Managing Partner, Washington, DC
She / Her
Office
Washington, DC
Phone
+1 202 639 6865
Lindsay Harrison serves as Managing Partner of the Washington, DC, office and co-chair of the firm’s Real Estate and Hospitality Practice. As a tireless champion for client interests, Lindsay leads highly complex litigation that requires strategic judgment. Her practice spans a range of industries with a special focus on hospitality and real estate companies, colleges and universities, technology and media companies and nonprofit organizations. She is also a member of the Appellate & Supreme Court Practice, and regularly represents individuals in high-profile cases implicating human and constitutional rights.
Lindsay has argued in front of the US Supreme Court and federal Courts of Appeals, and has led lawsuits against or involving the government. She led the Jenner & Block team that won a major victory preserving the DACA program in the US Supreme Court after the government in 2017 attempted to rescind the program. Currently, among other matters, she is defending a hotel management company in several litigation matters in Napa County, California. She is also representing Amtrak in litigation to acquire the leasehold interest in Washington, DC’s Union Station. And she is also representing pro bono physician witnesses providing evidentiary support to the US Department of Justice litigation challenging the lawfulness of state laws criminalizing reproductive freedom. She also frequently handles consumer class actions of all types, including data breaches, consumer fees, and advertising practices.
Clients turn to Lindsay for help adapting business plans or practices in anticipation of big developments—structuring deals during a pandemic, planning for changes to affirmative action, adapting corporate practices in the aftermath of the Dobbs decision or supporting DACA recipients in the face of legal uncertainty.
Lindsay is a leader of the bar, serving on the executive committee of the Edward Coke Appellate Inn of Court and on the development committee of The Appellate Project, a not-for-profit organization dedicated to advancing diversity in the appellate bar. An advocate for the next generation of lawyers, she is a member of the firm’s Partner Evaluation and Compensation Committee and serves on the Associate Development and Evaluation Committee.
Clients often come to us with their most difficult challenges. My passion is devising a clear strategy that achieves our clients’ goals, whether it’s in real estate, hospitality, higher education, human rights, or other areas.
Representative Matters
Won a legal challenge to rescission of the DACA program on behalf of Princeton University, a Princeton graduate, and Microsoft. The theory advanced in the firm’s Supreme Court brief became the basis for the Chief Justice’s majority opinion affirming DACA.
Achieved reversal of a criminal conviction of a company and individual for violating the Arms Export Control Act. Secured a 3-0 decision in the DC Circuit vacating the convictions on the basis that the district court violated defendant Sixth Amendment rights.
Won preliminary injunction for Marriott requiring owner to specifically perform a hotel management agreement obligation to fund working capital at the Hotel in precedent-setting decision applying Maryland law.
Represented Hyatt in litigation brought by a joint venture partner concerning management of the jointly-owned hotel, securing dismissal of the complaint with prejudice in 2020, and subsequently defended the dismissal of the lawsuit on appeal to the New Jersey intermediate appellate court.
Won dismissal of fraud litigation against individual client based on the United States’ assertion of the state secrets privilege and won appeal affirming dismissal in published First Circuit opinion.
Credentials
Service / Recognition
Overview
Lindsay Harrison serves as Managing Partner of the Washington, DC, office and co-chair of the firm’s Real Estate and Hospitality Practice. As a tireless champion for client interests, Lindsay leads highly complex litigation that requires strategic judgment. Her practice spans a range of industries with a special focus on hospitality and real estate companies, colleges and universities, technology and media companies and nonprofit organizations. She is also a member of the Appellate & Supreme Court Practice, and regularly represents individuals in high-profile cases implicating human and constitutional rights.
Lindsay has argued in front of the US Supreme Court and federal Courts of Appeals, and has led lawsuits against or involving the government. She led the Jenner & Block team that won a major victory preserving the DACA program in the US Supreme Court after the government in 2017 attempted to rescind the program. Currently, among other matters, she is defending a hotel management company in several litigation matters in Napa County, California. She is also representing Amtrak in litigation to acquire the leasehold interest in Washington, DC’s Union Station. And she is also representing pro bono physician witnesses providing evidentiary support to the US Department of Justice litigation challenging the lawfulness of state laws criminalizing reproductive freedom. She also frequently handles consumer class actions of all types, including data breaches, consumer fees, and advertising practices.
