Clara J. Shin

Shin co-chairs the commercial litigation practice group at Covington & Burling LLP. Her recent works range from investigating sexual misconduct at a Marin County prep school to defending Eli Lilly & Co. in arbitration of a $1.5 billion trade secret claim to representing pro bono Leigh Corfman in a defamation suit against former Alabama Senate candidate Roy Moore.

In March 2018 she obtained a turnaround win for a McKesson Corp. subsidiary after arguing the case before the New York State Supreme Court’s appellate division. The client, the giant pharmaceutical distributor, retained Covington after six plus years of litigation to devise a new strategy, rehabilitate McKesson’s witnesses and turn the case around.

Though she came on to the case just months before trial, Shin and her team scored a complete defense victory in the trade secrets bench trial in which the plaintiff sought nearly half a billion dollars in damages.

“We did a fresh review, found some exculpatory documentary evidence and reoriented the approach,” Shin said. “Then we took it to trial and won.”

Complicating matters, the trial judge heard the case in four installments over a year.

“It’s not ideal, but it all worked out,” she added.

When the appeal was heard, Shin said, “The presiding justice asked me if there weren’t enough appellate lawyers in New York. I told him yes, there are wonderful appellate lawyers here, but I know the case best.” PSKW LLC v. McKesson Specialty Arizona Inc., 159 A.D.3d 599 (N.Y. App. Div., 1st Dept., originally filed Aug. 26, 2007).

“We’re really proud of that one,” she said.

Shin leads a trial team defending Amazon.com Inc. in a copyright and trademark infringement suit filed by Fuse Chicken, a designer and manufacturer of charging cables for smartphones and tablets. The plaintiff alleged that Amazon comingled genuine Fuse Chicken products with counterfeit or knock-off goods, damaging Fuse Chicken’s brand. The case is set for trial in June. Fuse Chicken LLC v. Amazon.com Inc., 5:17-cv-01538 (N.D. Ohio, filed July 21, 2017).

As a vice-chair of Covington’s public service committee, Shin is pro bono lead counsel for the three founders of Black Lives Matter, Alicia Garza, Patrisse Cullors and Opal Tometi.

“We have represented the three from the beginning,” she said. “We provide 360-degree representation, and there are lawsuits all over the place. We have Covington lawyers in every one of our U.S. offices on this.”

Shin calls the work rewarding. “I love what I do,” she said. “I work with the best lawyers and clients in the world.”

—John Roemer