Before law school, Rachel L. Fiset was a nationally ranked junior tennis player who earned a spot on the Purdue University’s team.
“The competitive nature of being a nationally ranked athlete is absolutely a guiding principle of how I practice law,” Fiset said, mentioning she still plays at least once a week. “Tennis is a sport where you can always come back, no matter how far behind you are. … And even if things might not look like they’re going your way in a case, you can change your strategy, flip something, and you’ll be ahead again.”
The managing partner and co-founder of Zweiback, Fiset & Zalduendo LLP in Los Angeles said she focuses her practice on representing individuals and corporations in complex civil litigation, government investigations and white-collar defense.
“Any kind of fraud, you name it, and I’ve done it — both on the civil side and on the criminal side,” Fiset said, noting her firm also occasionally tackles matters from the plaintiffs’ side.
“We are very skilled at handling a case that has both a civil component and a criminal component,” she added. “One of my specialties is running parallel cases because it is very easy to misstep in a civil case in a way that can put you in jeopardy in a government investigation.”
Fiset started the firm in 2018 with Michael Zweiback, a former assistant U.S. attorney she worked closely with at ArentFox Schiff LLP and Alston & Bird LLP.
“We always found we were bringing in the work, and we were doing the work,” Zweiback said. “And we just felt, at that particular time, it was right for us to go out and do this on our own.”
Zweiback spent 18 years as a federal prosecutor, tackling everything from organized crime to terrorism, and he ended his run in the U.S. attorney’s office for the Central District as chief of the cybercrimes unit, an area of law where his firm also focuses frequently today.
“We advise clients on all forms of cyber security matters,” he explained. “Everything from data breaches to privacy issues they’re facing with the development of recent privacy legislation in California and elsewhere.”
Zweiback said his firm has represented Microsoft in several cases where the company alleged a group of defendants broke into customer accounts and stole highly sensitive information. Microsoft Corporation v. John Does 1:17-cv-1224 (E.D. Virginia, filed Oct. 26, 2017).
“We were involved in getting restraining orders in those cases against botnets, which are the means through which malware and malicious code is proliferated over the internet,” Zweiback said.
Zweiback, Fiset & Zalduendo LLP is, meanwhile, defending Julio M. Herrera Velutini, an international banker accused of bribing former Puerto Rico Gov. Wanda Vázquez Garced, who was arrested on conspiracy and corruption charges in August.
Velutini faces up to 20 years in prison if convicted of taking part in the payment of more than $300,000 to Garced in exchange for the termination of a financial regulatory commissioner, according to an Aug. 4 U.S. Department of Justice statement. USA v. Julio M. Herrera Velutini et al. 22-342 ADC (D.C. Puerto Rico, filed Aug. 3, 2022).
“I can’t say a lot about it because there are press restrictions,” Zweiback said. “But it shows that even the most complicated cases are cases which we’re involved in because of our level of expertise.”
The firm underwent a rebranding this year after adding name partner Jeanine M. Zalduendo, who came from Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan LLP. Zalduendo has defended Elon Musk in defamation suits arising from statements made on Twitter, including successfully defeating a $190 million complaint filed against the Tesla founder in 2018 for calling British caver Vernon Unsworth a “pedo guy.” Vernon Unsworth v. Elon Musk, 18-cv08048 (C.D. Cal., filed Sept. 28, 2018).
Fiset, who’s known Zalduendo for more than 15 years, said she and Zweiback jumped at the chance to add such a substantially experienced litigator to their firm, which is now home to 10 attorneys. Fiset also noted that the move falls in line with another core objective: operating a woman-owned law firm that promotes and supports the careers of women attorneys.
“You are so often in a room of all men,” Fiset said. “You’re so often litigating against men in front of a male judge. It’s hard to find people that look like yourself as you get to the more senior ranks in your career, so I’m trying to promote and retain women so they’ll grow.”
Fiset said the ratio of attorneys coming out of law school is about 50% men and 50% women, but when she looks at the partnership level of many firms, that figure changes to about 80% men and just 20% women.
“Women are dropping out of the profession for various reasons, and it’s important to find a way to retain them inside of the profession, and they have to be at the top level – not just at the bottom level – in order to make a difference in the legal landscape,” Fiset maintained. “There are women partners inside of these large law firms, but it’s hard to find them at the equity level. It’s hard to find them on the executive level. Part of my mission is to try to get women to the most senior levels in the law.”
Los Angeles civil litigator R.C Harlan, who has known Fiset for years and opposed her on cases, described her as “a fiery competitor in the courtroom.”
“She fights unbelievably hard for her clients’ positions and can really make it tough on the other side,” Harlan said. “But at the same time, she’s very professional. … She’s certainly a fiery litigator, but she’s also got a big heart.”
Acknowledging again that much of that competitive fire was learned on the tennis court, Fiset said it remains an important part of how she handles cases.
“In situations where you think it makes sense for your client, it’s important for the other side to know that you’re not going to back down,” she explained. “I don’t scare easy.”