Sarah Kirkpatrick focuses her practice on complex commercial litigation, including antitrust, securities, director and officer liability, and financial services matters. She has litigated cases at both the trial and appellate level, in both state and federal courts. She has experience representing clients, including pharmaceutical companies, private equity firms, broker dealers, Fortune 100 companies, media companies, and individuals, in a wide range of business disputes.
Sarah was raised in Portland, Oregon and graduated magna cum laude with a B.A. in History and Law, Jurisprudence and Social Thought from Amherst College in 2000. She earned a M.A. in History from University of Virginia in 2006. She received her J.D. the same year from University of Virginia School of Law, where she was a member of the Order of the Coif and an Articles Editor of the Virginia Law Review. Sarah clerked for Judge Kermit V. Lipez of the United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit before joining Williams & Connolly in 2007.
Sarah is a member of the firm’s Real Estate, Pro Bono and Alumni Outreach committees, and is chair of the Partner Development Committee. Benchmark Litigation named Sarah to their 2023 “Future Stars” list. She has been selected to the Super Lawyers 2014-2017 Washington, D.C. “Rising Stars” lists.
Representative Experience
- Representing a generic pharmaceutical manufacturer in multidistrict litigation involving numerous class and individual claims alleging price fixing and other anticompetitive conduct related to the pricing and marketing of generic pharmaceuticals.
- Lead counsel representing a pharmaceutical company in ongoing commercial contract dispute in Delaware Chancery Court.
- Representing a medical device manufacturer in ongoing litigation against competitor and contractual counterparty, asserting contract and unfair restraint of trade claims and seeking injunctive relief and damages.
- Represented major private equity firm and affiliated individual directors in defense of breach of fiduciary duty and mismanagement claims related to collapse of RMBS investment fund. Five month trial in the Royal Court of Guernsey (Channel Islands) resulted in judgment rejecting all claims against all defendants. Simultaneously obtained successful dismissal of several related securities law cases in U.S. courts, including affirmance of dismissal on appeal.
- Represented nationwide telecommunications company in class action antitrust litigation involving price fixing claims in text messaging industry, resulting in successful summary judgment motion.
- Represented major private equity firm in contractual dispute with a former investor, including oral argument on jurisdictional issue and enforcement of forum selection clause in the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit.
- Represented inter-broker dealer in successful arbitration for breach of contract relating to theft and misuse of proprietary data and technological systems information.
- Represented major cable network in several contract disputes with on-air talent, including successful preliminary injunction.
- Represented major manufacturing corporation in litigation against insurance carriers for coverage of costs associated with environmental remediation.