Clients turn to Lindsay for help adapting business plans or practices in anticipation of big developments—structuring deals during a pandemic, planning for changes to affirmative action, adapting corporate practices in the aftermath of the Dobbs decision or supporting DACA recipients in the face of legal uncertainty.
Lindsay is a leader of the bar, serving on the executive committee of the Edward Coke Appellate Inn of Court and on the development committee of The Appellate Project, a not-for-profit organization dedicated to advancing diversity in the appellate bar. An advocate for the next generation of lawyers, she is a member of the firm’s Partner Evaluation and Compensation Committee and serves on the Associate Development and Evaluation Committee.
Clients often come to us with their most difficult challenges. My passion is devising a clear strategy that achieves our clients’ goals, whether it’s in real estate, hospitality, higher education, human rights, or other areas.
Areas of Focus
Representative Matters
Won a legal challenge to rescission of the DACA program on behalf of Princeton University, a Princeton graduate, and Microsoft. The theory advanced in the firm’s Supreme Court brief became the basis for the Chief Justice’s majority opinion affirming DACA.
Achieved reversal of a criminal conviction of a company and individual for violating the Arms Export Control Act. Secured a 3-0 decision in the DC Circuit vacating the convictions on the basis that the district court violated defendant Sixth Amendment rights.
Won preliminary injunction for Marriott requiring owner to specifically perform a hotel management agreement obligation to fund working capital at the Hotel in precedent-setting decision applying Maryland law.
Represented Hyatt in litigation brought by a joint venture partner concerning management of the jointly-owned hotel, securing dismissal of the complaint with prejudice in 2020, and subsequently defended the dismissal of the lawsuit on appeal to the New Jersey intermediate appellate court.
Won dismissal of fraud litigation against individual client based on the United States’ assertion of the state secrets privilege and won appeal affirming dismissal in published First Circuit opinion.
Credentials
Admissions
- District of Columbia, 2008
- California, 2004
Education
- Harvard Law School, JD, cum laude; Best Oralist, Ames Moot Court Competition, 2003
- University of Southern California, BA, summa cum laude; with honors, 2000
Court Admissions
- US Supreme Court, 2008
- US Court of Appeals, First Circuit, 2018
- US Court of Appeals, Second Circuit, 2014
- US Court of Appeals, Third Circuit, 2020
- US Court of Appeals, Fourth Circuit, 2008
- US Court of Appeals, Fifth Circuit, 2009
- US Court of Appeals, Sixth Circuit, 2009
- US Court of Appeals, Seventh Circuit, 2014
- US Court of Appeals, Eighth Circuit, 2012
- US Court of Appeals, Ninth Circuit, 2013
- US Court of Appeals, DC Circuit, 2017
- US District Court, District of Columbia, 2012
- US District Court, Central District of California, 2020
- US District Court, District of Maryland, 2020
Clerkships
- Hon. Rosemary Barkett, US Court of Appeals, Eleventh Circuit, 2006-2006
- Hon. Alan S. Gold, US District Court, Southern District of Florida, 2003-2005
Service / Recognition
Awards
- Albert E. Jenner Jr. Pro Bono Award, 2008
- American Bar Association, Rosner & Rosner Young Lawyers Professionalism Award, 2010
- BTI Consulting Group, Client Service All-Star List, 2013
- Capital Pro Bono High Honor Roll, 2022
- Chambers USA, Leisure & Hospitality (Nationwide), 2015-2016, 2022, 2023; Litigation: General Commercial, 2023
- Cross-Examination Debate Association, Alumnus of the Year, 2009
- Law360, Rising Star: Hospitality, 2014
- Lawdragon 500 Leading Litigators in America, Commercial Litigation, esp., Real Estate, Appellate, 2024
- Legal 500, Appellate: Courts of Appeal | Supreme Courts (States and Federal), 2021
- National Law Journal, DC Rising Star, 2014, Immigration Trailblazer, 2018
- National LGBT Bar Association, Best LGBT Lawyers Under 40, 2012
Community
- National Association for Urban Debate Leagues, Young Professionals Leadership Board, 2009-2011
- Point Foundation, Mentor
Service to the Bar
- International Bar Association, Leisure Industries Section, Membership Chair
- American Bar Association, Young Lawyers Division, Delegate
- Bar Association of the District of Columbia, ABA Young Lawyers Division, Delegate
- Edward Coke Appellate Inn of Court, Secretary
- Women's Bar Association of the District of Columbia, Amicus Committee, Chair
Industry
- Law360, Editorial Board-Hospitality, 2017