Abigail Parr

A former public defender and skilled trial lawyer, Abigail Parr is an associate in the San Francisco office of Latham & Watkins and a member of the firm’s Litigation & Trial Department.

Ms. Parr primarily represents clients in high-stakes commercial disputes and has been an active member of trial and arbitration teams. Ms. Parr has extensive experience developing trial strategy, directing and cross-examining witnesses, and preparing witnesses to take the stand. She has also led the briefing of numerous key motions, including motions for summary judgment and Daubert motions. In addition to her commercial practice, Ms. Parr also advises individuals and organizations on matters related to government investigations, white collar criminal litigation, and regulatory compliance and enforcement.

Ms. Parr maintains an active pro bono practice focused on criminal justice reform, prisoners’ rights, and indigent criminal defense at both the trial and appellate level.

Prior to joining Latham, Ms. Parr served as a law clerk for Judge Michael Y. Scudder, Jr. of the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit.

Before clerking, Ms. Parr worked as a public defender for four years with the Bronx Defenders, where she served as lead or co-lead counsel in more than a dozen bench and jury trials, the majority of which resulted in full acquittals. In addition to her extensive trial experience, Ms. Parr successfully briefed and argued motions at the trial and appellate level, winning numerous motions that resulted in dismissal of all charges.

Ms. Parr earned her JD from Northwestern University School of Law, cum laude, where she served as individual comment editor of The Journal of Criminal Law and Criminology and as an extern for Magistrate Judge Jeffery T. Gilbert of the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois. While in law school, Ms. Parr interned with the Missouri State Public Defender and the California Appellate Project-San Francisco, a non-profit that assists in the representation of indigent defendants in capital cases. She also served as a student attorney in Northwestern’s Center on Wrongful Convictions clinic.

Prior to law school, Ms. Parr worked in public affairs at a global communications firm, where she provided strategic counsel to diverse corporate clients on a range of corporate sustainability and environmental, social, and governance (ESG) issues.