Overview

Whitney Brown is a litigation attorney and chair of the firm’s Appellate and Critical Motions Group. She has extensive experience litigating complex commercial matters, including those involving constitutional law, statutory interpretation, administrative law, environmental law, and contract disputes. Drawing on her substantial clerkship experience, Whitney provides strategic counsel across all stages of litigation in both state and federal courts. Her practice spans a wide range of industries, including healthcare and natural resources. Whitney maintains an active pro bono practice focused on protecting and advancing civil rights in Alaska and beyond.

Prior to joining Stoel Rives, Whitney served as a law clerk to Associate Justice Sonia Sotomayor of the U.S. Supreme Court. She also clerked for Judge Morgan Christen of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, Judge Guido Calabresi of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, and Justice Goodwin H. Liu of the California Supreme Court.

Whitney earned her J.D. from UCLA School of Law, where she served as editor-in-chief of UCLA Law Review, co-president of the Health Law Society, and a writing advisor for first-year law students. As part of UCLA’s Supreme Court Clinic, she co-authored a successful merits brief in Nelson v. Colorado, 581 U.S. 128 (2017). Her student note on sex discrimination in commercial contracting received a nationwide award.

Before law school, Whitney worked in health and education policy as a legislative assistant in the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives, and as a charter school evaluator in Chicago.

Education

UCLA School of Law, J.D., 2017; Order of the Coif; Michael T. Masin Scholar; Editor-in-Chief, UCLA Law Review; Dean’s Scholarship

Emory University Rollins School of Public Health, M.P.H. and Graduate Certificate in Human Rights, 2011; study abroad in Copenhagen, Denmark

University of Chicago, A.B., Anthropology, 2007, with honors; study abroad in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania

Admissions

Alaska

California

United States District Court for the District of Alaska

United States District Court for the Eastern District of California

United States Courts of Appeals for the Fifth and Ninth Circuits

United States Supreme Court

Experience

  • Briefed and argued Ninth Circuit appeal on behalf of large healthcare system defending against claims that it improperly terminated the employment of healthcare professionals who refused the COVID-19 vaccine during the height of the pandemic;
  • Represented oil and gas company in the District of Alaska and related Ninth Circuit appeal in an action filed by advocacy groups challenging approval of a drilling project in the National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska;
  • Represented physicians’ group in class action after online hackers breached data system and accessed patients’ private health information;
  • Represented an oil and gas explorer in federal litigation concerning whether federal law preempts a state law requiring public dissemination of the company’s confidential data collected from the National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska;
  • Represented and prevailed on appeal for California municipality in long-standing water rights dispute and prevailed on appeal on behalf of municipality in longstanding water-rights dispute;
  • Represented state legislature in state trial and appellate courts in litigation addressing state constitutional issues;
  • Represented trade association as intervenor-defendant in federal action filed by environmental groups challenging the Bureau of Land Management’s oil and gas leasing program in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.
  • Briefed, argued, and secured remand in Ninth Circuit appeal on behalf of incarcerated individual who received constitutionally deficient medical care while in prison;
  • Assisted local not-for-profit organization navigating governance and organizational challenges.

Insights

Recognition

  • Included in Best Lawyers: Ones to Watch® in America (Appellate Practice, Commercial Litigation), 2026
  • Listed in the Alaska Business Legal Elite, 2023–present
  • Recipient of Stoel Rives LLP Andrew Guy Pro Bono Award, 2023–2024

Affiliations

Professional

  • Ninth Circuit Lawyer Representative, U.S. District Court for the District of Alaska, 2024–present
  • President, Anchorage Association of Women Lawyers, 2025–present
  • Member, Pro Bono Committee, Alaska Bar Association, 2022–present
  • Board Member, Alaska Behavioral Health, 2024–present
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