Beth Wilkinson of Wilkinson Walsh + EskovitzBeth Wilkinson Takes Over Trump Accuser Summer Zervos' Defamation Lawsuit
Wilkinson, who is Washington, D.C.-based, is best known for her work on the defense side, including high-profile products liability cases.
December 02, 2019 at 11:21 AM
3 minute read
The original version of this story was published on New York Law Journal
Celebrated trial lawyer Beth Wilkinson is now representing Summer Zervos, the former contestant on President Donald Trump's reality show "The Apprentice" who sued the president for defamation in 2017.
Papers noting that Wilkinson Walsh + Eskovitz is now the sole firm representing Zervos were filed Wednesday in Manhattan's New York County Supreme Court.
Wilkinson said in a statement that she's "thrilled" to join the case and looks forward to proving Zervos' claim in court.
Wilkinson, who is Washington, D.C.-based, is best known for her work on the defense side, including high-profile products liability cases such as litigation over the blood-thinner Xarelto, and baby powder with talc that has been linked by plaintiffs to cancer.
But she'll be plaintiff's counsel in Zervos' case, who filed suit against Trump over his denials of her charge that he sexually assaulted her on the set of the NBC reality-TV show, denials that called Zervos a liar.
Wilkinson also represented U.S. Supreme Court Associate Justice Brett Kavanaugh in his 2018 confirmation process.
Trump's lawyer in the case is Marc Kasowitz of Kasowitz Benson Torres, which means two of the country's most well-known litigators are set to face each other when the trial begins.
In 2016, Zervos publicly accused Trump of groping and kissing her without her consent during 2007, when she said she was hoping to cultivate a business relationship with him. Trump repeatedly denied the accusation and said Zervos was lying, which led to her defamation complaint.
Until last week Zervos was represented by Mariann Meier Wang of Cuti Hecker Wang.
"We've been proud to fight alongside Summer for the past three years in her effort to prove the truth and prevail against (Trump)," Wang said in a statement. "We're confident that Beth Wilkinson and her firm will successfully continue the fight, and we wish Summer all the best."
In her own statement, Zervos thanked Wang and her team for "winning every battle" in the case so far.
The case currently has a discovery and deposition deadline of Jan. 30, according to an order filed by Manhattan Supreme Court Justice Jennifer Schecter before the change of attorneys.
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