Hilary P. Gerzhoy

Hilary Gerzhoy is an associate with the law firm of Harris, Wiltshire & Grannis LLP, where she serves as Vice Chair of the firm’s Legal Ethics and Malpractice group. She focuses her practice on complex civil litigation, government investigations, and legal ethics and malpractice.

Litigation

Ms. Gerzhoy represents plaintiffs and defendants in civil and criminal litigation matters. At the district court level, Ms. Gerzhoy has represented clients through all stages of litigation from the initial complaint through discovery and trial. At the appellate level, Ms. Gerzhoy has delivered oral argument and drafted merits briefs in state and federal courts of appeals. Her recent experience includes:

• Defending a company in a weeklong jury trial involving a property dispute
• Representing a class of direct purchasers in a class action alleging collusion resulting in a favorable settlement
• Arguing an appeal before a 5-judge panel in New York’s Appellate Division on behalf of a criminal defendant challenging his conviction

Government Investigations and Criminal Defense

Ms. Gerzhoy represents companies and individuals in civil and white-collar criminal investigations and prosecutions. She has represented companies responding to federal regulatory investigations and enforcement actions, as well as individuals in a range of white-collar criminal investigations. Her representations include investigations by the Department of Justice, the New York Attorney General, the D.C. Attorney General, the FCC, and other federal administrative agencies. Ms. Gerzhoy’s recent experience includes:

• Representing subjects and witnesses in a criminal investigation by SDNY in which the government declined to prosecute
• Preparing a witness to appear before a grand jury in EDNY
• Representing a telecommunications company in an FCC investigation resulting in a favorable resolution
• Defending individuals accused of conspiracy, wire fraud, and bank fraud in connection with a DOJ investigation

Legal Ethics and Malpractice

Ms. Gerzhoy represents lawyers and law firms in disciplinary investigations and prosecutions. She has handled matters in front of the District of Columbia’s Board on Professional Responsibility, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office’s Office of Enrollment and Discipline, the District of Columbia’s Committee on Unauthorized Practice of Law, and the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia’s Committee on Grievances.

Her recent experience includes:

• Representing a lawyer in a 5-day disciplinary hearing before the District of Columbia’s Board on Professional Responsibility
• Representing a lawyer in a matter before the District of Columbia’s Committee on Unauthorized Practice of Law
• Representing a lawyer in a matter before the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office’s Office of Enrollment and Discipline
• Counseling clients on severance agreements and ethical restrictions on the practice of law in the District of Columbia

Ms. Gerzhoy was recently appointed by the D.C. Bar Board of Governors to serve a two-year term on the D.C. Bar Rules of Professional Conduct Review Committee which reviews the Rules of Professional Conduct for possible revisions and amendments. She currently serves on the Membership Committee of the District of Columbia’s Women’s Bar Association and has served on the Junior Board of the D.C. Volunteer Lawyers Project.

Ms. Gerzhoy maintains an active pro bono practice, assisting clients on a broad range of civil and criminal matters. She has dedicated substantial time to representing victims of domestic violence in matters before the D.C. Superior Court. She has also successfully represented low-income tenants fighting eviction in landlord-tenant cases.

Prior to joining Harris, Wiltshire & Grannis, Ms. Gerzhoy was an associate at Kellogg, Hansen, Todd, Figel & Frederick, PLLC, where her practice focused on commercial and appellate litigation.

Before entering private practice, Ms. Gerzhoy clerked for the Honorable Kermit V. Lipez of the United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit. She received her J.D. from the University of California Berkeley School of Law (Boalt Hall), where she served as Online Editor of the California Law Review and a teaching assistant for the Legal Research and Writing Program, and where she received the Prosser Award for Written and Oral Advocacy. She received her B.A. from the University of Chicago, graduating Phi Beta Kappa.