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Lori E. Lesser
 

Lori E. Lesser

Partner
 
425 Lexington Avenue
New York, NY 10017 

Lori Lesser is a Partner in the Litigation Department and is Head of the Intellectual Property Practice and Co-Chair of the Privacy and Cybersecurity Practice. She advises on all aspects of intellectual property, artificial intelligence (AI), technology, privacy and cybersecurity law, including corporate transactions, litigation, licensing, outsourcing, strategic agreements and counseling. She counsels clients in a variety of fields, including media and entertainment, software and technology, financial information, apparel, retail and consumer products, pharmaceuticals and life sciences, internet, mobile and social media services and nonprofits.

Lori is recognized by Chambers USA in Technology (Nationwide) and in Band 1 for Technology (New York).  Lori was recently named “Privacy & Data Protection Lawyer of the Year” at Euromoney’s Women in Business Law Americas Awards for 2022. She is recognized in The Legal 500 as a “Leading Lawyer” for Technology Transactions and as an advisor “to watch” for Cyber Law, and has been ranked in the “Top 250 Women in Litigation” by Euromoney’s Benchmark Litigation, “Top 50 Under 45” U.S. IP Lawyers by IP Law and Business, the “Top 45 Under 45” U.S. women lawyers by The American Lawyer and “The 20 Most Influential Women in IP Law” by Law360. She was twice named New York City’s “Information Technology Lawyer of the Year” by Best Lawyers in America. Lori also received the 2023 Harvard Law School Association Award, the association’s highest alumni award, for her service to the legal profession, society and Harvard Law School.

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Work Highlights
  • IP and privacy counsel in acquisitions, restructurings, licensing, outsourcing and strategic arrangements for: 
    • companies including Acoustic Software, Adidas, AIG, Alibaba, Airbnb, Ancestry.com, Ascend Learning, Best Buy, Blue Buffalo, Boeing, Borden, BorgWarner, Bumble, Cast & Crew, CBRE, CSL Behring, Defy Media, Dell, Digital Diagnostics, Electronic Arts, Ellucian, Equinox, Estee Lauder, Evercore, Fast Retailing, G-III Apparel, Google, Hershey, Hilton, Ingersoll Rand, Intel, Interactive Data Corp., Internet Brands, Johnson Controls, JPMorgan Chase, K2M, L3 Technologies, Laureate Education, London Stock Exchange Group, Mars, Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia, McKinsey, Microsoft, New York Public Library, Novartis, Owens & Minor, Palantir, Pfizer, Precisely, PTC, Refinitiv, SiriusXM, Spotify, Take-Two Interactive, TD Bank, TransUnion, Travelers, Viacom, Virgin Mobile, Vivint, Warner Music, Weight Watchers and XPeng
    • private equity firms including Apax, Blackstone, Centerbridge, First Reserve, Hellman & Friedman, J.C. Flowers, Kohlberg Kravis Roberts, Lion Capital, New Mountain Capital, Primavera, Silver Lake, Sixth Street Partners, Stonepeak and Stone Point
  • Litigation, arbitrations and pre-litigation counseling in patent, copyright, trademark, trade secret and privacy matters

Accolades
  • Chambers USA, Nationwide and New York, Technology
  • The Legal 500 U.S., “Leading Lawyer” in Technology Transactions
  • Euromoney’s Women in Business Law Awards, “Privacy & Data Protection Lawyer of the Year”
  • Law360, “20 Most Influential Women in IP Law”
  • IP Law and Business, “Top 50 Under 45” U.S. IP Lawyers
  • The American Lawyer, “Top 45 Under 45” U.S. Women Lawyers
  • Crain’s New York, “Notable Women in Law”
  • Euromoney’s Benchmark Litigation, “Top 250 Women in Litigation”
  • Euromoney’s Women in Business Law Awards Shortlist, Cybersecurity
  • Best Lawyers in America, “Information Technology Lawyer of the Year” for New York City
  • Super Lawyers, “Top 100 New York Lawyers” and “Top 50 Women Lawyers”
  • Intellectual Asset Management, “The IAM Strategy 250” — The World’s Leading IP Strategists and “The IAM Licensing 250” – The World’s Leading Patent and Technology Licensing Practitioners
  • Harvard Law School Association Award for 2023
  • Burton Award for Achievement in Legal Writing
  • Award of Excellence, Volunteer Lawyers for the Arts
Education
  • Harvard Law School, 1993 J.D.
    cum laude
  • Harvard University, 1988 A.B.
    magna cum laude; Phi Beta Kappa
Associations
  • Partnership Fund for New York City and GreaterNY, Board of Directors
  • David Rockefeller Fellow
  • Radcliffe Institute’s Dean's Advisory Council, Member
  • Harvard Alumni Association, Director
  • Harvard Law School Association of NYC, Board Member and Past President
  • ChIPS, Advisory Board Member
  • ProPublica, Business Advisory Council
  • Hunter College Pre-Law Advisory Council
Admissions
  • U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit 2016
  • U.S. Supreme Court 1997
  • U.S. Court of Appeals Federal Circuit 1995
  • New York 1994
  • U.S. District Court Eastern District of New York 1994
  • U.S. District Court Southern District of New York 1994

Lori Lesser is a Partner at Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP, where she practices in the Litigation Department and is Head of the Intellectual Property Practice and Co-Chair of the Privacy and Cybersecurity Practice. Lori advises on all aspects of intellectual property, artificial intelligence (AI), technology, privacy and cybersecurity law, including corporate transactions, litigation, licensing, outsourcing, strategic agreements and counseling in fields including media and entertainment, software and technology, financial information, apparel, retail and consumer products, pharmaceuticals and life sciences, internet, mobile and social media services and nonprofits.

