Ashley Hardin focuses on complex civil litigation, including representing companies in mass torts and multi-district litigation. Ashley currently represents Google and YouTube in mass litigation defending claims by school districts and individuals regarding social media use and teen mental health. In recent years, Ashley, along with a team of Williams & Connolly lawyers, defended a pharmaceutical distributor in state and federal trials as part of the nation’s complex opioid litigation. The American Lawyer Litigation Daily named the team “Litigators of the Week,” recognizing the team’s victory in obtaining a complete defense verdict after the landmark 3-month-long, 70-witness federal bench trial in West Virginia—which was one of the most closely-watched litigation matters at the time.
In addition to her trial work, Ashley represents corporations and individuals in state and federal government investigations, including in False Claims Act and consumer protection law investigations.
Benchmark Litigation named Ashley among their “Future Stars” list for 2023 and 2024. In 2020, Ashley was recognized by Who’s Who Legal in their global guide to recommended healthcare lawyers, Who’s Who Legal: Healthcare. In 2016, she was named a Law360 “Rising Star” for health care law.
A native of North Carolina, Ashley graduated from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 1999, where she was inducted as a member of Phi Beta Kappa. Ashley graduated magna cum laude with a J.D. from Georgetown University Law Center in 2004, where she was the winner of the 2002 Leahy Moot Court Competition and an editor of the Georgetown Law Journal. She joined Williams & Connolly in 2004. Ashley is co-chair of the firm’s Women’s Initiative, a member of the Associate Evaluation Committee, and an adjunct faculty member at Georgetown University Law Center where she co-teaches Trial Practice.
Updated Sep 2024