Elizabeth Olien

Senior Associate

Washington, D.C.

Elizabeth Olien is a complex commercial and civil litigator with a business background in management and technology consulting.

Elizabeth represents businesses of all sizes, including financial, health care and educational institutions, as well as individuals, in a variety of business disputes, appeals, and government and internal investigations. Her experience includes resolving contractual issues, matters involving officers and directors of corporate and nonprofit boards, disputes between business partners and disputes between employers and employees. She has experience representing clients across the litigation life cycle, from assessing potential matters through discovery, including managing large-scale e-discovery efforts, taking and defending depositions and working with experts and consultants, to trial and appeal. She has argued before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit and the First Circuit, as well as in state and federal trial courts. She was one of the first attorneys to argue remotely before the Massachusetts Appeals Court in May 2020. She also maintains an active pro bono practice.

During law school, Elizabeth was selected to participate in the Boston College Law Massachusetts Attorney General Clinic, serving in the Administrative Law Division. After law school, she briefly returned to assist the Consumer Protection Division with an investigation into allegations of false and misleading statements by a rating agency regarding mortgage-backed securities.

Before law school, Elizabeth was a consultant in the federal services group of a global consulting firm where she designed and implemented business processes to support e-commerce functions and other enterprise information systems. She also worked with the firm’s foundation to develop its first corporate citizenship initiative focused on providing pro bono consulting services.

Prior to working at Orrick, Elizabeth was an associate at Buckley LLP in Washington. Before that, she was an associate at a boutique litigation firm in Boston.

    • Arguing before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit on the scope of deliberative process privilege under the Freedom of Information Act in matter regarding request to include citizenship question in 2020 U.S. census
    • Defending Japanese gaming company against business tort claims arising from the removal of its founder from the board of directors
    • Defending the trustees of a complex national real estate business comprised of multiple trusts and related corporate entities in actions for an accounting brought by a beneficiary in multiple states
    • Defending financial institutions before the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) and the Office of the Comptroller of Currency (OCC) in enforcement matters regarding overdraft fees and peer-to-peer payments
    • Arguing before the First Circuit on behalf of a former college president to uphold the complete dismissal of a seven-count complaint alleging fraud, breaches of fiduciary duty, contract, and privacy and seeking $40 million in damages after the college closed. Defending the client in a related Massachusetts Attorney General investigation resulting in no adverse action
    • Arguing before the Massachusetts Appeals Court on an evidentiary issue concerning the admissibility of contract negotiations during a jury trial in a breach of contract action
    • Second chairing a bench trial and conducting the direct examination of key witness in a breach of contract action involving the buy-out of a former business partner
    • Defending a national health care system in a whistleblower action brought by a terminated physician claiming significant damages and involving complex privacy and privilege issues with extensive discovery
    • Defending a national health care system in a breach of contract action in the Delaware Chancery Court arising from the acquisition of eight hospitals with factually complex claims and counterclaims
    • Representing a public charter school in an administrative appeal and constitutional claim against a state agency, involving novel legal issues and a dispute over public records requests
    • Achieving a favorable resolution for the former CEO of a well-known candy company in a bankruptcy adversary litigation involving breach of fiduciary duty allegations
    • Defending a Fortune 500 company in a multi-party civil fraud dispute concerning its performance under maintenance services contract at a senior care facility