Linda Addison (lawyer)
Encyclopedia
Linda Leuchter Addison (born November 25, 1951 in Allentown
, Pennsylvania) is an American lawyer, business executive and author. Addison is Partner-in-Charge of the New York office of Fulbright & Jaworski
. Crain's New York Business named Addison one of the "50 Most Powerful Women in New York 2011." She is a Founder of the Center for Women in Law
and President of the Center's Executive Committee, and Co-Chaired the New York State Bar Association’s Task Force on the Future of the Legal Profession.
.
At the University of Texas School of Law, she became the first woman Managing Editor of the Texas Law Review
and received her J.D. in 1976. Addison was selected as the 2008 Outstanding Alumnus of the University of Texas School of Law, the first woman in active law practice to receive this award. She serves as a Trustee of the University of Texas Law School Foundation and as a member of the Executive Committee of the Chancellor's Council of the University of Texas System.
in the multi-jurisdictional litigation alleging overexposure to radiation from CT machines. Addison's other cases include the jury trial for Mars Incorporated involving infringement of one of its pet food patents, in which she as lead counsel obtained a judgment for monetary damages and a permanent injunction requiring consumer goods giants Heinz
and Del Monte
to remove six infringing product lines from the market (Mars, Incorporated v. H.J. Heinz Company). As lead counsel for the Northern Trust Company, the former directed trustee of the Enron
401(k) plan in the $1.7 billion Enron employee benefit plan class action cases, the largest ERISA class action in U.S. history, she negotiated a $37.5 million settlement (Tittle v. Enron Corp).
Addison was lead counsel for Handy Dan
Hardware in the trial of the case that challenged the constitutionality of Texas Blue Laws
(Retail Merchants Association of Houston v. Handy Dan Hardware), leading to their repeal in 1985, and making it possible for Texans to shop on Sunday.
In 2001, she became the first woman named to Fulbright's Executive Committee, a position she still holds.
In 2009, the American Bar Association
awarded Addison its Margaret Brent
Women Lawyers of Achievement Award, which recognizes the accomplishments of women lawyers who have achieved professional excellence and paved the way to success for other women. Prior award recipients include U.S. Supreme Court Justices Sandra Day O'Connor
and Ruth Bader Ginsburg
.
Addison Co-Chaired the New York State Bar Association's Task Force on the Future of the Legal Profession. She is a Founder of the Center for Women in Law. The Center held its inaugural Women's Power Summit on Law and Leadership in April 2009. The Summit's Keynote speaker was The Honorable Sandra Day O'Connor. Addison currently serves as President of the Center's Executive Committee.
Addison was named one of the "50 Most Powerful Women in New York 2011” by Crain's New York Business.
The National Law Journal named Addison to its most recent list of the "50 Most Influential Women Lawyers in America" (2007). The National Law Journal named her one of 17 women among its most recent list of the "100 Most Influential Lawyers in America" (2006). In 2001, The National Law Journal named her one of "America's Top 50 Women Litigators." Texas Lawyer named Addison the number one "Go-To Lawyer" for commercial litigation in its most recent Go-To Guide (2007). Lawdragon described her in 2008 as "a dynamo who is one of the nation's most respected litigators, she poses an intimidating presence in all manners of complex civil litigation, from pet food to diamond mines" and in 2006 as "equally skilled at keeping CEOs out of the courtroom as representing them once there." In 2007 Chambers USA reported that "clients heap praise on the fierce and fabulous Linda Addison, respected for her incredible strategic analysis, thoroughness and practicality."
Addison is the author of Texas Practice Guide: Evidence (Thomson West 2011) and Federal Civil Procedure & Evidence During Trial: 5th Circuit, (Chapter 9 - Evidence: Burden of Proof, Admissibility and Objections West Group 1997).
. She serves on the Federal Judicial Evaluation Committee, a bipartisan group established by U.S. Senators Kay Bailey Hutchison
and John Cornyn
to screen, interview and recommend applicants for final consideration for appointment to the U.S. District Court judgeships and as United States Attorneys in Texas.
Addison also serves on the Board of Directors of the International Institute for Conflict Prevention & Resolution ("CPR"), the Board of Visitors of The University Cancer Center Foundation of M.D. Anderson Cancer Center and the Advisory Board of Northern Trust
Bank, N.A. In 2006, The United Way of the Texas Gulf Coast named her Woman of the Year.
Allentown, Pennsylvania
Allentown is a city located in Lehigh County, Pennsylvania, in the United States. It is Pennsylvania's third most populous city, after Philadelphia and Pittsburgh, and the 215th largest city in the United States. As of the 2010 census, the city had a total population of 118,032 and is currently...
