Waseem Salahi

Civil Matters

• Represented a large insurer in a complex fraud trial that concluded after defense evidence prompted plaintiffs to dismiss their case.*
• Defended a national distributor in silicosis litigation that settled favorably on the eve of trial.*
• Represented a large insurer on behalf of a decades-long environmental insurance-coverage dispute.*
• Defended major rideshare company in product-liability and negligence suit.*
• Defended major social media company in product-liability and negligence suit.*
• Represented prominent public figure on sensitive, #MeToo-related allegations.*
• Served as amicus counsel for a global technology company before the California and Wisconsin Supreme Courts on issues under the federal Stored Communications Act; also advised the company on whether to move to quash subpoenas or warrants, or to seek modification of non-disclosure orders (NDOs) to provide user notice.*

Criminal Matters

• Secured a jury acquittal on obstruction charges after brief jury deliberation after cross-examining lead case agent and delivering closing argument.*
• Secured a jury acquittal after just 15 minutes of jury deliberation on all contested drug-trafficking and firearm counts—avoiding a 10-year mandatory-minimum prison sentence—after cross-examining multiple witnesses, including a Drug Enforcement Administration expert, and delivering closing argument.*
• Won a jury acquittal in a high-stakes drug-trafficking case by exposing perjury through cross-examination of multiple police witnesses, eliminating a 10-year mandatory-minimum prison sentence.*
• Secured dismissal on the eve of trial after reviewing 40,000+ digital items, defeating multiple government motions and presenting a targeted dismissal pitch in a major crimes case.*
• Obtained pretrial diversion and dismissal agreement—an exceptionally rare result in a 15-year mandatory-minimum major crimes case—following extensive cross-border investigation and narrative development.*
• Obtained dismissal of 10-year mandatory-minimum charges by uncovering misconduct by a government informant, resulting in a sentence equivalent to probation.*
• Achieved dismissal after analyzing body-camera footage and moving to suppress evidence from a vehicle impound and inventory search.*
• Obtained dismissals of two aggravated-identity-theft counts in a passport-fraud matter, eliminating a four-year mandatory-minimum consecutive sentence.*
• Secured diversion and dismissal for a client charged with aggravated identity theft carrying a two-year mandatory minimum.*
• Obtained numerous misdemeanor dismissals.*
• Prepared a high-profile insurance fraud case for trial following extensive interstate and international investigation.*
• Secured a favorable, eve-of-trial plea in a high-stakes multi-defendant racketeering prosecution.*
• Second-chaired a sensitive jury trial involving alleged extortion of a public figure and litigated novel statutory and First Amendment issues against large-firm counsel.*
• Reduced exposure from a 10-year minimum to a 15-month sentence in a marijuana-grow case by raising novel challenge to the government's plant-counting method.*
• Argued an issue of first impression on a constitutional claim before the Ninth Circuit after litigating the matter in the district court.*
• Secured multiple dismissals in contested supervised-release revocation hearings following cross-examination of probation officers.*
• Obtained noncustodial sentences in several cases over the government's requests for substantial prison terms.*

*Prior to joining Kirkland