Cassandra Beckman Widay

Cassandra Beckman Widay is a Partner in Dentons’ Litigation and Dispute Resolution practice, focusing on Commercial Litigation. She represents clients at every stage of civil litigation — from preparing pleadings to protecting victories on appeal — and coordinates discovery globally in addition to appearing in federal and state courts across the US.

Her practice covers a range of high-stakes commercial litigation, and she often handles class action defenses. She is also experienced with disputes involving alleged contractual breaches, business torts and defamation.

Earlier in her career, she clerked for the Honorable Richard A. Robinson of the Connecticut Supreme Court.

Her representative experience includes defeating class certification in a federal case alleging that life insurance policies were wrongfully terminated under California law for a global insurance company; winning before California’s Court of Appeal, which unanimously affirmed the dismissal with prejudice of a purported consumer class action for a global financial institution; winning a motion to dismiss with prejudice a purported nationwide class action following a voluntary product recall for a family consumer products company and preserving the victory before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit; successfully defending Netflix, Ava DuVernay and Attica Locke from a defamation lawsuit involving the limited series When They See Us; and winning before New York’s First Department for the Cy Twombly Foundation and two of its officers, which unanimously affirmed the dismissal with prejudice of a lawsuit asserting fraud, defamation and other tort claims.

She was selected to the list of “Ones to Watch” in Commercial Litigation by Best Lawyers, New York Area, in 2021, 2023 and 2024. Her practice areas include appellate advocacy, class action defense, commercial litigation, consumer products and retail, defamation and reputation management, financial institutions, insurance litigation and arbitration, litigation and dispute resolution, luxury, fashion and beauty, and media and entertainment. She holds a JD from the University of Connecticut School of Law (2014), where she was Managing Editor of the Connecticut Law Review and a member of the Connecticut Moot Court Board, and a BS in Economics from California Polytechnic State University (2008).