Leonard, Justin

Nathalie von Taaffe is a staff attorney in the firm's Litigation/Controversy Department. She joined the firm in 2007.

Practice

Ms. von Taaffe focuses her practice on issues of e-discovery. Specifically, she works with other attorneys, litigation technology project managers, and paralegals on teams that manage electronic and other documents in large cases and investigations. Attorneys on these teams take a leadership role in the document control process, systematically tracking documents from preservation to collection and through review and production. They work with e-discovery vendors and their review and analytical tools; review documents; train and oversee other firm and contract attorneys who review documents; and partner with project managers to perform production quality control.

Ms. von Taaffe’s experience at WilmerHale is centered primarily on the international aspects of legal cases and transactions that require a highly-specialized expertise in foreign legal languages, legal processes, systems and industry for the analysis, synthesis or translation of foreign language documents. She has translated and summarized Italian contracts, exhibits and correspondence in preparation for an international arbitration involving a cross-border contractual dispute. In the international cartel investigation case of a major transporter, Ms. von Taaffe performed factual background research, reviewed numerous documents and worked closely with other attorneys to draft a draft proffer to DOJ. In addition, Ms. von Taaffe has reviewed and analyzed a variety of legal and non-legal documents in eight languages for production in a civil suit involving a multinational client.

Ms. von Taaffe’s professional background includes over five years of in-depth experience with a range of international law issues, including foreign investment, real estate, commerce, trade and competition. She has performed complex legal analysis and review in eight languages on behalf of a range of international and national government employers or clients, such as the United Nations, the European Commission, the National Law Center, the Mexican Congress, The German Bundestag and the US House of Representatives, as well as law firms, various investment entities, private businesses, individuals and other agencies.

Prior to joining WilmerHale as a staff attorney, Ms. von Taaffe was a contract attorney for the firm, performing large-scale document review and analysis in seven languages for two major mass-litigation matters. From 2002-2007, Ms. von Taaffe was President and Legal Consultant of a boutique consultancy company, specializing in international investment and business partnerships located in Eastern and Central Europe. In addition to handling strategic business and operational initiatives, Ms. von Taaffe assisted clients with a variety of EU and national regulatory matters and provided counsel on legal and political developments of relevance to clients’ business interests. Ms. von Taaffe began her legal career as an associate with a Georgia firm, where she focused on corporate real estate tax transactions.