Nicolle Kownacki is a Partner in the Firm's International Arbitration and Litigation Groups. She represents and advises foreign sovereigns, international organizations, financial institutions, and private companies in the resolution of complex international disputes.

Nicolle has extensive litigation experience representing clients under the US Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act, the Anti-Terrorism Act, the Federal Arbitration Act, and 28 U.S.C. § 1782 (for discovery in aid of foreign proceedings), as well as in commercial disputes. Named a "rising star" and 40 under 40 by Bloomberg (2021) and Law360 (2022), she routinely litigates international and cross-border disputes in DC, New York, and federal district and appeals courts across the country. She also has represented clients in arbitrations before the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID) and in other forums. In 2019, she won a case before the US Supreme Court on behalf of the Republic of the Sudan arising under the "terrorism exception" to foreign sovereign immunity.

Nicolle previously worked on extradition and mutual legal assistance requests to and from Mexico, as an international analyst at the US Department of Justice, Criminal Division, Office of International Affairs. She also previously worked as a clerk at the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia (ICTY), Office of the Prosecutor, in The Hague, Netherlands.

Nicolle is actively involved in pro bono matters, including a matter in which she argued and won the vacatur of a preliminary injunction before the DC Court of Appeals on First Amendment and employment law issues.