New Attorneys Include Top Litigators, Senior Government Officials, Former Big Law Leaders

Washington, D.C. – Four attorneys have joined the Democracy Forward team, adding to the organization’s incredible bench of talent working every day to protect people from harmful governmental overreach at the federal and state levels, the organization announced today. Senior Legal Advisors Catherine Carroll and Lauren Wetzler, Senior Counsel Anna Deffebach, and Senior Staff Attorney Michael Torcello are the latest additions to the organization’s growing bench of talent, which includes more than 130 team members. 

“The escalating threats to the American people and our democracy require top talent and an unwavering dedication to using all the lawful tools available to us to protect our nation in this time. Democracy Forward was built for the challenges of today and continues to focus on growing an exceptional team that can respond at scale and with the speed required to protect the American people. Our team, which continues to grow with incredible depth and breadth, works every day to ensure people have access to courts when their rights have been violated and when they have experienced harm,” said Skye Perryman, President and CEO of Democracy Forward. “Catherine, Anna, Lauren, and Michael will add significant expertise as we continue rising to confront the harm caused by this administration.”

Catherine Carroll, Senior Legal Advisor

Catherine has two decades of experience representing clients in high-stakes appellate litigation and providing strategic advice on complex and novel legal questions. Before joining Democracy Forward, she served as Deputy Assistant Attorney General in the Civil Division at the U.S. Department of Justice, where she headed the Civil Division’s Appellate Staff. Catherine was previously a partner at WilmerHale, where she served for several years as Partner-in-Charge of the Washington, D.C. office and Vice Chair of the Appellate & Supreme Court Litigation Group. While in private practice, Catherine briefed and argued numerous cases before the U.S. Supreme Court, federal and state courts of appeals, and district courts, and led the development and execution of litigation strategy in government-facing and policy-related disputes on a wide range of issues. She served as a law clerk for Judge Harry T. Edwards of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit and Justice David H. Souter of the U.S. Supreme Court.

Lauren Wetzler, Senior Legal Advisor

Lauren Wetzler is an experienced litigator who has dedicated her career to public service. Prior to joining Democracy Forward, Lauren served as a Deputy Director in the Federal Programs Branch of the U.S. Department of Justice’s Civil Division, where she supervised litigation implicating national security and foreign relations. For nearly 19 years before joining the Federal Programs Branch, Lauren served as an Assistant United States Attorney in the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia. In her last 13 years there, she was the Chief of the Civil Division, the senior management official responsible for all civil litigation involving the federal government across the district. Lauren clerked for Judge Barrington D. Parker, Jr. on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit. 

Anna Deffebach, Senior Counsel

Anna is a litigator with experience handling matters in changing legal and policy environments. She previously served as a trial attorney in the Federal Programs Branch of the U.S. Department of Justice’s Civil Division. Anna also served as a member of DOJ’s Reproductive Rights Team where she developed litigation strategy to protect and expand access to reproductive healthcare under federal law after the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health. This work included litigating the United States’ lawsuit against Idaho to enjoin the state’s abortion ban to allow women to access health-and life-preserving abortion care. Anna received the Special Commendation to the Post-Dobbs Reproductive Freedom Team for Outstanding Service to the Civil Division. Prior to her time at DOJ, Anna worked as an associate at Robbins, Russell, Englert, Orseck & Sauber LLP. She clerked for Judge Michael H. Simon on the United States District Court for the District of Oregon and Judge Bruce M. Selya on the U. S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit. 

Michael Torcello, Senior Staff Attorney 

Before joining Democracy Forward, Michael clerked on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit, the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, and the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. He also worked as a law fellow at Cohen Milstein Sellers & Toll PLLC, where his docket included cases concerning employment discrimination, unpaid wages, and fair housing. Michael was an executive editor of the Harvard Law Review and a member of the winning team in the Ames Moot Court Competition. As a law student, he worked on democracy issues during summer internships at the Brennan Center for Justice and Free Speech for People. 

For more information about the team at Democracy Forward, please visit https://democracyforward.org/team/. 

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Democracy Forward Foundation is a national legal organization that advances democracy and social progress through litigation, policy, public education, and regulatory engagement. For more information, please visit www.democracyforward.org.