The following is an excerpt from Practice Perspectives: Vault's Guide to Legal Practice Areas.
Arianna Scavetti is a partner in Weil’s Washington, DC, office who focuses on complex trial and appellate litigation in state and federal courts nationwide. She represents public-facing corporate clients across a wide range of commercial disputes and at all stages of litigation. In the consumer products space, Arianna frequently defends companies in class actions alleging consumer fraud and deception under state and federal law, achieving significant victories in cases challenging product labeling and marketing as false or misleading.
She also advises companies on ESG commitments and marketing. Arianna provides strategic guidance on sustainability-related product labels and marketing materials and defends clients against claims involving global supply chain practices, including public nuisance and greenwashing allegations. Through both litigation and preventive counseling, she helps companies manage sensitive legal and reputational challenges while ensuring compliance with evolving consumer protection and ESG regulations.
Arianna also handles litigation and internal investigation matters for clients in the sports industry, including representing players’ unions and athletes on issues related to player safety, compensation, and well-being, and represents leading brands and universities on governance, contract, sponsorship, and other disputes.
Describe your practice area and what it entails.
My job is to help businesses navigate their trickiest disputes: the high-stakes, high-profile conflicts you read about in the news every day. We help our clients steer through disputes with all types of entities, including other companies, consumers, and government regulators. We guide our clients through every stage of the litigation process, including at the trial level and on appeal. Whether it is providing strategic counsel, winning in court, or developing innovative solutions outside litigation, we work to protect our clients’ interests and chart the clearest path forward to help our clients achieve their most important goals.
What types of clients do you represent?
Our practice group works with clients across a wide range of industries and business sectors. Much of my work focuses on major consumer goods companies, including some of the largest food and beverage brands in the world, such as PepsiCo and Tropicana. I work closely with clients in the sports industry, including players’ unions, individual athletes, universities, consultants, and big-brand sponsors. I enjoy working with clients that are in the public eye to help them not only prevail in litigation but also protect their brand and image.
What types of cases/deals do you work on?
The best part of my practice is the mix of cases; every dispute and every day is a little different. When I’m working with my consumer goods clients, which include some of the biggest food and beverage brands in the world, I help them address complex marketing and advertising questions. Our team works with our clients to help them navigate the web of federal regulations and business objectives to ensure that the labeling and marketing of their products are clear and effective, and we defend these clients if a government regulator or consumer challenges their ads as misleading in a class action or other type of lawsuit.
On the sports side, I work with players’ unions, athletes, and other sports industry clients on issues that cut to the core of sports governance and athlete well-being, including fair pay, player safety, and protections against abusive or discriminatory practices. For example, I served as lead counsel for the National Women’s Soccer League Players Association and conducted a 14-month internal investigation into allegations of abuse and misconduct in women’s professional soccer. This was an opportunity to work closely with the players to under-stand and reshape the league and team dynamics in a way that would ensure success and player safety for years to come.
From consumer goods to sports and across our entire commercial litigation practice, the focus is always on protecting what matters most to our clients and making a real difference in high-impact and high-profile situations.
How did you choose this practice area?
I watched a lot of Law & Order as a kid! I was fascinated by Jack McCoy and loved the idea of being in the courtroom and having to develop the winning argument when the pressure is on. Because I knew I wanted to be in a courtroom, I joined the mock trial team as soon as I could and competed through high school, college, and law schooI. I always knew litigation was the right path for me.
Even though I knew I wanted to be a litigator, I didn’t plan to specialize in any particular area or industry. As a summer associate, I worked on a consumer class action that involved “all natural” labels on potato chips, and I found it fascinating because it was so grounded in real life—how actual people shop, read labels, and understand product marketing. That experience showed me how much I enjoyed litigation that connects directly to people’s every day experiences, and I’ve enjoyed building my understanding of the industry and consumer habits ever since. As for sports, I’ve always been passionate about it, and I made sure to share that with folks I worked with and to seek out as many opportunities as possible to work in the field.
