Nikia Gray Named Managing Partner of Quarles & Brady’s Washington, D.C. Office

WASHINGTON, D.C. — The national law firm of Quarles & Brady LLP today announced that partner Nikia L. Gray has been named managing partner of the firm’s Washington, D.C. office, effective May 1, 2018.

Gray succeeds Larry P. Cote, who served in the role since 2014, and will now focus on leading the DEA Compliance & Litigation Practice Group in Washington D.C.

“Nikia is a skilled litigator whose years at Quarles & Brady have proven her to be an excellent leader committed to client service, expanding our inclusion initiatives, and supporting the overall success of the firm,” said Kimberly Leach Johnson, Firm Chair of Quarles & Brady. “I am grateful for Larry’s years of leadership and am confident that Nikia will take the blueprint that has been created and continue to grow and advance our D.C. office.”

Gray, who joined Quarles & Brady in 2007, is a partner in the Intellectual Property Group. Before beginning her private law practice, Gray worked for several years as a physicist, developing optical software solutions for the illumination industries.

“I am honored to follow in the footsteps of an exemplary leader such as Larry,” said Gray. “He is a steward of the firm in the truest sense, and I look forward to continuing the office’s upward trajectory in the ever-important D.C. market.”

Gray is actively involved in firm administration, including serving as the Washington D.C. Chair of Quarles & Brady’s Diversity & Inclusion Committee, the Washington D.C. Chair of Quarles & Brady’s Women’s Forum, and a member of the IP Litigation Client Development Committee. She was selected as a 2018 Leadership Council on Legal Diversity fellow and has been named in Southwest Super Lawyers® – Rising Stars (2014–2017: Intellectual Property), a 2012 Up & Comer by Inside Tucson Business, and a 40 Under 40 honoree by Tucson Hispanic Chamber of Commerce (2012). She received her B.A. from the University of Pennsylvania and J.D. from the University of Arizona–James E. Rogers College of Law.