Partner
Business Litigation Practice Group

Professional Experience
Ms. Gilford is a litigation partner in the Business Litigation and Business and Technology practice groups at Weston Benshoof. Her practice is focused on business and commercial litigation, products law, intellectual property and environmental matters. She has served as counsel for several major members of the communications, oil and gas, aerospace, chemical manufacturing, and pharmaceutical industries. Her experience includes:

Successful prosecution and defense of major business disputes involving contract and business tort claims;
• Serving as counsel to corporate clients facing claims brought under CERCLA, RCRA, FIFRA, TSCA, the False Claims Act, the Lanham Act, B&P Code §17200, the Unruh Act, and the Petroleum Marketing Practices Act;
• Representing major aerospace and oil industry clients in multi-party community exposure/toxic tort actions and concurrent clean-up and regulatory suits;
• Serving as counsel in numerous personal injury and wrongful death actions arising out of claimed exposure to lead, asbestos, solvents, mold, benzene and other chemical products;
• Representing a large pharmaceutical company in products liability suits involving allegations of wrongful death and substantial injury;
• Serving as Account Manager for Primary Law Firm relationship with multi-national Fortune 500 company. Duties in this capacity include negotiating alternative fee arrangements, controlling legal costs, managing complex litigation budgets, tracking performance metrics and developing strategic partnerships with in-house counsel.

Ms. Gilford was recently named a "Rising Star" by Southern California Super Lawyers, a special insert in the September issue of Los Angeles Magazine.

Education

Georgetown University Law Center, LL.M. in Advocacy, 1995
University of Southern California, J.D., 1993
Furman University, B.A., 1990

Publications and Speaking Engagements

Speaker and Planning Committee Chair, National Association of Women Lawyers Conference, "Taking Charge Of Your Career: Best Practices For Women Lawyers" (April 19, 2006).

Author, "Can Your Company Be Held Liable For the Discriminatory Conduct Of Its Non- Employee Contractors?" Weston Benshoof Litigation Newsletter (Spring 2006).

Speaker, American Corporate Counsel Association Partnering & Convergence Forum 2001: "Successful Strategies for Controlling Legal Costs."

Author, "Harmonic Convergence: Budget Constraints are Forcing Legal Departments to Review How They Contract for Outside Legal Services," California Law Business, The Los Angeles Daily Journal, June 19, 2000.

Speaker, American Bar Association Corporate Counsel Mid-Year Meeting, February 2002: In- House and Outside Counsel Roundtable.

Speaker, Construction Managers Association, March 2004: "Managing Mold Claims."

Speaker, DuPont Defense Forum, March and October 2002: "Current Trends in Tort Litigation."

Speaker' National Women's Corporate Counsel Conference' October 2001: "Establishing a Women's Network."

Author, "Toxic Tort Lawsuits Spark PUC Investigations," Los Angeles County Bar Association, Environmental Law Newsletter, November 1998.

Professional Memberships and Activities

Board Member, National Association of Women Lawyers; Chair, DuPont Minority Job Fair for the Western Region; Member, Defense Research Institute (Products Law and Toxic Tort Groups); Women Lawyers of Los Angeles; Black Women Lawyers Association; Langston Bar Association; African Americans in Downtown Firms; Step-Up Women's Network.