What is a “typical” day like and/or what are some common tasks you perform?
A typical day in complex litigation is a mix of research, writing and strategy. The bread and butter of our work is understanding the statutes and case law that shape our clients’ obligations and then using this knowledge to persuade a court that our client’s position is the right one. We spend a lot of time drafting briefs, motions, and other written work because clear, persuasive writing is at the heart of effective advocacy. The best quality for a litigator is to be a good storyteller, and we spend every day working to refine our client’s story to make sure we are advancing their goals.
What training, classes, experience, or skills development would you recommend to someone who wishes to enter your practice area?
Seek out opportunities to think on your feet, communicate clearly, and hone those storytelling skills. Trial Advocacy, Appellate Advocacy, moot court, clinics, and externships all give you the chance to develop these skills.
Growing these skills is incredibly important because, as a junior lawyer, you are expected to be ready to analyze issues quickly and explain your reasoning clearly to the team. Being able to respond thoughtfully under pressure is incredibly valuable. Writing also matters enormously, so any class or experience that sharpens your writing and argument skills will give you an edge when you start practicing. Look for opportunities where you have to know your case inside and out and be ready to respond to questions from judges, professors, or opposing counsel.
What is unique about your practice area at your firm?
What makes our practice unique is the range of issues and industries we handle and the mix of matters to which we get to contribute. In today’s legal market, many lawyers focus narrowly on one area of law, but as complex commercial litigators, we step in wherever disputes arise. We collaborate with colleagues across antitrust, M&A, patent, and securities, and we handle everything from business-to-business disputes to class actions and internal investigations, which gives us a broad perspective and lets us bring the right expertise to each case.
This variety keeps the work dynamic and interesting, and it also allows us to understand our clients’ businesses from every angle. Because we see the full spectrum of their legal and business challenges, we can offer more holistic and strategic advice, which makes us better counselors and problem solvers.
What are some typical tasks that a junior lawyer would perform in this practice area?
For a new lawyer, your job would be to start researching tricky questions right away. I count on junior attorneys to become experts in the statutes that are at issue. You are often the first person to dive deeply into the facts and the law, and your work shapes how the team thinks about the case. Even though you may not be arguing in court as soon as you arrive, you are playing a critical role in building our arguments and telling the client’s story in a clear and compelling way.
Take the food and beverage space as an example. There are very specific rules about when a company can use labels such as “no artificial flavors” or “low sugar.” I count on junior attorneys to dig into those statutes and regulations and learn how courts have applied them. This expertise will help us decide what our best arguments will be to defend against claims challenging our client’s labeling and will also help us advise the client on strategies for product marketing going forward.
How do you see this practice area evolving in the future?
The business landscape for our clients is only going to get more complex. Companies face more regulations, faster-moving technology, and a rapidly changing legislative environment. This means the questions we handle will become more challenging as well.
To meet this challenge, we will need to stay nimble and keep expanding our understanding of our clients’ businesses, industries, and goals. Our role is to help them navigate uncertainty and find practical solutions, and this will require even stronger problem-solving skills and deeper collaboration across disciplines. In short, the future of this practice is about being adaptable, creative, and relentlessly focused on what our clients are trying to accomplish.
What do you feel are the benefits of taking a generalist approach in litigation versus pursuing a more specialized practice?
One of the biggest benefits of taking a broad approach in litigation is that you gain a 360-degree view of your client’s business. This perspective makes you a stronger and more strategic counselor. For example, when I work with a food and beverage company, it is not enough to understand only one narrow area of law. By looking across multiple areas, including regulatory, litigation, and business considerations, we can help them think through their toughest challenges and make decisions that advance their long-term goals.
This broader approach also allows us to build deeper and more lasting partnerships with our clients. Because we understand how the legal issues fit into the bigger picture of their business growth, public perception, and internal priorities, we can offer advice that is both practical and aligned with their overall strategy.