Associate – Executive Compensation & Benefits

Renowned consumer Class Action litigator Claudia Vetesi joins pillsbury’s top-flight litigation group in San Francisco. Wednesday, August 26, 2026 Claudia Vetesi, a Chambers-ranked litigator handling consumer class actions and other complex litigations across a variety of industries, has joined Pillsbury's San Francisco office as partner. She comes to the firm from Morrison & Foerster LLP. The addition comes amid a surge in consumer class action filings. According to Lex Machina's 2026 Class Action Litigation Report, plaintiffs lodged 7,650 consumer protection class actions in 2025, a nearly 50 percent year-over-year increase in such filings and the highest total in a decade. That trend has continued in 2026, with tech companies, retailers, manufacturers and large financial institutions among those experiencing the highest number of lawsuits. "From false advertising and labeling claims to data privacy and product liability-related suits, our clients are facing a significant uptick in consumer class action exposure," said Firm Chair David Dekker. "Claudia has established an impressive track record in handling these uniquely complex disputes, reinforcing our existing capabilities in this area and helping us to better serve the evolving needs of those we represent." Vetesi defends companies in consumer class actions and complex litigation involving false advertising, unfair competition, product liability, pricing and other claims, including those brought under California consumer protection laws. She represents established and emerging technology, food and beverage, consumer products brands, among others, to assess and mitigate the exposures and risks associated with bringing new and innovative products to market. Her work also includes competitive advertising disputes under the Lanham Act and matters before the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), National Advertising Division (NAD), and other government enforcement authorities. Vetesi has previously been identified by Law360 as a "Legal Lion of the Week" for her appellate work and has been nationally recognized by Chambers USA and Legal 500: US, among many other honors and rankings. Deborah Baum, head of the firm's Global Litigation practice, added: "Claudia's arrival materially strengthens our firm in a number of important ways. Beyond enhancing our consumer class action and products counseling expertise, her practice also adds new dimensions to our offer for technology and other consumer-facing clientele and reinforces our leading position in the San Francisco market. We are thrilled to welcome her to the firm." Pillsbury has hired 49 lateral partners since the beginning of 2025, with recruitment of tech-focused litigators among the highest firm priorities. In addition to Vetesi, the firm's most recent lateral partners include technology litigator Katie Sluss, who co-leads the firm's newly established Technology - Emerging Laws & Litigation group, and intellectual property trial lawyers Calvin Wingfield, Robert J. "Bob" Hollingshead, Mark Abate, Brian Paul Gearing and J. Rick Taché. Other notable litigation practitioners to join the firm over that time include commercial litigators Douglas Curran and Jonathan Kortmansky in New York; insurance litigators Robert "Bob" Gilbert in Boston, Kirsten C. Jackson in Los Angeles and Gerald "Jay" Konkel in Washington, DC; former Asst. Attorney General of U.S. DOJ Environment and Natural Resources Division and DC Solicitor General Todd Kim; former Acting Chief of Staff in the Criminal Division of the DOJ Jeffrey Izant; and trial lawyer Amy Ruhland in Austin. "Pillsbury is a leading global firm, but also a San Francisco institution with deep roots in the Bay Area legal and business communities," said Vetesi. "It also has incredibly deep connections and long-standing relationships with the technology, food and beverage and consumer products industries that have been the focus of my practice. Having known many of the fine lawyers there for years, I am honored to help shape the next chapter of this storied firm's growth and to work alongside such a thoughtful, collaborative and well-respected team." Pillsbury's award-winning team of more than 300 litigators works with clients around the world to help them successfully resolve disputes, in trial and out of court, at home and in jurisdictions around the globe. The firm has garnered dozens of top-tier recognitions as a result of its litigation capabilities and is regularly identified as one of the most feared law firms CLOs and GCs come up against in litigation according to BTI Consulting Group. Analysis | Jobs | News

Department of State Attorney-Adviser David Stute rejoins Pillsbury as special counsel in Washington, DC. Tuesday, August 18, 2026 Further expanding the firm's International Arbitration and cross-border disputes capabilities, Pillsbury is welcoming David Stute back to the firm as special counsel based in Washington, D.C. Before re-joining the firm, he served for five years in the Office of the Legal Adviser at the U.S. Department of State. "David's exceptional background, including his recent service as an Attorney-Adviser at the U.S. Department of State, brings invaluable insight into complex national security, treaty negotiations, and international proceedings," said Deborah Baum, Global Head of Litigation at Pillsbury. "Our clients will benefit immensely from his deep expertise, which includes major commercial arbitral institutions, investor-State tribunals, and international courts." Stute has represented sovereigns, corporate clients and high-net-worth individuals in cross-border disputes, spanning U.S. trial and appellate courts, investor-State tribunals, all major commercial arbitral institutions, the International Court of Justice, and the Iran-U.S. Claims Tribunal. While serving in the U.S. Department of State Office of the Legal Adviser, David advised the executive branch on United Nations affairs, national security, treaty negotiations, and proceedings in international fora. He was part of the core team that defeated the $15 billion NAFTA legacy claim against the U.S. arising from the Keystone XL pipeline project and served as the lead attorney on the International Court of Justice in the Office of United Nations Affairs. He also advised State Department leadership and worked with the National Security Council, the Department of Justice, and other agencies on U.S. and international litigation, complex treaty negotiations, nuclear liability, as well as other matters. Stute was previously an associate at Pillsbury, where he participated in over half a dozen investor-State arbitrations as well as international commercial arbitrations under ICSID, UNCITRAL, ICDR, LCIA, and ICC rules, as well as in enforcement proceedings before U.S. courts. "I am elated to rejoin Pillsbury and its tremendous cross-border litigation team," Stute said. "I hope to bring to bear, on behalf of the firm's clients, my decades of international experience on both sides of the Atlantic and beyond. I am particularly eager to help grow the firm's cross-border and treaty disputes practices, and to further deepen our focus on clients in Europe, including its German-speaking markets." Pillsbury's International Arbitration team is made up of lawyers with decades of experience adjudicating disputes administered by international arbitral institutions worldwide. Our lawyers have appeared before all major arbitration forums, including the ICC, LCIA, Stockholm Chamber of Commerce, HKIAC, DIAC, DIFC, Swiss Chamber of Commerce, ICDR, ICSID, SIAC, JCAA and AAA, in all major arbitration centers, and we have conducted arbitrations under UNCITRAL Rules and on an ad hoc basis. They also have significant experience in resolving investor-State disputes and a wide variety of claims both internationally and in the U.S. through arbitration and other forms of ADR. Analysis | Jobs | News