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Lisa T. Simpson

Partner

New York

Lisa Simpson is an experienced trial lawyer who has tried cases ranging across intellectual property, trade secrets, products liability, and corporate and commercial disputes.

Lisa has been recognized as one of the "Top 250 Women in IP" by Managing Intellectual Property and has received accolades from American Lawyer, Benchmark Litigation, The Legal 500 USA and New York Times Magazine with World Trademark Review 1000 noting that Lisa “marries a rich comprehension of IP law with a gift for connecting with people, making full use of each advantage in the courtroom.” Lisa was recently named to Lawdragon's 500 Leading Litigators in America list.

Trial Experience

Lisa has served as trial counsel across a wide range of matters. She recently served as co-lead trial counsel in a case in Delaware Chancery Court in a dispute over corporate control and ownership. She is currently serving as lead trial counsel in an energy distribution contract and rate dispute in North Dakota. Lisa also served as trial counsel for Oracle in its dispute with Google over the Java APIs in Android phones in the Northern District of California and served as trial counsel in a matter involving the trade dress of a hip implant medical device in the District of Colorado. Lisa has also served as trial counsel in a number of product liability matters involving allegations concerning talc, analgesics and herbicides.

Intellectual Property

Lisa handles a variety of high-profile trademark, trade secret, and copyright matters. Lisa’s copyright experience includes some of the leading copyright cases of the past decade: she represented Oracle in its litigation with Google over the Java APIs, represented DISH Networks, LCC in its copyright litigation with the broadcast networks over various features offered by DISH’s Hopper DVR, including AutoHop and Sling and served as counsel to Supap Kirtsaeng before the U.S. Supreme Court on the issue of the copyright first sale doctrine’s applicability to goods manufactured abroad.

Lisa’s trademark and trade secret litigation has spanned a variety of courts and industries: she successfully defended trademark infringement claims in the Northern District of California on behalf of Sony over its popular “Gran Turismo” racing video game and scored two separate wins in the Southern District of New York and then in the Second Circuit on behalf of client Sanei in trademark litigation brought by fashion designer Jill Stuart. Lisa also successful established secondary meaning and secured a preliminary injunction for the New York City Triathlon in S.D.N.Y. Lisa also represented a major pharmaceutical and healthcare company in trade secrets litigation concerning multi-payor coordination of prescription drug benefits loyalty cards.

Products Liability and Consumer Class Action

Lisa serves as counsel to Johnson & Johnson, Chanel, and Avon in cases asserting claims arising from the use of its talcum powder products, including claims of mesothelioma and ovarian cancer. She also represented Wyeth and Dow Agrosciences in a variety of complex products liability and consumer class action litigations. Lisa served as counsel in hundreds of product liability matters concerning injuries allegedly associated with childhood vaccines, handled litigations involving the labeling and advertising of Advil, and obtained the dismissal, prior to class certification, of a consumer class action in a matter concerning the calcium supplement Caltrate.

Current Pro Bono Representation

Lisa served as trial counsel for Planned Parenthood of Indiana and Kentucky, securing an important trial win invalidating as unconstitutional a statewide law that jeopardized access to safe and legal abortion services in Kentucky.
Lisa also has served in a variety of firm management roles, including on the Firm’s Management Committee, as Hiring Partner for the New York office as well as Partner-in-Charge of Firmwide Campus Recruiting and as a member of the Professional Development Committee.

  • Lisa's notable cases include the following:

    Johnson & Johnson. Lisa serves as counsel to Johnson & Johnson, defending the company’s talcum powder products against claims that those products cause mesothelioma, ovarian cancer and contain asbestos.

    Sony Computer Entertainment America. Secured a unanimous Ninth Circuit victory, which affirmed the Northern District of California court’s ruling that Sony’s popular “Gran Turismo” racing video games are expressive works under the First Amendment and therefore not subject to VIRAG’s trademark infringement claim. The Ninth Circuit rejected VIRAG’s claim that the games were commercial speech and applied the Rogers v. Grimaldi test, finding that the use of VIRAG’s trademark furthered the artistic goal of realism and did not mislead consumers.

    Oracle America, Inc. Lisa represented Oracle in its recent copyright fair use jury trial against Google over the use of Oracle's JAVA source code in Google's Android operating system.

