Lori Lesser, Head of the IP Group and Partner, Simpson Thacher & Bartlett 

Lori Lesser is a Partner in the Litigation Department, Head of the IP Transactions Practice and Co-Chair of the Privacy and Cybersecurity Practice at Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP. She advises on all aspects of IP, technology and privacy law in transactions, strategic arrangements, licensing and litigation. She is ranked as a practice leader in Chambers, Legal500, Benchmark Litigation, Law360 and The American Lawyer. 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, GreaterNY and the Harvard Alumni Association. She is a member of Harvard’s Radcliffe Institute Dean’s Advisory Council and is a past president of the Harvard Law School Association of New York City. She serves on advisory boards for ChIPs and ProPublica. Lori is a graduate of Harvard College and Harvard Law School. 

Verna brings with her an extensive background of experience teaching and practicing law, as well as researching civil and women’s rights. Verna previously served as the dean of the University of Cincinnati College of Law, where she was a professor prior to becoming dean, and taught courses on family law, gender discrimination, and constitutional law. Additionally, she founded and co-directed the Judge Nathaniel Jones Center for Race, Gender, and Social Justice at the University of Cincinnati. 

Before her work at the University of Cincinnati, Verna was the vice president and director of educational opportunities at the National Women’s Law Center, where she focused on gender disparity in education. In this role, she was the lead counsel and successfully argued before the United States Supreme Court Davis v. Monroe County Board of Education, which established that educational institutions have a duty to respond to and address complaints of student-to-student sexual harassment. 

Verna clerked for the Honorable David S. Nelson, U.S. District Judge for the District of Massachusetts. After the clerkship, she practiced law at Sidley Austin LLP and the U.S. Department of Justice. 

Verna also has a background in research, which examines the intersection of race, gender, and class in law and policy. She has authored and co-authored many articles and essays on her area of expertise. 

Among her other achievements, Verna has presented papers at meetings of the Association of Law, Culture, and the Humanities. She also served as a consultant for the Ford Foundation, where she chaired the convening of a national conference at UC entitled Women Coming Together: Claiming the Law for Social Change.  

Verna received the Goldman Prize for Excellence in Teaching in 2004 and 2011. She was recently honored by the YWCA of Greater Cincinnati, the Black Lawyers Association of Cincinnati, and the Cincinnati Bar Association, which presented her with the Themis Award for exemplary service to the law and the community. 

Verna is a cum laude graduate of Harvard Law School and Georgetown University. 

Elizabeth Prelogar, Partner, Cooley 

Elizabeth Barchas Prelogar was the 48th Solicitor General of the United States and serves as the fourth-ranking individual at the Department of Justice. She is also the former Steven and Maureen Klinsky Visiting Professor of Practice for Leadership and Progress at Harvard Law School. 
 
As Solicitor General, she was responsible for conducting and supervising all Supreme Court litigation on behalf of the United States. The Solicitor General also determines whether appeals will be taken by the federal government to all appellate courts and whether the federal government will file an amicus curiae brief or intervene in any appellate court. The Solicitor General additionally assists the Attorney General, the Deputy Attorney General, and the Associate Attorney General in the development of broad Department program policy. 
 
Solicitor General Prelogar previously served in multiple roles at the Department of Justice. Before her confirmation as Solicitor General, she served as Acting Solicitor General and Principal Deputy Solicitor General for nearly seven months. She also served as an Assistant to the Solicitor General from 2014 to 2019. In that capacity, she briefed and argued multiple cases in the Supreme Court and helped formulate the government’s appellate strategy in lower courts. During her prior tenure as a career attorney at the Department, she also was detailed to Robert S. Mueller III’s investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election and obstruction-of-justice issues, where she served as an Assistant Special Counsel. 
 
Solicitor General Prelogar was born and raised in Boise, Idaho, and graduated from the area’s public schools. She received her bachelor’s degree summa cum laude from Emory University and a master’s degree in creative writing with distinction from the University of St. Andrews. She subsequently spent a year living and studying in St. Petersburg, Russia, as a Fulbright Fellow. She graduated magna cum laude from Harvard Law School where she was an Articles Editor of the Harvard Law Review. 
 
After graduating from law school, Solicitor General Prelogar clerked for Judge Merrick B. Garland of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit. She then completed consecutive Supreme Court clerkships for Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Justice Elena Kagan. After her clerkships, she worked as an associate in the appellate group at Hogan Lovells LLP. She later became a partner at Cooley LLP, where she focused on Supreme Court and appellate litigation. Solicitor General Prelogar devoted substantial time to pro bono litigation while in private practice and also served as a Lecturer on Law at Harvard Law School, where she co-taught a course on Supreme Court and appellate advocacy. 
 
Solicitor General Prelogar was nominated by President Joe Biden on August 11, 2021, was confirmed by the United States Senate and received her commission on October 28, 2021, and was sworn in by Attorney General Garland the next day. She lives in Washington, D.C. with her husband and two young sons. 

Lisa Blatt, Chair, Supreme Court & Appellate Practice, Williams & Connolly 

Lisa Blatt serves as Chair of Williams & Connolly’s Supreme Court and Appellate practice. Lisa has argued 54 cases before the United States Supreme Court and has an 81% win rate in cases decided. The National Law Journal has called her a “visionary” and one of “the 100 most influential lawyers in America.” Bloomberg has described her as a “legendary high court litigator” while The National Journal likewise has referred to her as a “SCOTUS legend.” In 2021, The American Lawyer recognized Lisa as the “Litigator of the Year.” Lisa’s appellate work has been highlighted by multiple publications and has earned her rankings in Chambers USA, Benchmark Litigation, The Legal 500, and Washingtonian magazine. Lisa was selected as one of the “Top 10 Women in Litigation” in the United States by Benchmark Litigation (2020-2024). Managing IP named her the 2021 “Practitioner of the Year (Appellate)” for her work as lead counsel to Booking.com before the Supreme Court. In 2021, Chambers USA reported that clients describe Lisa as “one of the best advocates today. She is extremely strong on her feet, connects with judges and has an unmatched win record,” and her “command of the case law and the way she presents is a work of art.” 

Lisa has substantial experience with trademark and copyright law and the pharmaceutical industry. She has secured four recent Supreme Court victories for the rights of trademark and copyright holders. Her Supreme Court cases also have addressed a broad range of other issues, involving First Amendment, arbitration, antitrust, civil procedure, preemption, employment and ERISA, and bankruptcy.