Lisa Sullivan represents clients in complex commercial disputes, including trade secret, patent infringement, and antitrust.
I focus on three main areas: intellectual property, antitrust, and complex commercial litigation.
I handle both “hard” and “soft” intellectual property litigation.
In patent infringement cases, I represent both alleged infringers and patent owners in cases involving utility, process, and design patents in courts across the U.S. As one example, I led a trial team in the Eastern District of Texas, where we not only won a verdict of non-infringement of three patents, but also invalidated two of the patents at issue.
I frequently handle trade secret litigation involving alleged breaches of non-compete, non-solicitation, or non-disclosure clauses. In one case, our team prevailed in a bench trial in federal court alleging that our client misappropriated trade secrets of his former employer.
In addition, I have experience in other soft IP areas, including Lanham Act false advertising claims.
I represent clients in a wide variety of complex commercial disputes that have gone to trial, arbitration, and mediation.
Some of my favorite cases have been helping clients resolve disputes stemming from business deals. I’ve litigated or arbitrated cases involving earn-out disputes, alleged breaches of purchase agreements, and alleged corporate mismanagement.
I provide antitrust counseling on business issues such as pricing strategies and policies, distribution issues, corporate compliance programs, and the structure of joint ventures. I also collaborate with our health care lawyers to advise clients on health care antitrust issues.
In private antitrust litigation, I represent defendants as well as subpoenaed third parties. I also have represented parties in pre-merger reviews before the Federal Trade Commission and the Antitrust Division of the Department of Justice.
As 3D printing technology evolves, I anticipate both intellectual property and antitrust law needing to adapt. Just as courts struggled with how copyright and trademark law would evolve with respect to digital music and video, I believe we will see today’s patent, copyright, trademark, and even trade secret law struggle with nuances created by 3D printing. On the antitrust side, it will be interesting to see how standard-setting leads to allegations of antitrust monopolization or conspiracy to exclude competitors.
Presenter, "Antitrust Considerations in the Formation of Strategic Alliances," Northwestern University School of Law, Summer Institute in Corporate Law and Business, July 2001
The American Lawyer | December 04, 2020
This week’s “Litigators of the Week“ column by American Lawyer includes the dismissal for outsourcing facility Leiters, Inc. in a multiple-state dispute. Leiters was represented by Chicago partners Ethan Trull, John Ruskusky and Lisa Sullivan, and associates Bill Kirby and Tina Jonsson; and San Francisco partner Bruce Copeland and counsel Lauren Michals—all in the Complex Commercial Disputes group.
Law360 | September 22, 2020
This article covers a trial to consider the amount of damages to be awarded to Millennium Pharmaceuticals for being fraudulently induced into investing more than $100 million into a spinoff of Harpoon Therapeutics. The story mentions Chicago Complex Commercial Disputes partners John Ruskusky and Lisa Sullivan for representing Millennium.
Law360 | September 02, 2020
Chicago Complex Commercial Disputes partners John Ruskusky and Lisa Sullivan were mentioned in this article for representing Shareholder Representative Services LLC in a post-merger suit accusing the food and drug chain of breaches of contract, fraudulent inducement and breaches of good faith covenants. Complex Commercial Disputes counsel Tracey Scarpello in Buffalo and associate Tina Jonsson in Chicago were also part of the litigation team.
HR Drive | February 21, 2018
Chicago commercial litigation partner Lisa Sullivan is quoted in this article analyzing the Department of Justice’s increasing interest in prosecuting “no-poach agreements” and discussing what corporations can do to comply with the law.
Harvard Law School, J.D., cum laude; Harvard Women's Law Journal
Illinois Wesleyan University, B.A., magna cum laude
Illinois
U.S. District Court, Central District of Illinois
U.S. District Court, Northern District of Illinois
U.S. District Court, Eastern District of Michigan
U.S. District Court, Eastern District of Wisconsin
U.S. Court of Appeals, Federal Circuit
U.S. Court of Appeals, Sixth Circuit
American Bar Association