Elena Vasquez

Background

Elena began her career in 1993 as a deputy district attorney, prosecuting felony cases in a high-volume metro court. After four years she moved to plaintiff-side civil practice and has remained there ever since. She joined Law Firm demo as a senior associate in 2002, became partner in 2007, and was appointed Managing Partner in 2018.

Practice focus

Elena’s personal-injury practice concentrates on catastrophic injury, wrongful death, and complex product-liability matters — cases where damages are substantial and trial-readiness materially affects settlement value. She tries 4–6 cases to verdict each year and has been lead trial counsel on 18 cases that resulted in eight-figure outcomes.

Notable matters

• 2024 — $14.2M jury verdict. Trucking collision; catastrophic spinal-cord injury. Lead trial counsel.
• 2022 — $22.6M settlement. Medical-device product liability. Class-action lead counsel; settlement covered 184 plaintiffs.
• 2020 — $9.8M jury verdict. Premises liability against a national retailer. Affirmed on appeal.
• 2018 — $31.4M structured settlement. Wrongful death; commercial trucking. Used a hybrid annuity / lump-sum structure to maximise net recovery for the family.

Education

• JD, Yale Law School, 1992. Coif. Articles editor, Yale Law Journal.
• BA, Princeton University, 1989. Magna cum laude, Phi Beta Kappa.

Bar admissions

• State bar 1993 · all state and federal courts in three states
• US Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit · 1998
• US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit · 2003
• US Supreme Court · 2009

Honours

• Martindale-Hubbell AV-Preeminent · 2008–present
• Best Lawyers in America (Personal Injury Plaintiff) · 2010–present
• Super Lawyers (Top 100 Trial Lawyers) · 2012, 2015, 2018, 2021, 2024
• State Bar Trial Lawyers Section · Past President (2019)

Languages

English (native) · Spanish (fluent professional) · Portuguese (conversational)