Emily Barnet represents clients in complex civil litigation in state and federal courts, at both the trial and appellate levels. Ms. Barnet has represented clients through many stages of litigation, from drafting complaints and dispositive motions to arguing a case before the New York Court of Appeals. She has extensive experience representing technology and digital media companies in high-stakes litigation raising novel questions of law, with a particular focus on content moderation, privacy, and government requests for user data. Ms. Barnet’s work includes significant cases involving Section 230, the First Amendment, the Stored Communications Act, the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act, the Wiretap Act, and the Anti-Terrorism Act. These cases include O’Handley v. Twitter, 62 F.4th 1145 (9th Cir. 2023), which upheld the dismissal of claims alleging that online platform’s suspension of plaintiff’s account violated the First Amendment, and Roland v. Letgo, 2024 WL 372218 (10th Cir. 2024), which affirmed dismissal of multi-million-dollar tort claims against an online marketplace.

Ms. Barnet’s experience also includes representing clients in antitrust, antidiscrimination, arbitration, and administrative law matters. She has represented clients in a wide variety of fields, including financial institutions, real estate companies, educational organizations, and state governments. 

She also maintains an active pro bono practice in the areas of fair housing, reproductive rights and criminal justice. Ms. Barnet helped lead the WilmerHale team representing Governor Gretchen Whitmer in her challenge to Michigan’s pre-Roe total abortion ban, which successfully enjoined the law until voters in Michigan approved a constitutional amendment explicitly recognizing a right to reproductive freedom in the Michigan Constitution.

Ms. Barnet previously clerked for the Honorable Stephen G. Breyer of the US Supreme Court, the Honorable Robert A. Katzmann of the US Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit and the Honorable Jed S. Rakoff of the US District Court for the Southern District of New York.

Ms. Barnet is a member of the New York Public Library Young Lions Committee.