Monica Limeng Woolley

Monica Limeng Woolley is an associate in the Washington, D.C. office of Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher. Her practice includes litigation, government enforcement, and investigations, with a focus on the areas of intellectual property, auditing and accounting, and securities fraud. She also counsels clients concerning enforcement and defense of intellectual property claims, as well as compliance with SEC, PCAOB, and other federal and state rules and standards. 

Monica’s IP litigation and counseling practice includes experience in trademark, copyright, licensing, and trade secret matters. She has represented various companies in a broad range of industries, including financial services, consumer goods, entertainment, transportation, and online services. Monica’s experience also extends to representing clients in arbitration proceedings under the Uniform Dispute Resolution Policy (UDRP) to enforce trademark rights in fraudulently registered domain names, with successful outcomes in all proceedings to date.

Monica frequently represents both accounting firms and public company clients on SEC and PCAOB accounting and auditing matters, including enforcement investigations conducted by the SEC and PCAOB, and counsels large and mid-sized accounting firms and professional organizations on compliance with applicable SEC and PCAOB rules and standards, as well as state licensing requirements for individuals and firms. She is experienced in conducting internal investigations involving potential violations of SEC and PCAOB rules and standards, and also advises public companies on the adequacy of the design and implementation of their corporate ethics and compliance programs, with a special expertise in ensuring the preservation of attorney-client privilege and work product protection over internal investigations. 

Monica maintains an active pro bono practice and has been recognized on the D.C. Courts’ Capital Pro Bono Honor Roll each year since 2021. Monica’s pro bono practice focuses on litigating federal appellate and constitutional matters as well as assisting not-for-profit organizations with intellectual property issues.

Representative pro bono matters include:

• Represented prisoner in successful Seventh Circuit appeal challenging violations of his rights under the Americans with Disabilities Act, Rehabilitation Act, and Eighth Amendment during his incarceration in McDaniel v. Syed, No. 20-2946 (7th Cir.).
• Represented immigrant in Ninth Circuit appeal challenging denial of asylum and withholding of removal, ultimately resulting in the government’s motion for remand in Zheng Hui v. Garland, No. 20-70047 (9th Cir.). 
• Wrote amicus curiae brief on behalf of nonprofit press organization in support of First Amendment challenge to retaliatory state legislation against a major media and entertainment company.
• Litigated successful constitutional challenge to Mississippi’s application of licensing requirements for cosmetologists to makeup artists.
• Advised various not-for-profit organizations regarding trademark and copyright enforcement and defense.
• Represented not-for-profit organization in arbitration proceeding under the UDRP to enforce trademark rights in fraudulently registered domain name.

Monica received her Juris Doctor, cum laude, from the Georgetown University Law Center. During law school, she served as Executive Editor of The Georgetown Law Journal. While at Georgetown, she assisted with an investigation conducted by a boutique litigation firm in Washington, D.C. on behalf of the Government of Rwanda, which scrutinized the role of French officials in the 1994 Rwandan genocide. Monica also served as a law clerk in the Federal Tort Claims Act Section of the Department of Justice. She graduated cum laude from the University of Southern California (USC), where she earned a Bachelor of Arts in International Relations (Global Business) with a minor in Music Industry.

Monica is admitted to practice in California and the District of Columbia.

Capabilities

• Litigation
• Accounting Firm Advisory and Defense
• Appellate and Constitutional Law
• Consumer and Retail
• Intellectual Property
• Securities Enforcement
• White Collar Defense and Investigations

Credentials

Education:

• Georgetown University - 2020 Juris Doctor
• University of Southern California - 2016 Bachelor of Arts

Admissions:

• California Bar
• District of Columbia Bar