Laura Gilson

Laura Gilson is a partner at Anapol Weiss, where she specializes in litigating on behalf of victims of sexual abuse, law enforcement misconduct, and other civil rights violations. Prior to joining Anapol Weiss, Laura served as the Senior Sex Crimes Counsel in the Civil Rights Division of the U.S. Department of Justice in Washington, D.C. As a trial attorney at the Department of Justice, Laura led dozens of complex investigations across the country involving violations of federal civil rights law, including sexual misconduct and other forms of misconduct committed by government actors and hate crimes. After investigating these violations, Laura directed the litigation strategy to prosecute these abuses in federal court, including trying jury trials to verdict. While at the Department of Justice, Laura secured convictions on behalf of numerous victims of criminal civil rights violations across the country, including: US v. Smith : Laura led the trial team that convicted an Oklahoma police officer of obstruction of justice and sexual assault in violation of federal civil rights laws.

Through this prosecution, Laura obtained the first guilty verdict under the enhanced penalties provision of the 2022 Reauthorization of the Violence Against Women Act. The defendant was sentenced to 40 years in prison. US v.