Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner

Business & Commercial Disputes

Partner - Litigation and Investigations

Ariel is an experienced trial lawyer; her practice spans the breadth of civil litigation, from temporary restraining orders through jury trials and appeals. Since joining the firm’s partnership in 2021, Ariel has litigated a wide variety of substantial business disputes as both plaintiffs’ and defense counsel, including breach of contract, real property, product liability, consumer protection, and employment claims.

Ariel’s clients have included public entities like King County, the City of Seattle, and Seattle School District, as well as sovereign tribes, businesses, and individuals.  She has also been appointed as a Special Assistant Attorney General for Washington State to serve as outside counsel on environmental and toxic tort claims, constitutional litigation, and class action matters.  She has extensive experience with the federal district courts in the Western District of Washington, King County Superior Court, and the Washington appellate courts, including the Washington Supreme Court.

Ariel provided strategic counseling and compliance guidance to clients across a wide range of industries including financial services, healthcare, and technology companies.

Ariel graduated from Harvard Law School, where she practiced as a student attorney at the Harvard Legal Aid Bureau and received an award for devoting over 1,000 hours of legal work to low-income families and domestic violence survivors including in TRO and other emergency proceedings. She also served as an editor of the Journal of Law & Gender.