Top-flight Talent from Leading Law Firms, Senior Roles in Government Join Team
Additions Necessary To Address Continued Harmful Actions, Attacks on Rule of Law
Washington D.C. – Another top-flight group of experienced attorneys has joined Democracy Forward, expanding the organization’s capacity as the group continues its work to protect people from the harms of the Trump-Vance administration. Joshua Salzman, Yenisey Rodríguez, Nathaniel Zelinsky, Amy Vickery, Anisha Hindocha, Simon Brewer, and Joe Shantz join the already deep bench of experienced attorneys working at Democracy Forward.
Today’s news follows other recent announcements of Democracy Forward’s growth–including former top Justice Department officials and experienced career litigators–as the administration sees a continued exodus of talented lawyers amid its attacks on the judiciary and rule of law.
“Every day, our work shows the need for the best and brightest legal advocates to be focused on protecting the American people, our Constitution, and our democracy. We are pleased, once again, to be announcing an incredible group of lawyers who are joining our team to meet this moment,” said Skye Perryman, President and CEO of Democracy Forward. “As attacks on the rule of law and the basic rights of people escalate, this is a moment for lawyers to step up. We are thrilled to welcome our newest team members as we continue to grow and expand our ability to meet the administration’s harmful and unlawful conduct with swift legal action, while also continuing our impactful and necessary work in state and local communities.”
Founded in 2017, Democracy Forward has emerged as a critical bulwark against the unconstitutional actions the new administration has taken since inauguration. The organization has filed more than 80 legal actions, launched more than 90 investigations, and issued more than nearly 1,000 FOIA requests in response to the Trump administration’s unlawful executive overreach. The group’s work has resulted in significant victories that directly safeguard Americans from harmful policies, and has brought together a unique coalition of more than 2,000 people from 500 organizations to address this administration’s actions and policies impacting the American people.
Joshua Salzman joins Democracy Forward as a Senior Counsel. Joshua spent ten years working at the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) as an attorney and then Assistant Director with the Civil Division’s Appellate Staff. During that time, Joshua briefed hundreds of matters in the federal courts of appeals, arguing more than 40 cases across twelve of the thirteen circuits. He also substantially participated in numerous matters before the U.S. Supreme Court. Joshua’s excellence in counseling agency clients was recognized in Attorney General awards in 2020 and 2024. Prior to joining the DOJ, Joshua spent seven years at WilmerHale as a member of the Appellate and Supreme Court Litigation practice group, working on high stakes appeals for both paying and pro bono clients. Joshua graduated magna cum laude from both Columbia College and Harvard Law School and he is a former Articles Editor of the Harvard Law Review. After law school, he served as a law clerk for the Hon. Bruce M. Selya of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit.
Yenisey Rodríguez joins Democracy Forward as a Senior Counsel, having served most recently as Senior Counsel and manager of the Achieving-Racially Equitable Communities project at the NAACP Legal Defense & Educational Fund (LDF). At LDF Yenisey advocated for federal and state policies to affirmatively further fair housing, worked to empower disenfranchised voters in Mississippi, challenged state takeovers of progressive cities in the deep South, and pressed to secure equal access to credit for historically marginalized communities across the country. Prior to her work at LDF, Yenisey served as a senior trial attorney in the Housing and Civil Enforcement Section of DOJ’s Civil Rights Division, where she investigated, litigated, and settled fair housing and fair lending matters across the country. Yenisey received her J.D. and M.Phil from Yale, and her B.A. from the University of Chicago. After law school, she clerked for the Hon. Nelson S. Román of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York.
Nathaniel Zelinsky joins Democracy Forward as a Senior Counsel. Prior to joining Democracy Forward, Nathaniel was an appellate lawyer at Hogan Lovells and Milbank, where he handled high stakes cases involving major constitutional questions and multibillion dollar disputes. His clients included state and local governments, educational institutions, and Fortune 500 companies in a range of industries. He regularly practices before the Supreme Court of the United States and federal courts of appeals, and has argued at every level of the federal judiciary, including before the Supreme Court. From 2020-2023, Nathaniel served as a special prosecutor and embedded appellate counsel for the State of Minnesota in the criminal prosecutions of the four police officers responsible for the death of George Floyd. Nathaniel received his J.D. and B.A. from Yale University, and an M.Phil from the University of Cambridge, where he was a Paul Mellon Fellow at Clare College. He clerked for Judge Jeffrey Sutton on the Sixth Circuit and Judge Stephen F. Williams on the D.C. Circuit.
Amy Vickery joins Democracy Forward as an Oversight Attorney. Amy previously served as a Trial Attorney in the Civil Rights Division of the U.S. Department of Justice. In that role, she implemented, enforced, and defended federal nondiscrimination authorities via investigations, settlements, and litigation. Amy began her legal career as a law clerk for Judge Richard R. Clifton on the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit in Honolulu, HI, and for Judge Gary S. Katzmann on the United States Court of International Trade in New York, NY. Prior to law school, Amy served as an International Trade Specialist on the U.S. Department of Commerce’s Asia team and lived and worked in Asia (Burma/Myanmar and Hong Kong) for several years. Amy is a graduate of Harvard Law School and Princeton University, where she graduated Phi Beta Kappa and magna cum laude.
Anisha Hindocha joins Democracy Forward as an Oversight Attorney. Anisha most recently served as Deputy Research Director at the ethics watchdog American Oversight, where she led investigations on issues and topics such as the January 6th attack on the U.S. Capitol, “audits” of the 2020 election in Maricopa County, Arizona and Otero County, New Mexico, the Republican Attorneys General Association, and more. Prior to her time with American Oversight, Anisha was a National Security Fellow at Third Way, and a Clerk at the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee. Anisha began her career working as Director of International and Governmental Relations at FIRST Global, where she helped run international robotics competitions for high school-aged children. She received her law degree at the George Washington University School of Law, and her undergraduate degree from Barrett, the Honors College at Arizona State University.
Simon Brewer joins Democracy Forward as a Senior Staff Attorney. Before joining Democracy Forward, Simon was an attorney on the Appellate Staff of the DOJ’s Civil Division. There, he represented federal agencies and officials in the federal courts of appeals. Many of his cases involved significant constitutional questions or major federal policies. Simon twice won awards for outstanding service to the Civil Division for his work on the teams responsible for social-media and student-loan litigation. Simon attended Yale Law School, where he was an editor of the Yale Law Journal, and Yale College, where he graduated magna cum laude. He clerked on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit and the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois. Prior to law school, he worked for the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.
Joe Shantz joins Democracy Forward as Senior Policy Counsel. Before joining Democracy Forward, Joe served as Senior Counselor to Secretary of Labor Julie Su at the U.S. Department of Labor, where he advised on the Department’s worker protection enforcement and regulatory policy. Prior to serving in the Biden-Harris administration, he worked to enact workers’ rights legislation and challenge anti-worker regulatory policy as the Senior Labor Counsel for Ranking Member Patty Murray (D-WA) on the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions. Joe is a lawyer by training, having attended Georgetown University Law Center where he focused on learning how to use the law to support working families and constrain corporate power.
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.