Ervin Cohen & Jessup Bolsters Litigation Practice with Peter Selvin and Pooja Nair

Ervin Cohen & Jessup announced today that Peter S. Selvin and Pooja S. Nair have joined the Firm’s Litigation practice.

“Peter and Pooja bring additional skill and momentum to our litigation and trial capabilities,” said Co-Managing Partner Randy Leff. “It is a pleasure to add not one but two lawyers of this caliber to our intentionally selected team of award-winning litigators and trial attorneys, and I am confident that each will be a strong asset to the Firm's continued growth.”

Selvin has nearly 40 years of experience handling commercial litigation, insurance coverage and international litigation. He represents insurers and national corporations in high-stakes civil disputes in a variety of commercial and business settings around the United States. In 2011, Selvin won one of the largest judgments issued that year by the Los Angeles Superior Court – a $23 million judgment after trial. Other notable experience includes a highly publicized three-month “bet the company” jury trial involving claims in the billions of dollars; his longstanding representation of media figures and celebrities in high-stakes litigation; and his expertise in successfully securing insurance coverage in cases involving business torts and intellectual property claims.

“Joining Ervin Cohen & Jessup provides my clients with a variety of professionals—both on the transactional and the litigation side—who are not only talented at the law but who are also business minded,” said Selvin.

A graduate of the University of Chicago and the UCLA School of Law, Selvin is a Fellow in the highly selective Litigation Counsel of America. Selvin has also been recognized since 2007 in Best Lawyers in America for preeminence in commercial litigation and insurance law. Prior to joining Ervin Cohen & Jessup, Selvin practiced at Loeb & Loeb and at TroyGould.

Nair is a business litigator and problem solver with a focus on the food and beverage sector. She advises food and beverage clients, startups and other businesses on a comprehensive range of issues including employment, trade secrets, partnership disputes, contract negotiations, intellectual property, licensing and franchise disputes. In November 2018, Nair second-chaired a four-week jury trial resulting in a $20.3 million verdict.

“Ervin Cohen & Jessup has a tremendous amount of energy and brilliant, innovative attorneys in a variety of practice areas,” said Nair. “I'm looking forward to using these resources to offer my clients creative solutions to their legal and business challenges.”

Nair joins Ervin Cohen & Jessup from TroyGould where she was the head of the firm’s Food and Beverage practice. Prior to that, Nair practiced at Foley & Lardner for five years, where she focused on white collar criminal defense and internal investigations. She has published extensively, including in Law360, Daily Journal, Eater, California Lawyer and Bloomberg. She writes a bi-monthly column for Modern Restaurant Management on legal developments affecting restaurants.

Nair received her undergraduate degree magna cum laude from the University of California, San Diego and her JD at Harvard Law School. She serves on the Board of Directors of the Harvard Club of Southern California and was recognized this year by the Los Angeles Business Journal as one of the “Most Influential Women Lawyers.”