EVERYTOWN - Key Persons
Aaron Esty - Chief Legal Officer
Aaron applies his policy experience in gun trafficking litigation and in advocating sensible firearms regulation through the courts.
Through the Freedom of Information Act, Aaron sheds light on the federal government's regulation of the gun industry. Before joining the litigation team, Aaron worked on legislation and policy at Everytown. Prior to that, Aaron served over two years as Legal Counsel in the legislature of the Republic of Palau. Aaron has also fought for asylum seekers and immigrants seeking relief from deportation proceedings and has helped represent victims of international human rights abuses in federal litigation.
Job Titles:
- Deputy Director, Affirmative Litigation
Job Titles:
- Managing Director, Affirmative Litigation
Andrew is a talented litigator who works in courts throughout the country to advance gun safety.
Andrew's work focuses on obtaining justice for survivors of gun violence. He also challenges dangerous gun laws in court and represents municipalities that are fighting to protect their communities from gun violence.
Before joining Everytown, he clerked for the Honorable Carolyn Dineen King of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit and for the Honorable Allyne R. Ross of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York. He began his career as a constitutional litigator at Americans United for Separation of Church and State.
Carly is a skilled litigator who practices in state and federal courts throughout the country to advance gun safety and to seek justice for gun violence survivors and victims.
Carly's practice focuses on obtaining justice for survivors and victims of gun violence, and challenging laws and policies that undermine gun safety. Before joining Everytown Law, she was a litigation associate at Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison LLP, where she was part of the firm's anti-gun violence practice and on a variety of complex civil litigation matters on the defense side.
Carolyn represents clients across the country who seek to advance gun violence prevention through the courts and before regulatory bodies.
Carolyn represents survivors, families of victims, municipalities and other stakeholders who challenge dangerous laws and policies, pursue justice from the gun industry, and seek to improve access to data that is critical to gun violence prevention research. Her work has been covered by the New York Times.
While at Columbia Law School, Carolyn served as an articles editor for the Columbia Human Rights Law Review. While in Law School, Carolyn interned for The Bronx Defenders, for the Honorable Carol Bagley Amon of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York, and for the Honorable Barry T. Albin of the New Jersey Supreme Court. Carolyn also served as an articles editor for the Columbia Human Rights Law Review.
Prior to joining Everytown Law, Carolyn was a litigation associate at Arnold & Porter Kaye Scholer LLP. While at Arnold & Porter, she represented survivors of a mass shooting in a negligence action against the dealer that sold the gun.
Job Titles:
- Deputy Director, Affirmative Litigation
Job Titles:
- Constitutional Law Fellow
Emily is a dedicated advocate who believes in the power of affirmative litigation to change firearm industry practices and obtain justice for survivors of gun violence.
Emily's work focuses on holding the firearm industry accountable, helping cities and states defend their gun safety laws, and representing survivors of gun violence. She is particularly interested in creatively overcoming industry immunity, and in work concerning ghost guns and preventing hate-motivated gun violence.
Emily graduated from the University of California, Davis School of Law, where she received the Reynoso Academic Excellence Award. During law school, Emily served as Editor-in-Chief of the Social Justice Law Review and director of a student-run nonprofit that funded public interest work. She also interned at the Giffords Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence and Everytown Law, and worked part-time as a Litigation Analyst with Everytown during her final year of law school. Prior to law school, Emily worked as a senior campaigner for Amnesty International USA's End Gun Violence campaign. She received her B.A. in Political Science and Philosophy from Kalamazoo College in 2014, where she was awarded the L. J. and Eva Hemmes Memorial Prize in Philosophy.
Job Titles:
- Executive Director and Chief Litigation Counsel
Eugene is a Counsel at Everytown Law working to promote more community-oriented and less fear-driven conceptions of safety, freedom, and human rights.
Eugene has worked for the ACLU's Immigrants' Rights Project, the Southern Poverty Law Center, and the World Bank's anti-corruption unit.
