ONLINE: Elizabeth Williamson

media release: A Room of One's Own welcomes Elizabeth Williamson, author of Sandy Hook: An American Tragedy and the Battle for Truth, for a virtual conversation on Crowdcast with attorneys Jake and Genevieve Zimmerman!

On December 14, 2012, a gunman killed twenty first-graders and six educators at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut. Ten years later, New York Times feature writer Elizabeth Williamson’s Sandy Hook: An American Tragedy and the Battle for Truth investigates the aftermath, when a group of Sandy Hook families confronted a frenzy of online denial and conspiracy, in a portent of the struggle over truth and facts that today threatens American democracy. Williamson draws on access to exclusive sources and materials, plus hundreds of hours of research and interviews to craft a gripping account of one of the most shocking cultural ruptures of the digital age.

Elizabeth Williamson is a feature writer for the New York Times. She joined the Times as a member of the editorial board, writing about national politics during the 2016 presidential campaign. Previously, Williamson was a writer for the Wall Street Journal, covering national politics and the White House, and a national reporter at the Washington Post. She began her career with a decade as a foreign correspondent, including covering Eastern Europe for the Wall Street Journal. She grew up in Chicago and lives in Washington, D.C.

Jake Zimmerman has litigated on behalf of plaintiffs whose total recoveries approach a billion dollars. Much of his practice focuses on intellectual property disputes, and on patent litigation and licensing in particular. He has also litigated high-stakes cases on behalf of personal injury plaintiffs and defendants. He was selected as a 2019 Attorney of the Year in Minnesota for his groundbreaking work on behalf of a parent whose son was killed at Sandy Hook. He was again selected as an Attorney of the Year in Minnesota in 2021 for his role in appeals from the Bair Hugger MDL litigation against 3M. Jake graduated Magna Cum Laude from the University of Minnesota School of Law. He lives in Saint Paul, Minnesota with his wife, Genevieve, and two wonderful children.

Genevieve Zimmerman is a trial lawyer whose practice focuses exclusively on representing individuals injured or killed by defective medical devices or pharmaceutical drugs with undisclosed and dangerous side effects. Pro bono and public service has always been important to Genevieve. In October 2019, alongside her husband Jake, she obtained a jury verdict in favor of a parent who lost a child at Sandy Hook, and who was defamed by conspiracy theorists who claimed Sandy Hook never happened, that her client never had a son, and that he forged his son's death certificate. She views the civil justice system as uniquely suited to stop some of these fear mongers and hold them accountable for their demonstrably false and harmful words and speech. During 2007-2009, she spent most of her time helping survivors and families who lost loved ones in the I-35W Bridge Collapse, pro bono. The pro bono consortium recovered over $75 million for the victims. She’s also represented immigrants and victims of domestic violence who needed guidance through the court system.