Shannon Hampton Sutherland
Partner
Duane Morris LLP
30 South 17th Street
Philadelphia, PA 19103-4196
USA

Phone: +1 215 979 1104
Fax: +1 215 689 4956
Email: SHSutherland@duanemorris.com

Shannon Hampton Sutherland prosecutes and defends a wide range of commercial and public sector disputes in state and federal courts and in arbitration across the United States, including in contract, covenant not to compete/restrictive covenant, trade secret, breach of fiduciary duty, software upgrade and implementation, zoning, infrastructure, and construction payment, delay, and defect matters. In addition, Ms. Sutherland has significant court experience prosecuting and defending temporary restraining orders and preliminary injunction proceedings.

Beyond her litigation experience, Ms. Sutherland has successfully resolved disputes, on behalf of private and public sector clients, through arbitration, mediation and favorable settlements. Ms. Sutherland also regularly counsels clients concerning covenants not to compete/restrictive covenants, confidentiality agreements, and trade secret protection and with respect to electronic discovery.

Admitted to practice in Pennsylvania and New Jersey, in addition to several federal trial and appellate courts, Ms. Sutherland is a 2002 cum laude graduate of The American University, Washington College of Law, and a summa cum laude graduate of the Temple University Honors Program. Prior to joining Duane Morris in 2002, Ms. Sutherland managed exports and logistics in the paper and chemical industries.

Representative Matters

• National counsel to a Fortune 500 provider of document-management services and solutions, office equipment and facilities-management personnel for matters involving restrictive covenants, confidentiality obligations and trade secrets. Served a year-long secondment in a litigation and counseling role, focusing on trade secret, fiduciary duty, and restrictive covenant matters and commercial contract disputes. Litigated temporary restraining order, preliminary and permanent injunction proceedings and contract claims in federal and state courts across the country.
• Defeated a request for interim measures, and subsequently obtained a complete defense victory, on behalf of the owner's representative in a more-than-$4-million construction payment and delay dispute before the American Arbitration Association.
• Represented the advisory board of a venture capital fund with a total investment in excess of $100 million in the investigation of the fraudulent activities of the general partner and litigation against the general partner's counsel for fraud and attorney malpractice, with an ultimate recovery in excess of $5 million.
• Obtained a temporary restraining order and injunction on behalf of a genetic biosciences company to protect its rights in a patent-pending genetic profile that it markets for use in customizing cosmetics and nutritional supplements. Recovered the client's financial losses and attorneys' fees.
• Represented the former director of a public company in a lawsuit by the minority stockholders for breaches of fiduciary duty in connection with a merger.
• Represented a nonprofit research institute in a dispute over payment of royalties for use of a cell line in the development of a major vaccine.
• Representing owner of private military-contracting company in arbitration with co-owner related to transactions by which the company was formed.
• Serving as solicitor to a zoning hearing board.

Professional Activities

• Nether Providence Township Zoning Hearing Board
  - Vice Chair, January 2008-present
  - Board Member, March 2006-present
• Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas Landlord-Tenant Appellate Mediation Program, Settlement Master
• Eastern District of Pennsylvania Prisoner Civil Rights Panel, Court-appointed Counsel
• Leadership Council on Legal Diversity Law School Mentoring Program, Mentor

Admissions

• New Jersey
• Pennsylvania
• U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit
• U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit
• U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania
• U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey

Education

• The American University, Washington College of Law, J.D., cum laude, 2002
  - Phi Delta Phi Legal Ethics Fraternity, Kennedy Inn, Clerk
• Temple University, B.A. Political Science and Spanish, summa cum laude, 1997
  - Minor in Economics
  - Certificate in Multilingual Business and Government Studies
  - Certificate in Political Economy
  - Phi Beta Kappa
  - Student Resident Representative

Experience

• Duane Morris LLP
  - Partner, 2011-present
  - Associate, 2002-2010
  - Associates' Committee, Former Co-Chair
• Prior to her legal career, Ms. Sutherland managed exports in the paper and chemical industries.

Selected Publications

• Co-Author, "Expert Evidence in the Third Circuit," published in the American Bar Association's Scientific Evidence Review: Admissibility and Use of Expert Evidence in the Courtroom, Monograph No. 8 (2008) and Monograph No. 6 (2003)