Job Titles:
- Constitutional Law Fellow
Job Titles:
- Constitutional Law Fellow
- Law Fellow
James ("Jed") brings more than a decade of litigation experience to his work challenging dangerous gun laws and helping survivors of gun violence seek justice.
Job Titles:
- Senior Director, Issues and Appeals
Job Titles:
- Special Litigation Advisor to
Jon has been bringing, litigating, and winning trailblazing, impactful lawsuits, and advocating for gun violence prevention for 25 years.
Jonathan Lowy, Special Litigation Advisor to Everytown Law, also serves as President of Global Action on Gun Violence, which he founded in 2022. (Global Action on Gun Violence is not affiliated with Everytown.) He formerly served as Chief Counsel at Brady. He has litigated in trial and appellate courts in over 40 states, helped win over $100 million in verdicts and settlements for victims of gun violence, created groundbreaking precedent that holds gun companies accountable for their contribution to gun violence, reformed dangerous gun industry practices, and shut down reckless gun dealers.
Education
Harvard College, B.A.
University of Virginia School of Law, J.D.
Job Titles:
- Litigation Researcher and Investigator
Laura is a detail-oriented litigator who practices in state and federal courts throughout the country to advance gun violence prevention efforts.
Laura's work focuses on challenging laws and policies that undermine gun safety and obtaining justice for survivors of gun violence. Prior to joining Everytown Law, Laura clerked for Judge Beth Labson Freeman of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California. Laura was also an associate at O'Melveny & Myers, LLP, where she was part of a team that successfully challenged New York's refusal to issue gender-affirming drivers' licenses with an X gender marker to nonbinary New Yorkers.
While in law school, Laura was a member of the Environmental Law Clinic and interned with the Immigration Law Unit of the Legal Aid Society of New York City. Laura also volunteered with Lenox Hill Neighborhood House, representing New York City public housing residents in eviction proceedings. Additionally, Laura was the Notes Editor for the Columbia Journal of Gender and Law. Prior to law school, Laura worked as a newspaper reporter for five years.
Job Titles:
- Senior Director, Litigation Strategies and Trials
Job Titles:
- Deputy Director, Second Amendment History and Scholarship
Nina is a skilled litigator who practices in state and federal courts throughout the country to advance gun safety.
Nina's work focuses on challenging laws and policies that undermine gun safety and obtaining justice for survivors of gun violence.
Before joining Everytown, Nina was a litigation associate at Jones Day in New York and served as a law clerk for the Honorable Suzanne Mitchell of the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Oklahoma and as a law clerk for the U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey.
While in law school, Nina served as submissions editor for the Columbia Human Rights Law Review and interned with The Bronx Defenders, the Office of the Alameda County Public Defender, and for the Honorable Robert A. Katzmann of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit.
Ryan has briefed and argued cases at both the trial and appellate levels, on issues of preemption, State and Federal Constitutional law, and a host of procedural issues.
In addition to his litigation work, Ryan has presented at conferences on various gun violence prevention issues, including as a key-note speaker at the Equal Justice Works Conference alongside Congressman Jamie Raskin. Ryan has also served as a guest lecturer for a law school class speaking about gun safety litigation. He has published on the topic of Federal Sentencing Law, and is serving as a guest editor of the Federal Sentencing Reporter, a highly respected journal on the topic.
Prior to joining Everytown Law, Ryan clerked for the Honorable Jack B. Weinstein of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York. He was a litigation associate with Jenner & Block, LLP, and interned for the Honorable Jed S. Rakoff of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York. During law school, he served as the notes editor of the Annual Survey of American Law and received the Gary E. Moncrieffe Award for his work on racism and the law. Prior to law school, Ryan worked as a paralegal at the New York Legal Assistance Group helping people with food stamps and public assistance cases.
Job Titles:
- Deputy Director, Second Amendment Litigation