, Pennsylvania) is an American lawyer, business executive and author. Addison is Partner-in-Charge of the New York office of Fulbright & Jaworski
Fulbright & Jaworski
The international law firm of Fulbright & Jaworski L.L.P. is one of the largest law firms in the United States with nearly 1,000 attorneys in over 50 practice areas. The firm was founded in Houston in 1919 by R. C. Fulbright, an attorney working in railway regulation, and J.H. Crooker, a litigator...
. Crain's New York Business named Addison one of the "50 Most Powerful Women in New York 2011." She is a Founder of the Center for Women in Law
Center for Women in Law
The Center for Women in Law is a national center created by women to increase the number of women in leadership positions in the legal profession. The Center is an educational institution devoted to the success of the entire spectrum of women in law, from first-year law students to experienced...
and President of the Center's Executive Committee, and Co-Chaired the New York State Bar Association’s Task Force on the Future of the Legal Profession.
Early life and education
Addison is the daughter of Marcus and Theresa Leuchter, Nazi concentration camp survivors who immigrated to the United States in 1946. After graduating from Bellaire High School in 1969, she attended The University of Texas, graduating in 1973 with a B.A. cum laude in the Plan II Honors Program, headed by Vartan GregorianVartan Gregorian
Vartan Gregorian is an Armenian-American academic, serving as the president of Carnegie Corporation of New York. He is an ethnic Armenian, born in Iran....
.
At the University of Texas School of Law, she became the first woman Managing Editor of the Texas Law Review
Texas Law Review
The Texas Law Review is a student-edited and produced law review published by the University of Texas School of Law . It publishes 7 issues per academic year, ranks number 11 on Washington & Lee University's list, and ranks number 4 in Mikhail Koulikov's rankings of law reviews by social impact...
and received her J.D. in 1976. Addison was selected as the 2008 Outstanding Alumnus of the University of Texas School of Law, the first woman in active law practice to receive this award. She serves as a Trustee of the University of Texas Law School Foundation and as a member of the Executive Committee of the Chancellor's Council of the University of Texas System.
Legal career and achievements
Addison is currently lead counsel for General ElectricGeneral Electric
General Electric Company , or GE, is an American multinational conglomerate corporation incorporated in Schenectady, New York and headquartered in Fairfield, Connecticut, United States...
in the multi-jurisdictional litigation alleging overexposure to radiation from CT machines. Addison's other cases include the jury trial for Mars Incorporated involving infringement of one of its pet food patents, in which she as lead counsel obtained a judgment for monetary damages and a permanent injunction requiring consumer goods giants Heinz
H. J. Heinz Company
The H. J. Heinz Company , commonly known as Heinz and famous for its "57 Varieties" slogan and its ketchup, is an American food company with world headquarters in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.Perhaps best known for its ketchup, the H.J...
and Del Monte
Del Monte Foods
Del Monte Foods is an American food production and distribution company headquartered in San Francisco, California. Del Monte Foods is one of the country's largest producers, distributors and marketers of branded food and pet products for the U.S. retail market, generating approximately $3.6...
to remove six infringing product lines from the market (Mars, Incorporated v. H.J. Heinz Company). As lead counsel for the Northern Trust Company, the former directed trustee of the Enron
Enron
Enron Corporation was an American energy, commodities, and services company based in Houston, Texas. Before its bankruptcy on December 2, 2001, Enron employed approximately 22,000 staff and was one of the world's leading electricity, natural gas, communications, and pulp and paper companies, with...
401(k) plan in the $1.7 billion Enron employee benefit plan class action cases, the largest ERISA class action in U.S. history, she negotiated a $37.5 million settlement (Tittle v. Enron Corp).
Addison was lead counsel for Handy Dan
Handy Dan
Handy Dan Home Improvement was one of the first home improvement retailer chains. It went out of business in May, 1989. Ironically, Handy Dan employed two corporate officers named Arthur Blank and Bernie Marcus...
Hardware in the trial of the case that challenged the constitutionality of Texas Blue Laws
Blue Laws
The Blue Laws of the Colony of Connecticut, as distinct from the generic term "blue law" that refers to any laws regulating activities on Sunday, were the initial statutes set up by the Gov. Theophilus Eaton with the assistance of the Rev. John Cotton in 1655 for the Colony of New Haven, now part...
(Retail Merchants Association of Houston v. Handy Dan Hardware), leading to their repeal in 1985, and making it possible for Texans to shop on Sunday.
In 2001, she became the first woman named to Fulbright's Executive Committee, a position she still holds.
In 2009, the American Bar Association
American Bar Association
The American Bar Association , founded August 21, 1878, is a voluntary bar association of lawyers and law students, which is not specific to any jurisdiction in the United States. The ABA's most important stated activities are the setting of academic standards for law schools, and the formulation...
awarded Addison its Margaret Brent
Margaret Brent
Margaret Brent , an English immigrant to the Colony of Maryland, was the first woman in the English North American colonies to appear before a court of the Common Law. She was a significant founding settler in the early histories of the colonies of Maryland and Virginia...
