About Will
Will Edelman followed an unusual path to the practice of law. He began his professional life on the streets of San Diego as a police officer in 2004, a year he also completed a master’s degree at the University of Cincinnati. He later turned to the law and earned his J.D. from Stanford Law School in 2011. The shift from policing to law school shaped the questions he asks and the practical instincts he brings to litigation.
After law school, Edelman spent a year clerking for Judge Michael Boudin on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit. That appellate experience was followed by a federal trial-court clerkship in the Northern District of California for Judge Charles R. Breyer. The two clerkships exposed him to a range of federal matters, from procedural rulings to complex evidentiary issues. Those early years helped him learn how judges weigh arguments and make decisions under tight timelines.
Edelman entered public service as an Assistant U.S. Lawyer and later served as a Special Assistant U.S. Lawyer in the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of California in 2015. In that role he handled federal prosecutions and related litigation. The position added courtroom experience and a close look at government charging and investigative practices.
Alongside public-sector work, Edelman has been admitted to practice in both California and Illinois. His background bridges investigative work, appellate procedure and federal trial practice. That mix informs how he approaches cases. He tends to break problems into discrete legal and factual pieces before assembling a strategy.
Colleagues describe him as methodical and exacting in preparing filings and in developing trial-ready work product. He has moved between roles that require different skills: policing requires on-the-spot judgment, clerkships demand legal writing and analysis, and the U.S. Attorney’s Office requires courtroom advocacy and case management. Those shifts have made him comfortable handling large, document-intensive matters as well as discrete, high-pressure hearings.
Edelman is a partner at Delahunty Edelman LLP. He remains licensed in two states and continues to draw on his prior public-sector roles when evaluating litigation strategies and advising clients. He practices at Delahunty Edelman LLP, where his work centers on litigation matters in federal and state courts.
