appeals and critical motions, having played central roles in cases before the United States Supreme Court, the California Supreme Court, and federal and state appellate and trial courts. She has been particularly active in high-stakes privacy and cybersecurity litigation and leverages her background as a federal prosecutor in the Central and Northern Districts of California to help clients respond to privacy-related government investigations as well. Voigts also routinely advises trial teams on the nuances of complex legal issues involving privacy and cybersecurity claims, class actions, false advertising and unfair competition laws, statutory and regulatory challenges, and white collar matters.

Prior to private practice, Voigts clerked with Justice John Paul Stevens, United States Supreme Court, and with Judge Stephen Reinhardt, United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. She also externed with then-Judge Sonia Sotomayor, United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit.

“In the rarified world of appellate litigation and beyond, Anne has done it all on both the federal and state level,” said Deborah Baum, Pillsbury’s global head of Litigation. “We are thrilled to welcome her to Pillsbury not only because of her vast appellate expertise, but also because of her invaluable experience in cybersecurity and privacy matters and government investigations, which are an increasingly important concern for our clients. She brings some wonderful new dimensions to our litigation team—all-in-all, just a tremendous addition.”

Voigts has been repeatedly ranked by Chambers as one of the leading appellate lawyers in California, has been recognized nationally by the Legal 500, has been repeatedly named one of the Top 100 Women Lawyers in California by the Daily Journal, and recently received the “Advocate of the Year” award from the Human Trafficking Legal Center for her amicus work on behalf of trafficking victims. She is a member of the American Academy of Appellate Lawyers and has also served as chair of the Appellate Lawyer Representatives to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, where she was the first lead author and editor of that group’s practice guide to the Ninth Circuit. She earned a B.A. from Yale University and a J.D. from Columbia Law School.

“Pillsbury’s litigators are renowned for their dedication to clients and track record of success in court,” Voigts said. “Combined with the firm’s ongoing growth and recent recruiting successes across the United States and in Northern California—and, in particular, the all-star team of privacy and cybersecurity and government investigations lawyers Pillsbury has put together— it makes for an outstanding fit with the kinds of work I do and the clients I represent. I’m so pleased to help continue the positive momentum here in the Bay Area and I look forward to working with my many new colleagues firmwide.”

Pillsbury’s global litigation, government investigations and appellate practices have expanded to meet client demand across the U.S., U.K., Asia and the Middle East. The firm has numerous notable hires of late including seven former federal prosecutors and two former appellate judges. Notable additions include:

• High-profile and Washington, DC-based cross-border disputes partner Waleed Nassar, with a substantial Middle East practice.
• A multidisciplinary team of lawyers in China, led by partner Jia Yan, who oversees a broad corporate, investigations and disputes practice that spans Asia, the U.S. and the UK.
• High-stakes employment litigation partner JoAnna Brooks in San Francisco.
• Corporate investigations, white collar and anti-bribery partner Audrey Koh in London.
• Former Assistant U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Florida and former Assistant State Attorney for Miami-Dade County Stephen Demanovich in Miami.
• Former National Coordinator of the DOJ’s Computer Hacking and Intellectual Property Program Mark Krotoski, a partner in Silicon Valley.
• High-stakes commercial litigation and arbitration partner Paul Fraidenburgh in San Diego.
• Former Meta Integrity lawyer, and trial attorney in the U.S. Department of Justice’s Public Integrity Section in Washington, D.C., partner Tony Phillips.
• The Honorable Rolando Acosta, a partner in New York, former Presiding Justice of the New York State Supreme Court, Appellate Division, First Department.
• Seasoned trial lawyer Patrick Hammon, a partner in Silicon Valley.
• Adam Goldberg, a partner in San Francisco, who has extensive experience in Asia-related investigations, litigation and arbitrations.
• Renowned international commercial litigator Willie Wood, a partner in Houston.
• Ronald Cheng, a partner in Los Angeles, and a former U.S. Attorney’s Office Division Chief and U.S. Department of Justice Resident Advisor in the U.S. Embassy in Beijing.
• Richard Donoghue, former U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of New York and former U.S. Acting Deputy Attorney General, and a partner in New York.
• Former federal prosecutor Kimberly Jaimez, a partner in Los Angeles.
• Oil and gas litigation partners Tony Guerino and Liz Klingensmith in Houston.
• Former Judge of the New York State Supreme Court for Suffolk County and Associate Justice of the Appellate Division, First Department, as well as a former Assistant U.S. Attorney James Catterson, a partner in New York.
• Skilled trial lawyer Bill Bosch, a partner in Washington, D.C. and New York focused on complex commercial disputes.

In Northern California, Pillsbury has recruited 10 partner and senior policy advisor additions in 24 months including Voigts (Silicon Valley); heavy hitting data privacy and digital transformation lawyers Jeewon Serrato and Shruti Bhutani Arora (San Francisco); Brooks (San Francisco); Krotoski (Silicon Valley); senior policy advisor, former eight-term California Congressman and leading authority on artificial intelligence, Jerry McNerney (San Francisco and Washington, D.C.); Hammon (Silicon Valley); veteran startup lawyer Matt Kirmayer (San Francisco); highly regarded executive compensation and benefits lawyer Laura McDaniels (Silicon Valley); and Goldberg (San Francisco). The firm also elevated eight Bay Area lawyers to its partnership in 2023 and 2024. In 2023, former Pillsbury partner and noted appellate lawyer Daniel Bromberg was sworn in as a judge of the California 6th District Court of Appeal.