Nicole Sands joined Vedder Price in March 2025 as a Litigation Paralegal, bringing extensive experience managing complex litigation from inception through trial.
Her background spans high-stakes commercial litigation, government investigations, employment disputes, and insurance defense matters. Prior to joining Vedder, Nicole was a paralegal at Boies Schiller Flexner LLP, where she supported litigation teams representing clients including Apple, Barclays (LIBOR Antitrust Litigation), Volkswagen, Pfizer, and the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. She played a key role in all phases of litigation, including large-scale discovery, deposition preparation, trial preparation, and courtroom support, serving as the lead hot-seat paralegal in arbitrations and trials.
Nicole also served as the lead paralegal in the FDA, CMS, and DOJ investigations of Theranos, where she managed extensive document collection, review, and production efforts in response to government inquiries.
Her trial experience includes serving as the hot-seat courtroom paralegal in a federal jury trial defending DHL against wrongful termination claims, where she coordinated trial exhibits, witness materials, and real-time courtroom presentation needs.
At Tucker Ellis LLP, Nicole served as the Western Region Litigation Lead Paralegal for Otis Elevator Company, overseeing litigation reporting and case management across 13 states. In that role, she maintained and analyzed client reporting metrics, coordinated discovery and motion practice, and prepared comprehensive trial materials and case filings.
Most recently, Nicole worked closely with Frances O'Meara, Esq., supporting professional liability and insurance defense matters. Her responsibilities included preparing detailed case chronologies, deposition outlines and witness kits, managing discovery and trial preparation, and coordinating all aspects of pretrial and trial proceedings, including exhibit and witness lists, motions in limine, jury instructions, deadline management, and compliance with court rules and judicial procedures.
Nicole earned her bachelor's degree from Indiana University, where she competed as a Division I water polo student-athlete on scholarship. She subsequently obtained her Paralegal Certificate from UCLA, graduating with distinction, and later attended California Western School of Law.
Credentials
Education
- Indiana University, B.A.
- University of California, Los Angeles, Paralegal Certificate, with distinction