Tacy F. Flint
Partner
TACY FLINT’s practice spans a wide range of legal issues, including antitrust law, federal preemption, state and federal tax law, securities laws, injunction standards, contract disputes, federal jurisdiction and the First Amendment. A member of the firm’s Supreme Court and Appellate and Intellectual Property Litigation teams, she has authored numerous briefs involving patent, copyright and trade secret law, as well as appellate briefs and critical motions in major commercial and constitutional cases in state and federal courts, including the U.S. Supreme Court. Tacy has also argued in state and federal courts of appeals. Prior to joining the firm, she served as a law clerk to Judge Richard Posner of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit and Justice Stephen Breyer of the U.S. Supreme Court.
Representative cases have included:
- In the U.S. Supreme Court, won a ruling that a railroad could challenge a discriminatory state tax under the Railroad Revitalization and Regulatory Reform Act, reversing a decision from the Eleventh Circuit.
- In a multimillion-dollar copyright and trade secret case, obtained dismissal of the complaint before a district court, successfully defended the dismissal on appeal to the Seventh Circuit, and won attorneys’ fees.
- In the Federal Circuit, succeeded in having an award of more than $500 million in patent infringement damages vacated and case remanded for a new trial.
- In a case in the Seventh Circuit concerning a novel interpretation of the Class Action Fairness Act, won judgment that class action had been properly removed to federal court.
- In appeals before the D.C. and Eleventh Circuits, won reversal of two separate district court judgments and prevented disclosure of private financial information under the Freedom of Information Act.
- In two separate cases, won dismissal under Rule 12(b)(6) of federal and state antitrust claims against regional trade associations.
Strong advocacy on behalf of clients has earned Tacy acknowledgement in a number of industry publications, including Law360. She was most recently recognized as one of Law360’s Rising Stars in the appellate category.
- Sidley update: Supreme Court Invalidates For-Cause Removal of Public Company Accounting Oversight Board Members (with Jeffrey C. Sharer and David S. Petron ), (July 14, 2010)
Tacy graduated first in her class, with highest honors, from the University of Chicago Law School. While a student, she served as Executive Editor of the University of Chicago Law Review.
She teaches regularly, including an annual class on patent damages in the Patents course at the University of Chicago Law School. She also presents regularly at panels regarding legal developments at the Supreme Court.
Tacy is also active in mentoring. She serves as the Mentoring Coordinator for the Chicago office Litigation group and is an active participant in the University of Chicago Law School Women’s Mentoring Program.
She is also a member of the Women’s Board of the Adler Planetarium, which supports the museum’s education, research, and advocacy missions, including its efforts to engage women and minorities in science and technology.
Tacy’s active pro bono practice encompasses the following:
- She, along with a team of Sidley lawyers, pursued a First Amendment challenge to a provision of the United States Leadership Against HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria Act, that requires non-governmental organizations to adopt a policy explicitly opposing prostitution as a condition of receiving federal funds. Sidley filed an amicus brief on behalf of a bipartisan group of nine current and former United States Senators and Members of the United States House of Representatives who were instrumental in the passage of the Act and/or its 2008 reauthorization. The brief challenged the government’s contentions that the Policy Requirement is permissible under the First Amendment. The Court agreed and held the Policy Requirement unconstitutional.
- Tacy was recognized for her work in the Illinois Supreme Court on behalf of clients challenging the constitutionality of the state’s educational funding system. The two plaintiffs in the suit contended state standards caused them to pay higher property tax rates due to living in poorer school districts, while owners of similarly valued homes in wealthier districts pay a lower rate. The clients alleged that such a system violates the equal protection clause of the Illinois Constitution. The high court granted the petition for leave to appeal the case.
- She regularly serves as an instructor in the Supreme Court Practice law clinic at Northwestern University. Since 2006, Sidley has sponsored the clinic, in which students help brief cases on the merits and identify court of appeals’ decisions as candidates for petitions for writ of certiorari, all in partnership with the firm’s pro bono program.
- In 2011, she was awarded Sidley’s Thomas H. Morsch Award for Pro Bono Achievement. The award was established to recognize and reward exemplary lawyers who choose public service work as a career. It is named after Thomas H. Morsch, a former partner at Sidley Austin, and a leader in the Chicago legal community who has championed the cause of public interest law for more than 40 years.
Friday, October 31, 2014
Senate Bill 16 and Education Funding in Illinois
Loyola University Chicago School of Law
Friday, June 28, 2013
United States Supreme Court Review
6th Annual Sidley Illinois MCLE Mini Marathon 2013
Monday, May 13, 2013
Practising Law Institute
Illinois MCLE Marathon 2013
Wednesday, June 28, 2012
United States Supreme Court Review
5th Annual Sidley Illinois MCLE Mini Marathon 2012
Wednesday, June 8, 2011
United States Supreme Court Review
4th Annual Sidley Illinois MCLE Mini Marathon 2011
Wednesday, June 16, 2010
United States Supreme Court Review
3rd Annual Sidley Illinois MCLE Mini Marathon 2010
Friday, May 21, 2010
Practising Law Institute
Illinois MCLE Marathon 2010