LISA GILFORD is a leading complex civil litigator with a practice focused on class actions, multi-district litigation, products liability matters and large scale commercial disputes. She is lead counsel to clients in a wide variety of industries including automotive, pharmaceutical, communications, oil and gas, aerospace and chemical manufacturing, sports and higher education. Clients turn to Lisa for counsel on their most challenging and significant legal issues. Her advocacy skills have played a pivotal role in shaping the outcome of numerous class actions and aggregate litigation matters nationwide.
Lisa’s numerous accolades include being named by the Daily Journal as one of its “Top 100 Lawyers,” (2015–2020) “Top Women Lawyers” (2013–2019) and “Top Women Litigators” in California (2013–2018). The Los Angeles Business Journal named Lisa to its “Top 100 Lawyers” list in 2023, “L.A. 500” (2019–2022), as one of their most influential women attorneys (2018–2020), among the “Leaders of Influence: Minority Attorneys” (2019, 2021–2023), and a “Leaders in Law” finalist for Litigator of the Year (2020). She was also recognized by Variety in its 2022 “Legal Impact Report,” and has been included in The Best Lawyers in America (2018–2022). The National Bar Association – Women Lawyers Division honored Lisa with the “Hidden Figure” award, which recognizes the achievements of outstanding women lawyers and jurists from across the United States (2021). The John M. Langston Bar Association of Los Angeles recognized Lisa as a Law Firm Partner Honoree at their 2019 Honoring Excellence in the Legal Profession awards. She was also named “Consumer Litigation Lawyer of 2018” by the Century City Bar Association. Lisa received the J. Michael Brown Award from DuPont in 2008 for her personal commitment to diversity, recruiting and mentoring in the legal profession.
Lisa is a founding member of Sidley’s PFAS Working Group, a multidisciplinary team advising clients on per- and polyfluoroalkyl substance liabilities. She is also a member of the firm’s Automotive and Mobility Leadership Committee, which is composed of lawyers from around the world in various practice areas dedicated to driving the firm’s growth in the automotive and mobility sector.
Lisa previously taught at The Georgetown University Law Center and was a graduate fellow and public service lawyer with Georgetown’s Institute for Public Representation. She frequently lectures on California tort, consumer protection and unfair competition claims, successful defense of class actions, best practices for outside counsel, and professional development for women lawyers and other diversity issues. Lisa earned her LL.M. from Georgetown University, her J.D. from the University of Southern California Gould School of Law and received a B.A. from Furman University.