James M. Sullivan

Since joining the firm in 2006, Jim Sullivan has vigorously represented clients in some of the firm’s most successful and challenging litigations in federal and state courts across the country. As a seasoned litigator with broad pretrial, trial, and appellate experience, he has worked on matters in many of the firm’s core practice areas. Jim is a member of the firm’s Complex Litigation, Engineering & Construction, Discovery, Environmental, Pharmaceutical & Medical Device, and Products Liability & Toxic Torts practices.

As a recognized leader and firm co-chair in Discovery Counsel Services and eDiscovery, Jim has guided clients through corporate discovery in some of the most complex federal and state court litigations. He is known for his passion for learning clients’ business, his foresight, strategic advice, work ethic, and his ability to find new ways to advance clients’ interests. Due to Jim’s nationally recognized expertise in the field since 2016, he has been selected as a speaker, eDiscovery coach, and panelist for numerous national conferences and programs, such as Georgetown Law’s Advanced eDiscovery Institute and eDiscovery Training Academy.

Jim has been a key member of multiple trial teams, including participating in all facets of trial preparation, working with corporate and expert witnesses at trial, negotiating deposition designations and exhibits, preparing offers of proof, briefing and arguing trial motions, and participating in jury charging conferences. His experience includes writing briefs on a wide range of procedural, evidentiary, and dispositive issues in trial and appellate courts, taking expert and fact witness depositions, defending corporate depositions, and arguing a wide range of motions. In his combined experience prior to and with the firm, Jim has participated in more than twenty jury trials, numerous bench trials, and in more than a hundred appeals.

Jim also has experience evaluating environmental, products liability, and other litigation exposure for potential corporate acquisitions, as well as extensive experience with multidistrict litigation, mass tort proceedings, class actions, Daubert issues, punitive damages, choice-of-law, federal preemption, and civil and appellate procedure in general. His environmental experience includes issues arising under the Clean Air Act and Clean Water Act.

Jim has led national teams in all phases of corporate discovery, including:

• Routinely working with clients on corporate fact investigation, document preservation, preparation of written discovery responses, and preparation of company witnesses for testifying at depositions or trials
• Negotiating protective orders and other joint filings with opposing counsel
• Briefing and arguing a broad range of motions arising from the discovery process such as motions regarding scope of discovery, confidentiality, and privilege issues
• Supervising document productions ranging from thousands to millions of pages and regularly counseling clients regarding information governance, litigation preparedness, and eDiscovery issues
• Serving as ESI Liaison counsel for defendants in federal multidistrict litigation and coordinated state court litigation.

Jim has published on eDiscovery, civil procedure, and appellate procedure in legal magazines such as ALM’s Legaltech News, DRI’s In-House Defense Quarterly, and DRI’s For the Defense. He has reported on significant appellate jurisdiction and procedure cases from the District of Columbia Circuit and Federal Circuit as Regional Editor of Certworthy (the newsletter of the DRI Appellate Advocacy Committee). Jim also serves as Chair of the firm’s pro bono program and has experience with a diverse group of pro bono representations.

Jim was Managing Editor of the Georgetown Journal on Poverty Law & Policy, and remains active with the law school, including as a J.D. admissions interviewer. As a former player, he also serves as an alumni mentor to student athletes on the Wesleyan University football team.

Prior to joining the firm, Jim served as a judicial law clerk to the Honorable Myron H. Bright of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit. During his clerkship, he worked on cases on appeal before the Sixth Circuit, Eighth Circuit, and Ninth Circuit. He previously served as judicial law clerk to the Honorable Leonard N. Zito of the Court of Common Pleas of Northampton County, Pennsylvania.