Erica Lignell

Erica Lignell is a litigation and dispute resolution attorney at Clifford Chance US LLP in New York, where she represents corporate clients, financial institutions, and sovereign entities in high-stakes regulatory investigations and complex cross-border disputes. Since joining the firm in 2019, she has built a practice spanning financial crime, data privacy, securities enforcement, and international arbitration–adjacent matters.

Erica has served as lead associate in matters involving foreign sovereign debt disputes in U.S. federal court and regulatory investigations by agencies including the Commodity Futures Trading Commission. Her experience includes advising asset managers and energy companies on compliance risks, coordinating with foreign counsel on privacy and data transfer constraints, and managing sensitive internal investigations involving cybersecurity incidents and unmonitored communications. She has also represented executives in appeals involving money laundering and Foreign Corrupt Practices Act allegations, and secured a full jury acquittal for a technology CEO in federal court. In addition, she has drafted an amicus brief to the U.S. Supreme Court in a regulatory dispute concerning passive investment trusts.

Erica maintains an active pro bono practice, including representing minors in immigration proceedings. She also contributes to thought leadership initiatives on GDPR compliance, U.S. data privacy law, and cyber-attack response.

She earned her J.D. from the University of Michigan Law School, where she was a Senior Editor of the Michigan Law Review and a Merit Scholarship recipient. She received her B.A., with High Distinction and Phi Beta Kappa honors, from the University of Michigan in Russian, East European, and Eurasian Studies, and studied at the American University of Paris. Erica is admitted to practice in New York and speaks French and Russian.