They’ve Got Next: The 40 Under 40 - Nicholas DiCarlo of Zuckerman Spaeder

Please describe two of your most substantial, recent wins in practice.

It’s an honor that clients trust me and my colleagues to represent them in their most challenging disputes. In representing the CFO of EagleBank, I was proud to obtain a declination from the SEC in an investigation into alleged misstatements in securities disclosures.

We achieved the declination after submitting a Wells response and constructive engagement with the Enforcement Division. In representing genetic testing companies in disputes to obtain reimbursement for medically necessary services, it’s been vindicating to deliver multi-million-dollar decisions—including a recent arbitration victory against one of the nation’s largest for-profit insurers.

I was thrilled to argue and win a precedential decision in the Fourth Circuit on behalf of immigrant families and tenants. Our clients, Latino families who were forced from their homes in a Virginia mobile home park due to a discriminatory “show your papers” policy, filed a Fair Housing Act lawsuit.

The court held that defendant landlords cannot concoct “phony” reasons to justify discriminatory housing policies in FHA cases, and that the mobile- home park owners’ asserted defense had not justified their policy of requiring our clients’ immigration documents. The decision establishes meaningful precedent for families and tenants and will position our clients well for trial.

What is the most important lesson you learned as a first-year attorney and how does it inform your practice today?

Listen and read as much as you possibly can. When you speak, do it with force. That force will be justified because you’ve prepared. Applying this lesson to my work over the years has built trust in my client relationships, increased my ability to make persuasive arguments, and empowered me to provide leadership that delivers positive results.

How do you define success in your practice?

At the beginning of every matter, my colleagues and I ask our clients how they would define success when all is done. We then try to view every decision through their lens—and our success comes from meeting their specific needs.

This often involves more than just winning a legal battle – for example, it may be about preserving a reputation, changing the law, or ending an unjust practice. Success for me is also defined by how well I am able to use my position to amplify the voice of others in service to their goals.

I am inspired by opportunities to fight for those who face economic or social barriers to accessing justice and by doing what I can to support and mentor others.

What are you most proud of as a lawyer?

That I get to use my voice, skills, and training to champion the rights of my clients, and that our clients trust me to be their champion—often in life- or company-defining disputes. With so much on the line for those I represent—whether it’s immigrant families who’ve lost their housing because of a discriminatory policy or an executive whose livelihood is threatened by a government investigation—I take that trust very seriously.

I am beyond proud when those efforts improve or protect the lives of my clients. In terms of individual results, it was exciting to obtain a precedential decision in the Fourth Circuit that will prevent landlords from evicting families based on immigrant status.

Who is your greatest mentor in the law and what have they taught you?

I’ve been lucky to work for trailblazers, including US Senator from Wisconsin Tammy Baldwin, a lawyer by trade and the first openly-LGBT Senator in US history, and Judge M. Margaret McKeown ,the first woman partner at Perkins Coie and a Ninth Circuit jurist.

Both taught me to never lose sight of the fact that the law can make a meaningful difference in people’s lives, and to take pride in what you do. I am incredibly privileged to work at a law firm that shares those same ideals, and where I have the opportunity to lead matters that are changing lives and advancing the law in meaningful ways.

Tell us your two favorite songs on your summer music playlist.

Summer is a good time for classic jams, so I’ve been playing a lot of Chuck Brown’s “Bustin’ Loose” and The Replacements’ “Can’t Hardly Wait.”

Honoree Nicholas DiCarlo of Zuckerman Spaeder and his youngest son.

Photo credit: Nicholas DiCarlo