3 Lawyers Who Lost Their Lives In The D.C. Plane Crash
Wilkinson Stekloff associates Sarah Lee Best and Elizabeth Keys were heading home after a deposition—and the day was also Keys’s 33rd birthday.
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On Wednesday night, an American Airlines passenger plane collided with a U.S. Army Black Hawk helicopter near Reagan National Airport in Washington, D.C. Both aircraft then crashed into the Potomac River. The three U.S. service members aboard the helicopter and the 64 people aboard American Eagle Flight 5342 are presumed dead.
The passengers on the American flight included U.S. and Russian figure skaters, as reported by The New York Times and The Washington Post. And they also included at least two members of the legal profession: Sarah Lee Best and Elizabeth Keys, associates at the Wilkinson Stekloff litigation boutique. Based in the firm’s D.C. office, they were on their way home after a deposition.
Best, 33, graduated from Vanderbilt University in 2013, summa cum laude, with a double major in Neuroscience and Classical Languages. After teaching high school math and working as an instructional coach in Tennessee, she went on to Penn Law and graduated in 2021, also summa cum laude. She clerked for Judges Eugene Siler (6th Cir.), Paul Diamond (E.D. Pa.), and John Cronan (S.D.N.Y.), before joining Wilkinson Stekloff last year.
Keys, also 33, graduated from Tufts University in 2014. After working in management consulting in the life sciences and healthcare sectors in the U.S., U.K., and Switzerland, she matriculated at Georgetown Law, graduating in 2020. She clerked for Judge Amy Berman Jackson (D.D.C.) before joining the firm. She maintained an active pro bono practice at Wilkinson Stekloff, recognized for her pro bono service through inclusion on the D.C. Court of Appeals’ Capital Pro Bono Honor Roll.
And Wednesday, the night of the crash, was actually Keys’s birthday. As her longtime partner, David Seidman, told The American Lawyer, “It was a client matter and they ended up wrapping up earlier, and she was super excited to go back to D.C. so we could celebrate her birthday.”
Founder Beth Wilkinson issued a statement on behalf of Wilkinson Stekloff:
We are heartbroken by this terrible tragedy. Liz and Sarah were cherished members of our firm—wonderful attorneys, colleagues, and friends. Beyond being an excellent lawyer, Liz brought fearlessness, humor, and sharp wit to work every day, no matter the setting or circumstances. Sarah joined us just last fall and quickly energized us all with her boundless curiosity, kindness, and intelligence. It is hard to imagine the firm without them. We are keeping them in our memories and their families in our thoughts and prayers.
A terrible tragedy indeed. May their memories be a blessing.
UPDATE (7:14 p.m.): Another lawyer who lost her life in the crash was Kiah Duggins, 30, an attorney with Civil Rights Corps. She graduated from Wichita State University and Harvard Law School, where she served as the president of the Harvard Legal Aid Bureau. A friend, Lacey Cruse, described Duggins in a Facebook post as “a brave and beautiful soul, a light in the fight for civil rights. Her loss is heartbreaking, not only for her family and friends but for everyone who believes in justice and equality. May her work, her message, and her spirit continue to inspire and create change. Gone too soon but never forgotten.” (I revised the title of this post after learning of Duggins’s passing; the original title was “Two Wilkinson Stekloff Associates Died In The D.C. Plane Crash.”)
Please let me know of any other lawyers or legal professionals who died in this tragic accident, and I will update this post. Thank you.
UPDATE (1/31/2025, 5:35 p.m.): This Washington Post article contains additional information about Sarah Lee Best, Elizabeth Keys, and Kiah Duggins.
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A nice tribute to two people taken tragically and too soon.
Thank you for sharing this. This was a terribly tragic event