Francesca Witzburg established Esca Legal with a clear mission: to redefine what legal counsel should look like in the age of digital-first entrepreneurship. With a strategic focus on intellectual property (IP) and brand protection, Esca sits at the intersection of fashion, beauty, consumer goods and tech. But more importantly, it represents a radical shift—empowering startups and scaling brands to access the same level of legal sophistication traditionally reserved for industry giants.
Today, Esca is one of the fastest-growing IP firms catering to ambitious, design-centric companies. Its recent seven-figure win in a federal trade dress case sent a clear message: boutique doesn’t mean lesser. At Esca, modern brands get powerhouse protection, delivered with agility, clarity and entrepreneurial savvy.
The Birth of a New Legal Archetype
Witzburg, a former big law partner who made her mark at firms like Dentons and Loza & Loza LLP, didn’t initially set out to disrupt the legal space. But by her early 30s, after years climbing the ranks and making partner at an early age, she found herself at a true career crossroads.
“I realized that the traditional legal model no longer matched the way the world was working,” Witzburg explained. “There was too much bureaucracy and not enough innovation. Meanwhile, I saw this surge of dynamic, creative entrepreneurs building incredible brands, and they were navigating legal landmines without the tools or support they desperately needed. I wanted to meet them where they were.”
In 2023, she launched Esca with her husband and business partner, Adam Witzburg. Francesca brought the legal vision; Adam, a seasoned business and tech strategist, built the firm’s operations from the ground up. Together, they designed an entirely new kind of legal experience: one built on value, access and proactivity rather than billable hours and red tape.
A People-First Practice for the Entrepreneurial Era
Esca’s first partner, Nicole Dolgon, arrived in late 2023. Dolgon, a fellow Cardozo Law alum with a background spanning litigation and high-profile companies, epitomizes the multidisciplinary fluency that Esca values.
Prior to joining the firm, she held a senior role at ED Ellen DeGeneres, overseeing business development and licensing. Despite having overlapped at Cardozo Law for a year, ED Ellen DeGeneres was where Witzburg and Dolgon met, with Witzburg as the DeGeneres’ team’s IP counsel. Witzburg and Dolgon worked closely on both IP protection and strategic growth.
Witzburg has extensive legal experience in the fashion industry, including working at brands like Prada, Tory Burch, Versace and Jimmy Choo, and representing popular fashion and accessory brands like Bala Bangles, Tushbaby and Overnight Blowout.
Dolgon has experience working with celebrity brands at Ellen DeGeneres, and with fashion brands including Marquee Brands (home to Martha Stewart and Anti Social Social Club) and Centric Brands.
That brand-side perspective now serves Esca clients navigating both the creative and commercial sides of intellectual property. After nearly five years at ED Ellen DeGeneres, Dolgon served as senior counsel at Party City for almost two years.
“What drew me to Esca was its clarity of mission,” Dolgon shared. “We’re not here to be lawyers in ivory towers. We’re here to be embedded, accessible strategic partners. My clients want to protect their brands while simultaneously growing them. That’s where our legal expertise and business acumen meet.”
Both Dolgon and Witzburg are the mothers of young children, and they lead the firm’s family-forward culture. Dolgon works evenings after her kids go to bed; Witzburg rises before dawn to get a jump on client work.
“The legal world isn’t known for being human-centric,” said Witzburg. “But Esca was always about creating a career model and client model that reflects real life.”
From Trademark Filings To Trade Dress Showdowns and Buzzed About Collabs
While Esca offers traditional services like IP filings, contract drafting and enforcement, it’s the firm’s high-impact litigation, anti-counterfeiting work and notable clients that’s gained industry-wide attention.
In a recent case, Esca represented a fast-scaling consumer brand whose flagship product was copied by a notable competitor—down to the look, feel and packaging. The stakes were high; the infringement wasn’t just a design issue, but a real and pervasive threat to the brand’s identity and market dominance.
Esca’s team developed a surgical litigation strategy, culminating in a $1 million summary judgment. The win was a defining moment for the firm, and a wake-up call to the industry.
