Linda T. Coberly

Linda Coberly is a partner in Winston & Strawn's Litigation Department and chairs the firm's Appellate and Critical Motions Practice.  She has briefed and argued more than 50 appeals, spanning six different federal courts of appeals and a variety of state appellate and supreme courts. A significant portion of her practice centers on advising and representing clients with regard to proceedings in the U.S. Supreme Court, drawing on her experience as a law clerk to Justice Stephen G. Breyer on the Supreme Court. She frequently represents amici in important business cases before the Court.

Linda has extensive experience in corporate fraud and securities litigation—and, in particular, in defending issuers, auditors, and others in tort and securities fraud actions following allegations of fraud. These cases frequently implicate complex issues of pleading, class certification, agency law, damages, standing, and loss causation—as well as the doctrine of in pari delicto, which arises whenever a corporation or trustee attempts to sue a third party for a fraud committed by the corporation’s own management.  She also handles product liability matters, including issues of forum non conveniens, the learned intermediary doctrine, and choice of law.

Linda serves on the board of the national ERA Coalition and chairs its Legal Task Force.  She was part of the effort to advance ratification of the Equal Rights Amendment in Illinois in 2018 and in Virginia in 2020, and she speaks frequently about the ERA's current status and importance.  She has advocated for recognition of the ERA in the courts and before both state and federal legislators.