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Monica R. Nelson

Partner

Monica Nelson is a partner in the Providence office of Lewis Brisbois. Monica is an experienced litigator and problem solver. Monica specializes in the defense of Products Liability matters, including of asbestos and benzene cases. Additionally, Monica practices in the firm’s Employment, Labor, and Professional Liability Practice Groups. Her expertise includes defense of discrimination actions and suits brought against directors & officers. Monica also provides employer advice, consulting, and trainings. Finally, Monica also handles General Liability claims such as catastrophic injury, loss, and high exposure matters. 

Monica obtained two full defense verdicts in Providence Superior Court, Rhode Island. In fall 2024, Monica was a pivotal member of the trial team for lone defendant Union Carbide Corporation in the first asbestos case to go to trial in Rhode Island in over 40 years, resulting in a defense verdict. Subsequently, Monica was Lead Trial Counsel in a Breach of Contract/Directors & Officers Liability matter in spring of 2025, resulting in a defense verdict. While Monica calls Rhode Island home and regularly practices in its state and federal courts, she also proudly represents clients in Massachusetts and Connecticut. 

Outside of the office, Monica holds a 500-hour Yoga Teacher Training Certificate, travels the world, and enjoys the beauty of New England on her stand-up paddle board.

Certifications

Center for Mediation and Collaboration Rhode Island, 2018

  • Certified Mediator

Prior Experience

Prior to joining Lewis Brisbois in 2013, Monica was an attorney at a Boston law firm specializing in asbestos litigation and served as a legal research clerk to Connecticut Superior Court judges. During law school, Monica served as a judicial extern to a federal judge in the United States District Court for the District of Rhode Island and worked for Yale Law School’s Jerome N. Frank Legal Services Organization. 

Publications

  • Relief Pursuant to the Convention Against Torture: A Framework for Central American Gang Recruits and Former Gang Members to Fulfill the “Consent or Acquiescence” Requirement, 13 ROGERWILLIAMS U. L. REV. 308 (2008).​
  • 2006 Survey of Rhode Island Law, Property Law: East Bay Community Development Corporation v. Zoning Board of Review of the Town of Barrington, 901 A.2d 1136 (R.I. 2006),12 ROGERWILLIAMS U. L. REV. 625 (2007).

Admissions

  • State Bar Admissions
    • Connecticut
    • Massachusetts
    • Rhode Island
  • United States District Courts
    • United States District Court for the District of Connecticut
    • United States District Court for the District of Massachusetts
    • United States District Court for the District of Rhode Island

Admissions

Rhode Island

Massachusetts

Connecticut

United States District Court of Rhode Island

United States District Court of Massachusetts

United States District Court of Connecticut

Associations

  • Member of the Rhode Island Bar Association
  • Member of the Rhode Island Women’s Bar Association

Awards & Honors

  • Listed in Best Lawyers in America® 2024-2025, Product Liability Litigation – Defendants
  • Monica was named a "Rising Star" by Super Lawyers from 2013 to 2023

Education

Roger Williams University School of Law

Juris Doctor, cum laude, 2008

  • Roger Williams University Law Review

Providence College

Bachelor of Arts, magna cum laude, 2005

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