July.07.2015
Orrick congratulates our partners Lynne Hermle, Annette Hurst and Laurie Strauch Weiss for being recognized in Benchmark Litigation’s Top 250 Women in Litigation. Lynne makes her debut on the list, while Annette and Laurie are each recognized for the third consecutive year.
Lynne Hermle, a member of Orrick’s Employment Law and Litigation team in Silicon Valley, has a long track record of winning high-profile jury trials on behalf of industry-leading clients, defeating class certification, and obtaining summary judgment for clients. Most recently, she achieved a complete and resounding victory on behalf of the venture capital firm Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers in the high-stakes gender discrimination case brought by former junior partner Ellen Pao. Long a member of the firm’s senior leadership team, Lynne currently serves on Orrick’s Management Committee.
A member of Orrick’s Intellectual Property team in San Francisco, Annette Hurst is an experienced trial lawyer who has tried patent, copyright, trade secret, trademark and business tort claims. Most recently, she served as a key member of the Orrick team that obtained a favorable decision on behalf of client DISH Network in a lawsuit filed by Fox over DISH’s Hopper DVR technology. She also served as co-counsel and architect of the copyright strategy used to secure a landmark Supreme Court victory in Kirtsaeng v. John Wiley Publishing. Annette serves on Orrick’s Board and is Chair of the firm’s Practice Management Committee.
Laurie Strauch Weiss, a partner in the firm’s New York office, chairs Orrick’s Mass Torts & Product Liability practice group. She represents global clients in large, complex and multi-party class action litigation, and has successfully defended significant mass tort matters, including the defense of toxic tort, medical device and manufacturing defect claims. Most recently, she was a key member of the Orrick team that obtained an important victory for China Petroleum & Chemical Corporation (“Sinopec”), the largest company in China and the fourth largest in the world by revenue, in a case filed under Alien Tort Statute and California tort law. The plaintiffs sought over $5.2 billion in potential damages and the case involved complex RICO and cross-border claims. The Orrick team defeated the action on a motion to dismiss.
Benchmark Litigation's Top 250 Women in Litigation is dedicated to honoring the accomplishments of the leading female trial lawyers in the United States. The list is based on targeted research, including peer review and overall depth of their litigation careers.