Sybil Dunlop helps clients resolve complex commercial and intellectual property disputes.

Sybil is a passionate advocate with first-chair trial and arbitration experience. She advises Fortune 100 clients as they navigate disputes with contractors, clients, and business partners, including post-transaction disputes involving net working capital or post-closing adjustments. She also represents clients before the Patent Trial and Appeal Board, including the first patent owner to score a complete victory in a Covered Business Method proceeding. No matter the situation, Sybil learns each client’s business and works to craft a strategy aimed at achieving the client’s objectives.

Sybil also teaches an award-winning Diversity & Inclusion training and presents to audiences across the nation about federal practice, discovery, and legal writing. Audiences commend Sybil’s passion, knowledge of neuroscience and behavioral psychology, and her ability to offer helpful tips for change. One recent participant raved, “This was one of the best CLEs I have taken in my 11 years of practicing.” In 2018, Minnesota Lawyer selected Sybil as one of its Diversity & Inclusion Honorees and the Hennepin County Bar Association awarded her its Excellence Award for Advancing Diversity and Inclusion in 2019.

Sybil serves as President of the Infinity Project, an organization dedicated to increasing the gender diversity of the state and federal bench. She offers her thoughts about the practice of law in a monthly column for Minnesota Lawyer entitled Sybil Procedure, and she hosts a recurring webcast series for Minnesota CLE.

Admissions

  • U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit
  • U.S. District Court for the District of Minnesota
  • State Bar of Minnesota

Professional & Community Affiliations

PROFESSIONAL AFFILIATIONS

  • Federal Bar Association
  • Hennepin County Bar Association
  • Minnesota State Bar Association
  • Minnesota Women Lawyers

COMMUNITY INVOLVEMENT

  • Collaborative Community Law Initiative, Board Member (2017 - present) 
  • Infinity Project, Board Member (2012-2015)
  • Smith College Alumni Association, Member

Thought Leadership

PUBLICATIONS

  • Attorney-Client Privilege: What Every Attorney Needs to Know, Minnesota CLE, Co-editor (2018)

TEACHING AND LECTURING 

  • Civil Litigation A to Z: Case Management – Discovery Best Practices in Minnesota State Court, Minnesota CLE (May 2017)
  • Implicit Bias in the Legal Profession, MWL Conference for Women in the Law (April 2017)
  • Civil Litigation A to Z: Getting Started – Federal Court Practice Essentials, Minnesota CLE (April 2017)
  • Presenting a Compelling Fact Section in Judicial Opinions and Briefs, Quill and Bagel (March 2017)
  • Implicit Bias and Its Impact on the Legal Profession, 2017 City Attorneys Educational Conference (March 2017)
  • Federal Court Practice Essentials, Minnesota CLE (February 2017)
  • The Professional Education Group, Faculty (2016 – present)
  • How to Get Noticed for All the Right Reasons,  The New Lawyer Experience Seminar, Minnesota CLE (July 2015)
  • Excessive Force: Recent Federal and State Cases Every Practitioner Should Know, Police Liability Seminar, Lorman Education Services, Panelist (May 2013; February 2011)
  • Candid Advice for New Lawyers, The New Lawyer Experience Seminar, Minnesota CLE, Panelist (January 2013)
  • Search and Seizure: Recent Federal and State Cases Every Practitioner Should Know, Recent Trends Involving the Law of Arrest, Search and Seizure in Minnesota Seminar, Lorman Education Services, Panelist (November 2012)

Recognition

  • Hennepin County Bar Association Excellence Award for Advancing Diversity and Inclusion (2019)
  • Selected to Rising Stars list, Minnesota Super Lawyers (2013-2019)
  • 2018 Diversity & Inclusion Honoree, Minnesota Lawyer
  • Recognized as Minnesota State Bar Association North Star Lawyer for pro bono service (2016)
  • Recognized as Up and Coming Attorney, Minnesota Lawyer (2015)
  • Vanderbilt University Law School
    • 2L Mock Trial Champion and Top Litigator Award Recipient
    • Best Brief Award 2006
    • Scholastic Achievement Awards: Conflicts of Law, Professional Responsibility, and Legal Writing
  • Smith College
    • Andrew C. Slater Prize for Excellence in Debate

News

2019 Super Lawyers and Rising Stars Lists Include 18 Greene Espel Attorneys
Event (6/4/2019): Implicit Bias: How It Affects the Legal Profession and How to Fix It
Greene Espel Attorneys Present at Attorney-Client Privilege Seminar

Practice Areas


Education

J.D., Vanderbilt University Law School, Order of the Coif (2008); Senior Notes Editor, Vanderbilt Law Review

B.A., Smith College (2001) 


Experience

Law Clerk, U.S. District Court for the District of Minnesota, The Honorable James M. Rosenbaum (2008-2010)

EMILY’s List, Political Research Deputy (2001-2005)