Attorney Directory: Susan A. Yohe

Susan A. Yohe is a trial lawyer with more than 20 years of experience in state and federal courts, at both the trial and appellate levels. She has handled a range of litigation matters, including intellectual property, antitrust, First Amendment, professional malpractice and other commercial cases.

Susan has tried many cases, both jury and non-jury, for clients in diverse industries such as heavy industry, news and media, high technology, construction, accounting, and financial services. In addition to her litigation focus, Susan also counsels clients on a range of issues, including antitrust and employment-related issues.

Some of Susan's recent representations include:

Successfully defending PPG Industries in a suit that alleged the company had fraudulently claimed an ownership interest in a patent issued to an employee. After winning summary judgment on the companion antitrust claim, PPG was able to settle the case in a commercially advantageous manner while the appeal was pending in the Federal Circuit.

Successfully defending a computer software company against a charge of theft of trade secrets and breach of contract. Susan was able to win summary judgment on behalf of her clients.

Successfully defending the Housing Authority of the City of Pittsburgh against a claim of system-wide discrimination against people with disabilities. Susan was able to get the class action case dismissed on behalf of her client, although plaintiffs' counsel had managed to survive such challenges in other jurisdictions.

Successfully defending the YWCA of Greater Pittsburgh against a claim of race, age and sexual orientation discrimination. Susan won summary judgment for her client.
Successfully defending Lincoln National against a claim brought by two disappointed investors. Lincoln National was able to settle after Susan's opening to the jury.

In addition to the above representative matters, Susan has represented clients in a number of other combination antitrust and patent cases. She has also represented clients in many injunction proceedings involving allegation of theft of trade secrets. She has litigated and counseled clients on matters involving copyrights and alleged copyrighted materials.

In recognition of her trial skills, Susan was elected by her peers in the trial bar to the Allegheny County Academy of Trial Lawyers. In 2005, 2006 and 2007, she was selected as a Pennsylvania Super Lawyer®. She lectured annually for a number of years on civil procedure for the Pennsylvania Bar Institute and has also lectured on other topics to trial attorneys. She has taught a multi-week course on employment discrimination law to management employees of the City of Pittsburgh.

In her role with the Libel and Defense Council, Susan has co-written annual reviews of Third Circuit Libel and Privacy Law in the council's 50-State Survey of Current Developments in Media Libel Law and 50-State Survey of Current Developments in Media Privacy and Related Law.

Susan has been appointed by both the current and immediately prior chief judge of the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania to committees reviewing the performance of magistrate judges.

Following law school, Susan served as a law clerk for the Honorable Alan N. Bloch of the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania.

Law School: J.D., magna cum laude, Law Review note editor, Order of the Coif, 1979, University of Pittsburgh School of Law

Susan A. Yohe

Baker Donelson

Fisher & Phillips

Shaw Valenza LLP

Shaw Valenza LLP

Jackson Lewis LLP

Jackson Lewis LLP

Jackson Lewis LLP

Jackson Lewis LLP

Jackson Lewis LLP

Jackson Lewis LLP