McGuireWoods continues its West Coast expansion with the addition of former federal prosecutor Shailika Shah Kotiya and former fintech general counsel and accomplished litigator Aaron Marienthal, who join the firm’s Financial Services & Securities Enforcement Department as partners in San Francisco.
Kotiya has more than a decade of experience as a federal prosecutor, most recently as an assistant U.S. attorney in the Northern District of California, where she served as chief of the General Crimes Division after leading the Organized Crime and Drug Enforcement Task Force. Before moving to the West Coast in 2015, Kotiya was an assistant U.S. attorney in the Eastern District of North Carolina.
As an AUSA, Kotiya led numerous criminal and civil trial teams and argued eight cases at the U.S. Courts of Appeals for the Fourth and Ninth Circuits before her promotion to divisional leadership roles. She joins McGuireWoods from Scale LLP, where she represented clients in litigation, complex regulatory matters and government investigations.
Marienthal comes to McGuireWoods from Payactiv Inc., a financial technology platform that provides workers with on-demand access to earned wages. Marienthal was the company’s senior vice president and general counsel responsible for legal, legislative and regulatory matters. He built the company’s legal and compliance departments, led engagement with state and federal regulators on proposed rulemaking related to earned wage access, and spearheaded the company’s government affairs.
Before joining Payactiv in 2020, Marienthal was at McGuireWoods, advising clients in consumer financial services litigation, regulatory actions and investigations, commercial disputes and intellectual property matters. He defended top financial institutions and fintech companies in individual and class action cases related to consumer lending and finance issues.
“Clients will benefit from the insight Shailika gained leading complicated government investigations, prosecutions and civil litigation, as well as Aaron’s proven ability to help innovative companies, including fintech firms, navigate difficult litigation and regulatory challenges,” said Robert Muckenfuss, chair of McGuireWoods’ Financial Services & Securities Enforcement Department.
Noreen Kelly, McGuireWoods’ deputy managing partner for litigation, added: “Shailika and Aaron further deepen our already powerful financial services and white collar litigation capabilities and continue our West Coast expansion.”
The additions of Kotiya and Marienthal follow the recent arrival of an 11-lawyer insurance recovery team in Century City, California, bolstering McGuireWoods’ position as the go-to law firm for commercial insurance coverage and recovery matters.
“The depth and breadth of experience that Shailika and Aaron bring to the firm are tremendous, enhancing one of our key practices in the Bay Area and nationally,” said David Powell, managing partner of the San Francisco office.
McGuireWoods was among an exclusive group of law firms that corporate counsel identified as a commercial litigation powerhouse in “BTI Litigation Outlook 2024: Navigating Litigation Spending in the New Unpredictable World.” Law360 twice named McGuireWoods a “Banking Practice Group of the Year” for excellence representing financial services institutions in litigation, regulatory and transactional matters.
“McGuireWoods has a premier litigation practice with a national reputation for excellence in financial services litigation and government investigations,” Kotiya said. “I look forward to building on the firm’s strengths on the West Coast and nationwide.”
Said Marienthal: “I am excited to come home to McGuireWoods and put my experience to work to ensure clients overcome ever-evolving legal, regulatory and technical obstacles and stay ahead of the innovation curve.”