Elissa Lowenthal

Elissa represents corporations and clients in responding to criminal, regulatory and legislative inquiries and in conducting internal investigations.

Before joining Cooley, Elissa clerked for Judge Robert E. Payne of the US District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia and Judge Roy W. McLeese III of the District of Columbia Court of Appeals. She served as an Appellate Litigation Fellow in the DC Solicitor General’s Office, where she represented the District and its agencies in civil and criminal appellate matters. Elissa also authored amicus briefs in the US Supreme Court and federal appeals courts that advocated for DC residents on important issues, such as gun regulations and consumer protections.

During law school, she served as senior administrative editor of the Georgetown Law Journal, co-director of Georgetown’s Leahy Moot Court Competition and a member of the Barristers’ Council Appellate Advocacy Division. Elissa also completed two internships with the US Department of Justice Criminal Division, where she drafted court filings and conducted research across criminal law subjects. Before law school, Elissa served as an intelligence officer in the federal government, where she produced and defended written and oral strategic assessments in support of top government officials.