Publius Symposium
Kathleen M. Sullivan
Partner, Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan
(SLS Dean 1999-2004)
Kathleen Sullivan is a partner in the Los Angeles and New York offices and is the founding chair of the firm’s national appellate practice. Formerly Professor of Law at Harvard and Stanford Law Schools and Dean of Stanford Law School, she joined the firm in 2005.
Kathleen is widely recognized as one of the nation’s top appellate advocates. She has argued eleven cases in the United States Supreme Court, including Samsung v. Apple, Kiobel v. Royal Dutch Petroleum, Bruesewitz v. Wyeth, Burlington Northern v. United States and Granholm v. Heald. She has also argued many important cases in the federal circuit courts, including Vantage v. Petrobras, Federal Housing Finance Agency v. Nomura, Mattel v. MGA Entertainment, Entergy v. Shumlin and Doe v. Kamehameha Schools. And her notable victories in state supreme courts include In re Southern California Gas Leak Cases, Sargon v. University of Southern California and Skelos v. Paterson.
Kathleen focuses on high-stakes appeals, and in her time at the firm, she has overturned more than $3 billion in adverse judgments while also upholding many significant trial victories including several nine-figure damages awards. In addition to her expertise in constitutional issues, she argues cases in a wide range of subject matters from antitrust, arbitration, banking, commercial contract, insurance and securities law to copyright, trademarks and patents.
Long nationally ranked by Chambers USA, which has called her “tremendously agile” and “a fabulous advocate” who is “quick on her feet and “has great respect” at the appellate level, Kathleen has received numerous honors, including the American Lawyer’s Lifetime Achievement Award, Chambers USA’s Award For Outstanding Contribution to the Legal Profession, the New York Law Journal ’s Award for Lawyers Who Lead By Example, and the OAD’s Milton S. Gould Award for Outstanding Oral Advocacy. Super Lawyers has repeatedly named Kathleen one of the Top Ten lawyers in the New York Metro area, and she has been named a Legend by Lawdragon, a Hall of Fame member by The Legal 500, a Litigation Star by Benchmark, and one the 100 Most Influential Lawyers in America by the National Law Journal.
A graduate of Cornell University, Oxford University and Harvard Law School, Kathleen clerked for Judge James L. Oakes on the Second Circuit and practiced law with Laurence H. Tribe before she began her academic and later her business litigation career.
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