    Coorstek Medical LLC. Lisa served as trial counsel in this bench trial in the District of Colorado concerning trade dress rights in the color pink for ceramic hip ball replacements.

    Kirtsaeng v. John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Lisa obtained a victory in the U.S. Supreme Court on behalf of Petitioner Kirtsaeng concerning the application of the Copyright Act's first sale doctrine to foreign-manufactured goods.

    DISH Network, LLC.Lisa represented DISH in its highly publicized copyright and breach of contract disputes with FOX, NBC, ABC and CBS in NY and California concerning DISH's Hopper DVR and successfully defeated Fox's and ABC's three separate motions for a preliminary injunction on DISH's PrimeTime Anytime, AutoHop and Sling features, filed in NY and California federal court. Lisa and the DISH team also defeated two separate appeals by Fox of those ruling in the Ninth Circuit and the team obtained a favorable summary judgment decision dismissing the majority of Fox's copyright claims.

    MGA Entertainment, Inc. Lisa represented MGA in its appeal to the Ninth Circuit with respect to its copyright and trade secret dispute with Mattel over the Bratz dolls and obtained a complete reversal of the District Court's order in MGA's favor. On retrial to a jury in the California district court, Lisa was a member of the trial team that obtained a complete victory for MGA. The jury held that MGA was the owner of the Bratz dolls and found that Mattel was liable to MGA for $309m on its counterclaims.

    Sanei International Co., Ltd. Lisa successfully defeated two applications for preliminary injunction filed by designer JILL STUART against Japanese retailer Sanei, and obtained dismissal of two separate trademark, copyright and contract claims in litigations pending in SDNY. Lisa also successfully argued two separate appeals of those wins in the Second Circuit.

    Lisa also represented Sanei in a separate trademark dispute over the fashion designer's trademark and name CHARLOTTE RONSON.

    NYC Triathlon. Lisa obtained a preliminary injunction for NYC Triathlon in a trademark dispute over the use of its name, which included a judicial finding of secondary meaning in the NYC TRIATHLON service mark.

    Microsoft. Lisa argued and won an appeal in New York's Appellate Division, First Department, affirming the dismissal of a breach of contract action against Microsoft.

    Facebook, Inc. Lisa represented Facebook in a variety of matters, including New York-focused litigation relating to the Winklevoss twins' claims of ownership of Facebook and matters implicating the Communications Decency Act (CDA) and the Electronic Communications Protection Act. In a matter of first impression in New York, she obtained a dismissal of all claims against Facebook based on CDA immunity.

    Wyeth. Lisa represented Wyeth in a variety of matters, including:

    • Thimerosal-containing vaccines: Lisa served as national counsel to Wyeth in hundreds of product liability litigations throughout the United States concerning injuries, such as autism, allegedly associated with the use of the preservative thimerosal in childhood vaccines
    • Advil: Lisa represented Wyeth over the course of seven years in several product liability litigations involving the labeling and advertising of its over-the-counter analgesic, Advil, in which plaintiffs alleged kidney disease caused by the use of Advil
    • Caltrate: Lisa obtained the dismissal of a consumer class action prior to class certification in a matter concerning the calcium supplement Caltrate pending in New York state court

    Dow AgroSciences. Lisa obtained the dismissal of state law claims brought by more than 300 residents of Ecuador alleging personal injuries from exposure to a commercial fungicide used on banana crops.

    iVillage/NBC. Lisa represented iVillage (which was acquired by NBC in 2006) in several significant lawsuits dealing with, among other issues:

    • the protection of the company's iBABY trademark;
    • the value of certain disputed employee stock options;
    • the unauthorized use of one of the company's Internet bulletin boards to anonymously post vulgar, obscene, derogatory and defamatory messages;
    • the defense and prosecution of claims involving a licensing dispute over trademarks and rights of publicity; and
    • the complete dismissal of all federal claims, namely trademark infringement, false advertising, dilution and cybersquatting, asserted against iVillage in the Northern District of California based on iVillage's use of certain trademarks on its astrology website.

    MP3.com. Lisa represented Internet music provider MP3.com in numerous litigations in which various record companies, including all the major records labels, asserted copyright claims arising from the launch of MP3.com's online music service. Lisa also represented MP3.com in litigation brought by several recording artists, as a purported class, who asserted various copyright claims against MP3.com and the major record labels.

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