This article appears in the Fall 2024 edition of Cardozo Life Magazine

Founding and serving as a managing partner at her own boutique law firm—ESCA—was not something that Francesca Witzburg ’14 planned during or immediately after her years in law school. She aspired to pursue a career in big law and eventually make partner.     

While in law school, she picked up in-house experience with a focus on brand protection by working as a legal intern with several companies, including Tory Burch and Prada. After graduation, Witzburg worked for Dentons, one of the world’s largest law firms, and Loza & Loza LLP, a mid-sized IP and litigation law firm, where she was made partner at age 31.     

But something felt as though it were missing. With some self-reflection and an eye toward the future, Witzburg’ forged a new path by starting her own firm.    

“I realized my husband and I were in a really good position to be able to build a business that is a more modern, next-generation law firm,” Witzburg said. “We started growing our family at the same time, and it has been convenient to be able to raise a family and build a business.”    In 2023, Witzburg founded ESCA with her husband, Adam Witzburg, who took on the role of chief operating officer. She said it was “enticing” to start something from scratch. Adam has a background in business and technology, and the couple decided to integrate his knowledge to create a modern and different kind of firm.    

They hired Cardozo graduate Nicole Dolgon ’16 as a partner, who also went through some career changes.     

With professional experiences ranging from matrimonial law and litigation within a boutique law firm to serving as the director of business development and licensing with ED Ellen DeGeneres, Dolgon brought a diverse set of skills to ESCA, which she joined in September 2023.    

Dolgon said the firm’s mission is to provide brand protection from an intellectual property standpoint, protect companies from counterfeit products and infringement and build relationships and deal with contracts and agreements.     

“We take a more proactive, more offensive approach versus a defensive approach, where we can work with our clients from the bottom up to build out processes and an infrastructure that benefits and serves them in the future,” Dolgon said.    

ESCA has hit the ground running by working with clients and hosting events.     In early April, ESCA hosted its first ESCAPADES event, which brought together legal experts and attorneys in brand protection, intellectual property and licensing for networking and panel discussions.     Dolgon returned to Cardozo in the spring when ESCA sponsored a lunch-and-learn event for the Fashion Law Society to introduce students to ESCA and to teach them about brand protection.    

Cassidy Moon ’24, former president of the Fashion Law Society, worked as a law clerk with ESCA throughout spring semester.    “After the event, the Fashion Law Society received incredible feedback from the students, who felt like they walked away with a much better understanding of different career paths available in brand protection and the substantive work that lawyers in this field do every day,” Moon said.  Working with ESCA was a positive experience, she said, adding that she looks forward to returning as an associate after graduating.    

“I’ve received incredible training, and Francesca has entrusted me with a lot of responsibility,” Moon said. “Throughout the fall semester, I worked on the first issue of ESCA’s ‘Trademark Mag,’ which was released in January. I was also one of the lead organizers for ESCAPADES, managing all panelist communications and creating all of the visual materials for the event.”    

As the firm grows, Witzburg said its competitors are big law firms and IP boutique law firms. Because much of their business is conducted virtually, Witzburg said ESCA can offer the same services as big law firms for much less cost.    

Witzburg, as one of the founders of the firm, wants to ensure that employees work hard but is cognizant of the fact that they have lives outside of work. There may be long days or work on the weekend, if necessary, but Witzburg and Dolgon, who are parents of young children, said work-life balance is important.     Witzburg gets work done early in the morning, allowing her to have time with her children when they wake up, while Dolgon puts in extra hours after her children have gone to bed.    “We find pockets of time where we can give attention to parenting but also give attention to our work,” Dolgon said.     

Witzburg pointed out that the traditional top-tier law firms were created by men decades ago when the delegation of duties at home and work was different than today.     

“The key word is flexibility,” she said. “I think we were starting to see this during the COVID-19 pandemic. But I think a lot of companies moved backward, not for the better. I think they’re going to lose young talent because there are firms like ours that are more modern and that have flexibility with remote working or time flexing. You still have to work hard and do amazing work, but you do it in a way that is in line with your own schedule and your own needs.”    

As the firm continues to take shape, Witzburg strives to keep in line with what she initially wanted to achieve, which was to compete with peers across every IP boutique firm.     

“You have to operate the law firm as a business,” Dolgon said. “It’s not just billable hours; we have to make sure we look at it from a business perspective. That is everything from making sure the mission is clear, the brand guidelines are clear and operating from a revenue perspective.”    Witzburg has learned to use various forms of technology to help push ESCA forward.     

“Being in a world where society is so digital, we thought we should create a firm that is equally as digital,” she said. “When you think of lawyers, you don’t really think of high-tech businesspeople, but that is a stereotype we’re trying to change. We’re trying to show people that you can be efficient and still run a profitable firm.”     

While they've picked up some important skills since the firm began operating, the duo has held on to many lessons from law school.     Witzburg was the editor-in-chief of Cardozo’s Arts & Entertainment Law Journal (AELJ), which, she said, taught her how to lead people and give them autonomy while setting the vision.     

“The goal is basically how I run the firm now, and I learned that from AELJ,” she said. “I realized that a lot of people are micromanagers.”   But as a 3L, working as the editor-in-chief of the law journal while juggling internships and focusing on school and her personal life, Witzburg learned to delegate.     

“It was cool to watch, to develop my board and watch them thrive while managing, mentoring and encouraging them to take ownership of their work,” she said.     

Witzburg said she finds herself having to teach ESCA interns to think autonomously.   “In school, we sit, we listen, we regurgitate, and we forget sometimes to think creatively or how to have an opinion about things,” she said.     

Dolgon said she thought she would pursue litigation and participated in Cardozo’s Intensive Trial Advocacy Program. She also spent two weeks in Boulder, Colorado, participating in a National Intensive Trial Advocacy summer program. Following graduation, she was in court and cultivated a breadth of knowledge from mentors through the years.  Although she’s pivoted to a different type of law, Dolgon said her skills, notably the power of persuasive writing and speaking, were transferable.     

Dolgon did not take a class in intellectual property, but a class in constitutional law with then-Cardozo Professor Marci Hamilton helped her with issue spotting and problem solving.    “She was somebody who valued creative thinking,” Dolgon said. “That’s what we do every single day—creative thinking, issue spotting and problem solving.”   

 And, because she worked on AELJ, participated in clinics and had internships and externships, Dolgon strengthened her multitasking abilities.     Witzburg and Dolgon aren’t the only Cardozo alumni at ESCA —three associates also are graduates.     Witzburg said Cardozo students are intelligent and work well within the firm.    

 “We are so happy with the Cardozo community, and it’s important for us to invest in the community because Cardozo has given us so much,” Dolgon said. “We know the quality of the students, the classes, the professors and the experience, and that’s really important to us.”     As those in the Cardozo community look to further their legal careers, Witzburg and Dolgon said it is important for the students to build authentic relationships through networking and extensive experience.     

“It was what gave me the ability to start my own firm at 33 years old and become a partner at 31,” Witzburg said. “I put in a ton of time getting as much experience as possible.”   Photo Caption: Francesca Witzburg, left, with Nicole Dolgon at their first ESCAPADES event.