John P. Lynch retired from the partnership in November 2006. Mr. Lynch, a senior member of the firm's Litigation Department and the Global Antitrust and Competition Practice, had more than 40 years of trial experience in both state and federal courts (both jury and non-jury). His practice focused on general commercial litigation, with an emphasis on antitrust, employment and contract litigation. For example, he was lead defense counsel in the Record Industry antitrust action litigation and the Mileage Tire antitrust action litigation. Mr. Lynch has also handled several major actions in the employment discrimination area for clients such as Dominick's, Illinois State University, Mitsubishi Motors and others.
A 1964 graduate of Marquette University in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, Mr. Lynch received a J.D. from Northwestern University in 1967. While at Northwestern, he was Notes and Comments Editor of the Law Review and a member of the Order of the Coif. Following graduation from law school, Mr. Lynch served three years in the US Navy.
After his Navy tour, Mr. Lynch began his professional career with the Chicago law firm of Kirkland & Ellis in 1971. He became a partner in that firm in 1973, but left three years later to form the firm of Hedlund, Hunter & Lynch. In 1982, Hedlund, Hunter & Lynch merged with Latham & Watkins to form the original base of Latham's office in Chicago. Since joining Latham, Mr. Lynch has served as the Managing Partner of the Chicago office and for several years as a member of the firm's Executive Committee. From 2001-2005, Mr. Lynch resided in the firm's Paris office and served as Vice-Chair of the firm's Litigation Department. While in Europe, Mr. Lynch was involved in several high profile international arbitrations.
Mr. Lynch has tried a variety of contract, insurance and civil fraud actions in jurisdictions throughout the United States. His representations include: Arlington Structural Steel v. Ashland Oil; Stones River Corp. v. Nissan Motor Manufacturing Corporation; United States v. Hussmann Corporation and Zurich Insurance Co. v. Hussmann; Wabash Publishing v. Arlington International Race Track; Orlowski et al v. Dominick's Finer Foods; Umbro Inc. v. World Cup 1994 and Varner et al v. Illinois State University.
Professional affiliations include the American, Illinois and Chicago Bar Associations, where he is active in the litigation, antitrust and international law sections of those associations. Mr. Lynch has served as a board member for several local charitable and civic organizations, including Catholic Charities and American Inns of Court. He has also been involved in alumni activities at Northwestern University Law School, where he served as the chairman of the School's Visiting Committee for three years. At the time of his retirement, he served on the Board of Trustees of Marquette University.