David Lender is co-chair of the firm’s 160-lawyer Complex Commercial Litigation practice and a member of the firm’s 15-person Management Committee. He specializes in complex commercial litigation, with particular emphasis in patent and intellectual property law. Over the past several years, he has successfully tried numerous cases, in both federal and state courts.
Mr. Lender is a recognized expert, author and frequent lecturer on electronic discovery issues. He is the co-author of the leading treatise on the subject, entitled Electronic Discovery: Law and Practice, originally published by Aspen Publishers in 2003, author of Privilege Issues in the Age of Electronic Discovery, published by BNA Books in 2008, and is head of the firm’s E-Discovery Task Force.
Among his trial wins, he was co-lead counsel and won a complete defense jury verdict for ESPN in New York Supreme Court in a $231 million lawsuit brought by Modi Entertainment Network. He was co-lead counsel and won a $416.88 million jury verdict for Exxon Mobil Corporation against Saudi Basic Industries Corporation in Delaware Superior Court, successfully asserting claims for breach of contract and usurpation under Saudi Arabian law. The award was one of the largest jury verdicts in the United States in 2003. He also successfully defended Sotheby’s in a consignor litigation in the District of New Mexico, again serving as co-lead counsel. Mr. Lender also has successfully represented Applera Corporation, Matsushita, JVC, Micron Technologies and Nuance Communications in various litigations involving patent and other commercial disputes.
Mr. Lender is a Member of the Executive Committee and Board of Directors of New York Lawyers for the Public Interest. He also is a member of the E-Discovery Committee of the Commercial and Federal Litigation Section, New York State Bar Association, a member of the CPR E-Discovery Committee and a member of the Advisory Board of Georgetown University Law Center Advanced E-Discovery Institute.
Mr. Lender is admitted to practice in New York and before the US Supreme Court, the US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, Second, Third and Fourth Circuits, the US District Courts for the Southern and Eastern Districts of New York, the US Supreme Court, the US Court of Federal Claims, and the US Tax Court.
Mr. Lender received his J.D. degree with High Honors, Order of the Coif from the Duke University School of Law in 1993, and his B.A. degree, cum laude, from Duke University in 1990.