Women Lawyers of Achievement Award, which recognizes the accomplishments of women lawyers who have achieved professional excellence and paved the way to success for other women. Prior award recipients include U.S. Supreme Court Justices Sandra Day O'Connor
Sandra Day O'Connor
Sandra Day O'Connor is an American jurist who was the first female member of the Supreme Court of the United States. She served as an Associate Justice from 1981 until her retirement from the Court in 2006. O'Connor was appointed by President Ronald Reagan in 1981...
and Ruth Bader Ginsburg
Ruth Bader Ginsburg
Ruth Joan Bader Ginsburg is an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States. Ginsburg was appointed by President Bill Clinton and took the oath of office on August 10, 1993. She is the second female justice and the first Jewish female justice.She is generally viewed as belonging to...
.
Addison Co-Chaired the New York State Bar Association's Task Force on the Future of the Legal Profession. She is a Founder of the Center for Women in Law. The Center held its inaugural Women's Power Summit on Law and Leadership in April 2009. The Summit's Keynote speaker was The Honorable Sandra Day O'Connor. Addison currently serves as President of the Center's Executive Committee.
Addison was named one of the "50 Most Powerful Women in New York 2011” by Crain's New York Business.
The National Law Journal named Addison to its most recent list of the "50 Most Influential Women Lawyers in America" (2007). The National Law Journal named her one of 17 women among its most recent list of the "100 Most Influential Lawyers in America" (2006). In 2001, The National Law Journal named her one of "America's Top 50 Women Litigators." Texas Lawyer named Addison the number one "Go-To Lawyer" for commercial litigation in its most recent Go-To Guide (2007). Lawdragon described her in 2008 as "a dynamo who is one of the nation's most respected litigators, she poses an intimidating presence in all manners of complex civil litigation, from pet food to diamond mines" and in 2006 as "equally skilled at keeping CEOs out of the courtroom as representing them once there." In 2007 Chambers USA reported that "clients heap praise on the fierce and fabulous Linda Addison, respected for her incredible strategic analysis, thoroughness and practicality."
Addison is the author of Texas Practice Guide: Evidence (Thomson West 2011) and Federal Civil Procedure & Evidence During Trial: 5th Circuit, (Chapter 9 - Evidence: Burden of Proof, Admissibility and Objections West Group 1997).
Civic and charitable involvement
Addison served on the United States Commission for the Preservation of America's Heritage Abroad. She is a mentor in the FORTUNE/U.S. Department of State Global Women Leaders Mentoring Partnership. She is a Partner in the Partnership for New York City, and a member of the Women and Foreign Policy Advisory Council of the Council on Foreign Relations, New York City,, the University Club of New York, and the Economic Club of New YorkEconomic Club of New York
The Economic Club of New York is an American nonprofit and nonpartisan membership organization dedicated to promoting the study and discussion of social, economic and political questions...
. She serves on the Federal Judicial Evaluation Committee, a bipartisan group established by U.S. Senators Kay Bailey Hutchison
Kay Bailey Hutchison
Kathryn Ann Bailey Hutchison, known as Kay Bailey Hutchison , is the senior United States Senator from Texas.She is a member of the Republican Party. In 2001, she was named one of the thirty most powerful women in America by Ladies Home Journal. The first woman to represent Texas in the U.S....
and John Cornyn
John Cornyn
John Cornyn, III is the junior United States Senator for Texas, serving since 2003. He is a member of the Republican Party. He was elected Chairman of the National Republican Senatorial Committee for the 111th U.S. Congress....
to screen, interview and recommend applicants for final consideration for appointment to the U.S. District Court judgeships and as United States Attorneys in Texas.
Addison also serves on the Board of Directors of the International Institute for Conflict Prevention & Resolution ("CPR"), the Board of Visitors of The University Cancer Center Foundation of M.D. Anderson Cancer Center and the Advisory Board of Northern Trust
Northern Trust
Northern Trust Corporation is an international financial services company headquartered in Chicago, Illinois, USA. It provides investment management, asset and fund administration, fiduciary and banking services through a network of 85 offices in 18 U.S. states and 12 international offices in North...
Bank, N.A. In 2006, The United Way of the Texas Gulf Coast named her Woman of the Year.
External links
- Fulbright & Jaworski L.L.P. biography of Linda Addison
- American Bar Association video on 2009 Margaret Brent Award Recipient Linda Addison
- American Bar Association video of acceptance remarks by 2009 Margaret Brent Award Recipient Linda Addison
- American Bar Association profile of 2009 Margaret Brent Award Recipient Linda Addison
- Houston Chronicle profile of Linda Addison "Houston Lawyer 'Able to Defy Long Odds'
- Super Lawyers profile of Linda Addison "Tough as Nails"