Angela C. Agrusa

While acknowledging defending comedian Bill Cosby against criminal sexual assault charges last summer was “very controversial,” self-identified feminist Agrusa said it ultimately underscores her commitment to constitutional protections for all.

“I’ve demonstrated that I am a fearless advocate for my clients,” Agrusa said. “I’m willing to advance their defenses and to be creative and to take contemplated and deliberate risks.”

Calling the Cosby case, which ended in a mistrial, an “unusual situation,” the former American Civil Liberties Union clerk has since returned to her primary practice handling high-stakes brand crisis litigation, a niche she carved out since the Great Recession.

According to Agrusa, her “trial under fire” on behalf of Cosby has refined her approach to the complex litigation, class actions and civil cases in the consumer products and services space she typically handles.

“It’s a balancing act,” navigating tough accusations against her clients in a way that is compelling to the court but also advances and defends their brand in the voice of their brand, she said.

At the end of last year, Agrusa’s client Hilton Resorts Corporation was served a putative class action suit seeking hundreds of millions of dollars from Hilton Grand Vacations for alleged violations of consumer telephone marketing practice laws. By identifying factual and legal defects surrounding the plaintiff and her counsel’s demands, she secured the dismissal of the action without filing an initial appearance. Beside the money saved in the process, Agrusa said she toed a “fine line” familiar in her practice to similarly shield the Hilton brand.

“People want to believe that businesses are treating them fairly,” Agrusa said. “When they’re alleged to have done something like violating privacy rights, you have to vigorously defend your client without denigrating the customer loyalty that’s been built up over decades.”

— Lila Seidman