George Lombardi
Partner
A Fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers, George’s skills have been widely recognized by a number of the leading legal directories. The American Lawyer (2014), named him a “Litigator of the Year,” and he is described by IAM Patent 1000 as a “truly gifted lawyer and one of the finest trial lawyers anywhere in the world.”
George routinely serves as lead trial counsel in all types of litigation ranging from complex commercial disputes to mass torts to patent cases. He has handled and continues to handle various other patent cases involving telephone and computer technology, medical devices and instruments, and pharmaceuticals. Notably, he has obtained trial wins in matters involving a number of top-selling drugs, including: Zubsolv®, Prozac®, Yasmin®, Baraclude®, Razadyne ER/Razadyne IR®, Temodar®, Amrix®, Amprya®, Sensipar®, and Testim®, among others. Many of his cases have involved first of their kind wins. For instance, the Baraclude® case was the first ANDA case finding obviousness of a chemical compound patent, and the Prozac® case was called the “Mother of All Patent Challenges” by Fortune magazine. He recently obtained a trial victory in a case involving the brand drug Zubsolv®.
Outside of the patent arena, George has secured numerous victories for a variety of clients in jurisdictions across the country. George’s trials have involved securities and commodities laws, consumer fraud acts, trade secrets, employment discrimination, breach of contract, state environmental laws and white collar criminal defense among others.
Recent Experience
George was recognized in The Best Lawyers in America® (2016–2025) for Intellectual Property Litigation, Patent Litigation, and Patent Law. He was also recognized in the 2023 and 2024 editions for Product Liability Litigation-Defendants and was selected as the 2021 and 2022 “Lawyer of the Year” for Patent Litigation. He was named to the 2023 list of “Notable Litigators and Trial Lawyers” by Crain’s Chicago Business. He has received a “Band 1” ranking by Chambers USA, which noted his ability to “set forth incredibly passionate arguments that appear indisputable” and his “incredible presence in court.” He was recognized in the 2010–2024 editions of Chambers USA and in the 2021–2024 editions of Chambers Global which named him a “top-notch lawyer” and “quality litigator.” He was recognized by Benchmark Litigation US in it’s list of “Top 100 Trial Lawyers in America” (2017–2025), as an “Illinois Litigation Star” and “National Practice Area Star” for Intellectual Property and Product Liability (2012–2025), and as the “Intellectual Property Attorney of the Year” in 2017. The Legal 500 U.S. called attention to his “lead trial counsel capabilities on high-profile cases” and recognized him to the “Hall of Fame” for Product Liability, Mass Tort and Class Action Defense: Consumer Products and for Intellectual Property: Patents: Litigation. The Legal 500 US also recognized him as a “Leading Trial Lawyer” and a “Key Lawyer” in the areas of General Commercial Disputes; Healthcare: Life Sciences; Dispute Resolution: Product Liability, Mass Tort and Class Action - Defense: Pharmaceuticals and Medical Devices; and Dispute Resolution: Product Liability, Mass Tort and Class Action - Defense: Toxic Tort. In 2021, he was named to WIPR Leaders for Patents, Pharmaceuticals, and Technology. He was recognized in IAM Patent 1000 from 2011–2024 which noted that he “knocks it out the park when it comes to distilling down complexity to present a clear, compelling case” and was recognized as an IAM Global Leader from 2021–2025.
He was named an “IP Star” by Managing Intellectual Property from 2013–2024 and was awarded the “Outstanding Litigator (Illinois)” award in 2017. He was recognized by LMG Life Sciences for Hatch-Waxman patent litigation from 2012–2019 and 2021–2022, and recognized by Law360 as an “Intellectual Property MVP” in December 2012. George has also been recognized as an Illinois “SuperLawyer” for numerous years. In addition, he was named in The Lawdragon 500 Leading Litigators in America (2012–2016, 2022–2025) for patent litigation and Lawdragon 500’s 2021 The Legends list. He was recommended as a “Global Leader” for Life Sciences-Patent Litigation and Product Liability Defense in the 2022 edition of Who’s Who Legal. He was selected as a 2019 NLJ Winning Litigator in recognition of his significant victories in high-stakes matters for his clients and was listed in the Guide to the World’s Leading Experts in Patent Law Practitioners in 2013. In both 2013 and 2014, George was recognized at the Inaugural U.S. Benchmark Annual Awards as “Litigator of the Year – Midwest.”
Verdicts obtained by George have been recognized in The National Law Journal’s and in stories in the American Lawyer. George has been recognized by the American Lawyer as “Litigator of the Week” twice and as an “Intellectual Property MVP” by Law360.
In 2015, Winston & Strawn was named the “Chicago Litigation Department of the Year” for general litigation by The National Law Journal.
George previously served as Co-chair of the firm’s Litigation Department and as a member of the firm’s Executive Committee.
Recent Experience
Credentials
Education
George received a J.D., magna cum laude, from the University of Michigan Law School in 1984, where he was a member of the Order of the Coif and the Michigan Law Review. He received an A.B., cum laude, from Dartmouth College in 1980.
Admissions
- Illinois
Related Insights & News
Winston Lawyers Featured on the Inaugural Lawdragon 500 Leading Global IP Lawyers List
May 29, 2025
Winston Partners Recognized in World Intellectual Property Review’s Leaders Directory 2025
May 28, 2025
January 21, 2025
Winston Partners Named to Benchmark Litigation’s 2025 Top 100 Trial Lawyers
October 8, 2024