Munger, Tolles & Olson announces that L. Ashley Aull has rejoined the firm as a partner in its Los Angeles office. For the last nine years, Ms. Aull served in the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Central District of California, most recently as chief of the Criminal Appeals Section.

Ms. Aull will leverage her government service, courtroom and appellate experience to represent clients in high-stakes litigation and white collar work, including government investigations and crisis management. An experienced trial and appellate strategist, her practice will focus on business-critical cases such as commercial and intellectual property disputes in the entertainment, high-tech and life-sciences industries.

“Working for nearly a decade in one of the largest U.S. Attorney’s offices in the country was a professional dream and personal honor,” Ms. Aull said. “But the opportunity to rejoin Munger, Tolles & Olson, where I learned to be an attorney and where some of the smartest lawyers I ever met still practice, was too exciting to pass up.”

As Chief of the Criminal Appeals Section for the U.S. Attorney’s Office in the Central District of California, one of the highest-output criminal appeals sections in the country, Ms. Aull oversaw hundreds of Ninth Circuit appeals every year.  She also consulted on high-profile cases at all stages of investigation, trial and appeal. For her leadership during the COVID-19 pandemic – focused on helping the Department of Justice respond to the unprecedented halt in federal criminal trials and leading litigation strategy across the country – Ms. Aull was awarded the EOUSA Director’s Award, the highest honor available specifically to federal prosecutors.

“Ashley is a smart and battle-hardened litigator who prides herself on solving intractable problems in a strategic way,” said Brad Brian, chair of Munger, Tolles & Olson. “Her impressive record as a federal prosecutor for nearly a decade uniquely positions her to help our clients respond to sensitive government investigations, stave off complex litigation and meet the demands of any crisis – from corporate criminal incidents to intellectual property disputes to chemicals litigation.”

In the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Ms. Aull personally argued 42 appeals – including a nationally significant en banc case – and served as lead counsel in four trials. Among the notable matters she handled are appeals from Los Angeles Sheriff’s Department members’ obstruction convictions, the appeal from a first-of-its-kind terrorism trial, a several-week-long immigration fraud trial, and a multiyear test-litigation campaign concerning organic chemistry and methamphetamine. She also handled numerous cases involving fraud, RICO and forfeiture.

Prior to joining the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Ms. Aull was an associate at Munger, Tolles & Olson, where she focused her practice on litigating copyright, patent, DMCA, and other intellectual property disputes on behalf of high-tech and media clients.

Ms. Aull clerked for Judge Sandra S. Ikuta of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit and for Judge Harriet O’Neill of the Supreme Court of Texas. She received her J.D. from Harvard Law School and her B.A. from Harvard College. She has served as a lawyer representative to the Ninth Circuit Judicial Conference, and she was selected by the Circuit as a member of its inaugural Law Clerk Resources Group. She is also an accomplished teacher and a former faculty member at the Department of Justice’s national training facility.