  • Lori has represented companies including Acoustic Software, Adidas, AIG, Alibaba, Airbnb, Ancestry.com, Ascend Learning, Best Buy, Blue Buffalo, Boeing, Borden, BorgWarner, Bumble, Cast & Crew, CBRE, CSL Behring, Defy Media, Dell, Digital Diagnostics, Electronic Arts, Ellucian, Equinox, Estee Lauder, Evercore, Fast Retailing, G-III Apparel, Google, Hershey, Hilton, Ingersoll Rand, Intel, Interactive Data Corp., Internet Brands, Johnson Controls, JPMorgan Chase, K2M, L3 Technologies, Laureate Education, London Stock Exchange Group, Mars, Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia, McKinsey, Microsoft, New York Public Library, Novartis, Owens & Minor, Palantir, Pfizer, Precisely, PTC, Refinitiv, SiriusXM, Spotify, Take-Two Interactive, TD Bank, TransUnion, Travelers, Viacom, Virgin Mobile, Vivint, Warner Music, Weight Watchers and XPeng. She has represented private equity firms including Apax, Blackstone, Centerbridge, First Reserve, Hellman & Friedman, J.C. Flowers, Kohlberg Kravis Roberts, Lion Capital, New Mountain Capital, Primavera, Silver Lake, Sixth Street Partners, Stonepeak and Stone Point.
  • Her IP transactional experience includes mergers and acquisitions, securities offerings and secured financings, bankruptcy and restructurings, joint ventures, licensing, outsourcing, counseling and other strategic agreements. Her IP litigation practice comprises trial and appellate work and WIPO arbitrations.

Lori is recognized in Technology (Nationwide) and in Band 1 for Technology (New York) by Chambers USA, which describes Lori as “highly responsive, detailed in her analysis and provides practical guidance based on sound judgment.” Sources have noted that “she has incredible depth of experience, she’s incredibly practical as well, and she’s incredibly effective at providing very commercially focused, actionable advice”; she “is a very sophisticated and client-focused lawyer”; and that “her knowledge of IP runs very deep, she is a great listener, she is very pragmatic and she knows how to resolve complex issues.” Clients have cited her as “a thought leader in the transactional space” who provides “excellent service” with “second-to-none knowledge” in the sector; “an exceptionally smart and knowledgeable lawyer”; and a “master of the subject matter.” The Legal 500 recognizes Lori as a “Leading Lawyer,” where she is described as “one of the outstanding lawyers practicing in this field”; “a true difference maker, who provides clients with a competitive advantage in any negotiation”; “pragmatic, technically brilliant and a pleasure to deal with”; “highly regarded and versatile”; and “not only a top-notch technology lawyer but also a superb transactional one.” Sources cite that “she has been involved in some of the most complex technology transactions, investments and acquisitions in the US. She is trusted by some of the world’s largest investment banks.”

Lori was recently named “Privacy & Data Protection Lawyer of the Year” at Euromoney’s Women in Business Law Americas Awards for 2022 and was recognized by The Legal 500 2023 as an advisor “to watch” for Cyber Law. She is consistently recognized by Best Lawyers in America, for which she has twice been named the “Information Technology Lawyer of the Year” for New York City. In 2019, she was recognized by Crain’s New York as one of the “Notable Women in Law.” She has been listed in the “Top 50 Under 45” U.S. IP Lawyers (IP Law & Business), “Top 45 Under 45” U.S. women lawyers (The American Lawyer), “Top 250 Women in Litigation” (Euromoney’s Benchmark Litigation) and “20 Most Influential Women in IP Law” (Law360). In 2021, MergerLinks named Lori first among the “Top Intellectual Property Lawyers in North America” and in 2020, she was named among the top 10 “Female M&A Lawyers in North America.” The American Lawyer cited her as being among the most active women lawyers advising on deals in 2020. She has been ranked in New York City’s top 100 lawyers and top 50 women lawyers by Super Lawyers. She has received the 2023 Harvard Law School Association Award, the association’s highest alumni award, for her service to the legal profession, society and Harvard Law School, the Burton Award for legal writing and the Award of Excellence from Volunteer Lawyers for the Arts. Her IP work in private equity deals has been featured on the cover of IP Law & Business.

Lori has served as a David Rockefeller Fellow for New York City and serves on the boards of the Partnership Fund for New York City and Greater NY. She is a member of the Harvard Radcliffe Institute’s Dean’s Advisory Council, a former director of the Harvard Alumni Association and past president of the Harvard Law School Association of NYC. She serves on advisory boards for ChIPs (chief IP counsel) and Hunter College’s pre-law advisory program.

Lori lectures frequently on IP and AI topics and co-chairs a PLI conference on technology and software issues.

Lori graduated from Harvard University (A.B., magna cum laude and Phi Beta Kappa, 1988) and Harvard Law School (J.D., cum laude, 1993).

News & Events

    Publications

      Offices
      Spotlight on
      Lori Lesser Named Among “Top 250 Women in Litigation” by Benchmark Litigation
      Spotlight on
      Lori Lesser Receives 2023 Harvard Law School Association Award
      Spotlight on
      Lori Lesser Honored at Euromoney Women in Business Law Awards
      Spotlight on
      Elizabeth Cooper, Mary Beth Forshaw and Lori Lesser Recognized by Crain’s as Notable Women in Law for 2019