“Too many small and midsize businesses underestimate the value of their intellectual property,” Witzburg said. “They think enforcement is only for major corporations. But today, even microbrands are vulnerable and attractive to copycats and counterfeiters. Our job is to help them see their IP as a business asset, and to protect it accordingly.”
Esca is also behind the most buzzed-about brand collaborations in the consumer space. From advising on the Matchaful x Addison Rae partnership to the Kravet x Pottery Barn collection, the firm helps clients structure creative deals that protect their IP while maximizing exposure and revenue. These collaborations reflect Esca’s broader ethos—that great legal strategy should not only defend a brand but should elevate it.
Esca’s approach is sound: identify risk early, deploy preventative strategies and take swift action when rights are infringed. Whether it’s filing Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) takedowns on social media, navigating Amazon’s Brand Registry, litigating in federal court or working intimately with opposing counsel, the team brings deep expertise and an entrepreneurial mindset to every case.
Legal Services, Reimagined for Brand Builders
What sets Esca apart isn’t just its success in courtrooms but its alignment with the people behind the brands.
From fashion and beauty founders to tech entrepreneurs and consumer product creators, Esca’s client base is wide but unified by a common thread: creativity and ambition.
“Most of our clients are scaling fast and wearing a million hats,” said Dolgon. “They don’t want to be buried in legalese. They want clear answers, efficient action and a trusted partner who understands their vision.”
To meet that need, Esca offers clients more than just legal deliverables. Every engagement begins with an IP audit and ends with a custom protection road map, highlighting vulnerabilities, prioritizing filings and allocating resources based on stage and goals.
“We don’t believe in one-size-fits-all,” Witzburg added. “A trademark portfolio for a tech startup will look different from that of a beauty brand. Our job is to tailor a plan that maximizes impact without overwhelming the client and their budget.”
This tailored approach has made Esca a magnet for brand owners seeking strategic guidance in a saturated market.
Escapades, Podcasts and Platform Power
Esca’s forward-facing brand extends well beyond the courtroom. In a world where digital presence is paramount, the firm has become a legal thought leader on platforms where business is actually happening.
The firm’s annual event, Escapades, is a collision of legal strategy and entrepreneurial community. The 2024 and 2025 events brought together hundreds of founders, attorneys and investors for panels, networking and tactical workshops. Plans are already underway for the 2026 installment in New York City.
Online, Esca’s team commands a substantial audience. Witzburg and Dolgon share regular insights across Instagram, LinkedIn and YouTube, demystifying complex legal topics and engaging directly with the communities they serve. Their following is not just vanity, it’s actual conversion. Clients routinely find Esca through a post, a podcast or a panel. Those podcasts include Esca’s “Legal Lounge,” Witzburg’s “Legal Limelight” and Dolgon’s “Beyond the Fine Print,” each offering a mix of case studies, founder interviews and practical legal frameworks.
Witzburg and Dolgon also maintain a robust speaking calendar, frequently appearing at conferences, brand summits and industry panels nationwide. Dolgon recently spoke at Tubi’s legal offsite, joined Morgan Stanley in educating Penn State football players on name, image and likeness (NIL) rights, and addressed an audience of top interior designers and home brands at the Design Leadership Network’s annual business forum. Witzburg, meanwhile, led a brand enforcement panel at Amplify, hosted events at the International Trademark Association (INTA) and delivered insights at the Jewelers Vigilance Committee’s annual luncheon.
“There’s a misconception that legal content can’t be engaging,” said Dolgon. “But our goal is to make legal literacy feel empowering—like a creative tool, not just a compliance checklist.”
Looking Ahead: Esca’s Expansive Vision
As Esca continues to scale, Witzburg and Dolgon remain grounded in the fi rm’s mission: to bring big-law quality to brands of every size.
“In many ways, we’re just getting started,” said Adam Witzburg. “We’re exploring AI tools to automate our internal processes to decrease our clients’ bills, actively expanding our team and continuously refining our firm’s systems to serve more clients without losing the personal touch.”
Esca’s road map also includes a growing suite of educational products and partnerships aimed at equipping founders with the knowledge to proactively protect what they’re building.
