Brad Lerman

Brad Lerman is an accomplished attorney with extensive experience in intellectual property and complex commercial litigation, primarily representing large operating companies both in private practice and as in-house counsel. His practice has involved advising leading consumer brands on intellectual property matters. While his direct patent litigation case on record involves a design patent for a consumer product (a French press coffeemaker), his prior general counsel roles suggest broader oversight of patent disputes across healthcare technology and pharmaceuticals.

Mr. Lerman's career demonstrates a preference for representing and protecting the interests of operating companies. As in-house counsel, he has overseen diverse litigation portfolios, including patent matters, which can involve both defending against and asserting patent rights. His single tracked patent appearance shows him representing Starbucks Corporation as a plaintiff in a patent infringement case.

Currently, Mr. Lerman is a Partner at Winston & Strawn LLP in Chicago, Illinois. Prior to rejoining private practice, he served as Executive Vice President and Chief Legal Officer of Starbucks Corporation from 2023 to 2025. His distinguished in-house career also includes roles as Senior Vice President, General Counsel, and Corporate Secretary at Medtronic plc (2014-2022), Executive Vice President, General Counsel, and Corporate Secretary at Federal National Mortgage Association (Fannie Mae), and Senior Vice President, Associate General Counsel, and Chief Litigation Counsel at Pfizer. Earlier in his career, he was a litigation partner at Winston & Strawn LLP and Kirkland & Ellis LLP, and an Assistant U.S. Attorney in the Northern District of Illinois.

A notable case in his patent litigation involvement is STARBUCKS CORPORATION et al. v. Pi Design AG, where Starbucks, under his legal leadership, was a plaintiff asserting infringement of a patent related to the CHAMBORD® French Press coffeemaker. This case, filed in the Northern District of Illinois, resolved via a confidential settlement and was dismissed with prejudice in December 2025. There is no information suggesting that Mr. Lerman regularly appears in PTAB or IPR proceedings.

Mr. Lerman earned his J.D. cum laude from Harvard Law School in 1981 and a B.A. summa cum laude in Economics from Yale University in 1978. He is admitted to practice in the District of Columbia (1981), Illinois (1996), and Washington (2024).