Before joining the firm in 2003, Alia clerked for the Honorable David A. Ezra of the United States District Court for the District of Hawaii, and was a litigation associate with Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher in New York City.

Notable Representations

Snyder v. Creative Loafing, Inc. (D.C. Super. 2011). Alia and a team of LSKS attorneys successfully defended Washington City Paper in a defamation action filed by Washington Redskins owner Daniel Snyder over a profile titled “The Cranky Redskins Fan's Guide to Dan Snyder.” After City Paper filed its motion to dismiss invoking the District of Columbia’s then-brand new anti-SLAPP statute, Snyder voluntarily dismissed his lawsuit.

Silverman v. Newsday, 38 Med. L. Rptr. 1613 (N.Y. Sup. Ct. 2010). Alia represented Newsday in its successful defense of a libel suit by a former assistant superintendant of a local school district. The court granted Newsday’s motion for summary judgment, finding that plaintiff was both a public official and an involuntary public figure who could not prove actual malice.

Bloomberg, L.P. v. Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, 601 F.3d 143 (2d Cir. 2010). Alia and Dave Schulz represented a coalition of media organizations including Dow Jones, Gannett, Hearst, Reuters, and the Associated Press (among others) as amici curiae in support of Bloomberg’s Freedom of Information Act lawsuit seeking to compel the Federal Reserve to release information concerning emergency loans to banks in the wake of the financial collapse. The Second Circuit held that FOIA required the release of the information.

Trell v. AAAS, 2009 WL 393040 (2d Cir. 2009). Alia represented Science magazine in state and federal court against a scientist’s claims of misappropriation and related torts. After the state court dismissed plaintiff’s claims on grounds of forum non conveniens, plaintiff re-filed in federal court. Alia successfully convinced the district and circuit courts to dismiss the case on the merits.