Former Assistant U.S. Attorney Yvonne Saadi Joins Blank Rome as a Litigation Partner in Pittsburgh
Blank Rome LLP is pleased to announce that Yvonne M. Saadi has joined the firm as a partner in the Commercial Litigation group in Pittsburgh. Yvonne has more than a decade of civil and criminal litigation experience, including serving for nearly five years as an Assistant U.S. Attorney (“AUSA”) in the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Pennsylvania. Yvonne will focus her practice on counseling clients in litigation and white-collar matters and investigations.
Blank Rome has experienced steady and strategic growth across offices and practices to support client needs since the start of the year—Yvonne is the 24th lateral partner to join the firm in 2023. The Pittsburgh office has also expanded, recently adding Senior Counsel Judge Timothy K. Lewis, Of Counsel Andrew P. Cross, and Associates Brandy S. Ringer and Alexander J. Bell.
“I am pleased to welcome Yvonne to the firm,” said Grant S. Palmer, Blank Rome’s Chair and Managing Partner. “Yvonne’s experience in the U.S. Attorney’s Office and in private practice will add significant value to our national litigation and trial teams, especially as we help clients manage an increasing number of disputes and interactions with the federal government.”
As an AUSA, Yvonne served in the Appellate Division and in the Criminal Division, in the Narcotics and Violent Crimes and Major Crimes sections. During her tenure, she obtained substantial courtroom experience and investigated and prosecuted a wide range of federal offenses, including firearms, narcotics, immigration, and white-collar crimes.
Prior to her time as a federal prosecutor, Yvonne worked in private practice counseling clients on a wide variety of complex litigation matters, including employment, antitrust, tort, finance, class action, and business disputes. In addition to her litigation work, Yvonne advised clients on mitigating litigation risk, on internal investigations, and on corporate documents and financial instruments.
“Yvonne is a great addition to our team in Pittsburgh, where we are growing our local commercial litigation capabilities as part of our nationwide expansion,” said Jayme L. Butcher, Co-Chair of the Commercial Litigation group and Partner in the Pittsburgh office. “Her broad civil and criminal experience coupled with her trial skills and persuasive writing abilities will be an asset to our local clients as well as those served by our national platform.”
Yvonne has broad experience at all stages of litigation—from inception through motion practice, trial and post-trial matters, and appeal. She also previously served as a law clerk to the Honorable Patricia A. Seitz, Senior U.S. District Judge in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida.
“I look forward to growing my practice and serving clients at Blank Rome,” said Saadi. “The strength of the firm’s national litigation practice has attracted many prominent litigators. I am proud to be a part of such a dynamic team, and I am excited to reunite with my former colleagues Craig Weiner and Lisa Coyle, who joined the firm recently and speak very highly of Blank Rome. I am also looking forward to becoming involved in the firm’s impressive programs and initiatives geared toward developing and advancing women.”
Yvonne earned her J.D. from Harvard Law School, where she served as Senior Editor of the Harvard Business Law Review and Line Editor of the Civil Rights Civil Liberties Law Review. She earned her Bachelor of Philosophy in Psychology and B.A. in German and Philosophy, summa cum laude, from the University of Pittsburgh. She is admitted to the bars of Pennsylvania and New York.