Emilia McKee Vassallo

Emilia leverages her investigative and analytical skills and experience to craft winning litigation strategy in defending white collar clients against civil and criminal charges and to litigate complex commercial disputes, with an emphasis on unfair competition cases. Emilia has both successfully defended and prosecuted unfair competition claims under the Lanham Act, including cases alleging false advertising. In this context, Emilia also provides pre-litigation counseling and represents clients in pre-litigation efforts where allegations of unfair competition are made, and has experience in negotiating favorable out-of-court resolutions.

In the white collar defense context, Emilia has advised and represented clients in successfully defending charges levied by federal, state, and municipal government agencies. With broad knowledge of the law and deep experience in applying legal principles, Emilia advises grand jury clients of their rights and responds to subpoenas on behalf of companies and individuals. She provides pre-indictment and post-indictment representation on health care fraud and other allegations across industries, including pandemic-related government stimulus. She has also advised companies cooperating with law enforcement agencies investigating and prosecuting former employees or foreign nationals on matters such as trade secret theft cases.

Emilia’s experience encompasses advising on antitrust and securities-related compliance, government investigations, and enforcement actions by the SEC and DOJ, including counsel and training on the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act. In addition to outlawing bribes to foreign officials, the FCPA requires covered businesses to meet specific accounting provisions and internal controls. She also has experience with private securities litigation, where she has successfully represented clients in contentious arbitration of high-stakes, investment-related disputes.

Emilia is recognized for her white collar defense work by The Best Lawyers in America, which has named her in its “Ones to Watch” category every year since 2021. She writes and speaks regularly on litigation topics, including false advertising and criminal antitrust prosecutions, for organizations such as the Pennsylvania Bar Institute.

Appointed by Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro, Emilia serves as a Commissioner on the Pennsylvania State Ethics Commission, an independent state agency responsible for enforcing ethics laws and provisions for public officials and public employees, as well as candidates and nominees for public office.

Emilia is a member of Ballard Spahr’s Hiring Committee as well as the firm’s Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Council, which works closely with the Chief Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Officer to develop, promote, and implement key initiatives to guide the firm toward its diversity, equity, and inclusion goals. This includes collaborating with clients on diversity and inclusion issues of mutual interest.

As a member of the Executive Committee of the Temple Law Alumni Association, Emilia is invested in helping future lawyers succeed. She represents the firm nationally in leadership and development programs such as the Corporate Counsel Women of Color Conference and Stakeholders Charting Your Own Course program, a professional development conference directed to the career and life needs of professionals of color.