Biography
Four Decades of Appellate Judgment
Career
Diane Lockhart joined Holdsworth & Inkwell as Senior Counsel in 2020, after four decades of distinguished practice in Chicago, including as a founding partner of her own litigation firm. She advises the firm on complex commercial litigation strategy, appellate matters, and constitutional law issues that arise in commercial disputes.
Practice
Her practice has spanned class actions, civil rights litigation, complex commercial disputes, and First Amendment matters. She has argued five matters before the United States Supreme Court and over forty before the federal courts of appeals. She is widely recognized as one of the leading civil litigators of her generation.
Appellate Strategy
She continues to serve as the firm's principal appellate strategist, particularly on briefs involving constitutional questions or matters of first impression. She has lectured at Northwestern Law School and the University of Chicago Law School on appellate practice.
Credentials
Built One Matter at a Time
Diane Lockhart's professional record reflects four decades of sustained commercial and appellate practice. What follows documents the standards she has met, not a summary written for effect. The same rigor that shapes her routine filings holds here too, regardless of how much or how little any one category contains. For the firm's complete record, see Credentials.
Bar Admissions
Court Admissions
Education
- B.A., Political Science, Northwestern University, 1977
- J.D., University of Chicago Law School, 1980
Attorneys are licensed only in the jurisdictions listed in their individual credentials. Admission to practice varies by attorney and by court; nothing on this page implies licensure in any jurisdiction not expressly stated.
Recognition
- Top Lawyers in America | Commercial Litigation, 2025
Practice Areas
Concentrated by Design
Diane Lockhart's work concentrates in the areas outlined below. Each carries the same depth of attention, whether it stands alone or alongside several others.
Sectors
Industry Experience
A legal matter takes shape inside the business it touches. The industries below are the ones Diane Lockhart has actually worked in. Each brings its own operational and commercial texture to a matter, alongside the legal question itself. That experience may center on one industry or extend across several, depending on the matter.
Sector
Financial Services
Litigation for banks, mortgage servicers, investment funds, and private equity sponsors across securities and fiduciary disputes.
Sector
Technology
Litigation for technology companies in commercial disputes, cross-border discovery, and electronic-evidence-intensive matters.
Sector
Manufacturing
Litigation for industrial manufacturers in supply chain disputes, trade secret matters, and product recall coverage.
Experience
The Matters Behind the Reputation
The matters below are drawn directly from Diane Lockhart's work, each shaped by its own facts and stakes rather than by doctrine alone. Routine filings and marquee appeals receive the same rigor. Together, they show the pattern of her practice, not a prediction of how any future matter will proceed or resolve.
Resources
Written Insights
Diane Lockhart's writing carries the same discipline as her advocacy. No piece here is more casual than the matter it addresses, whether the question is narrow or novel. What follows is her own analysis and judgment, not assembled to fill a page.
Books
Beyond the Brief
A book asks for a different kind of attention than a brief: room to develop an argument at length, and the discipline to carry it through to print. Where that work exists for Diane Lockhart, it is gathered below, offering a longer view of her thinking than any single matter can provide.
Book
Pride, Prejudice, and Voir Dire
Diane Lockhart's analytical examination of jury selection as a doctrinal, procedural, and behavioral discipline, bridging elite courtroom advocacy with empirical research on implicit bias and juror psychology. Co-authored with Prof. Eleanor T. Margolis.
Book
For Whom the Statute Tolls
A comprehensive treatment of statute of limitations doctrine, with state-by-state survey of tolling provisions, federal court tolling rules, and the substantive frameworks that determine when claims accrue, pause, and expire.
Team
The people behind the work
A matter rarely rests on one person. Diane Lockhart's practice draws on the paralegals, assistants, and staff who carry the work forward. Their contribution often goes unseen, but it is essential to how the work gets done. The team introduced below supports that work. It receives the same care whether the task is a routine filing or a brief headed to trial.
Location
Where to Find Her
The details below show where Diane Lockhart is based and the most direct way to reach her there.
Phone (916) 324-0333
Fax (916) 867-5309
- Monday
- 9 AM – 5 PM
- Tuesday
- 9 AM – 5 PM
- Wednesday
- 9 AM – 5 PM
- Thursday
- 9 AM – 5 PM
- Friday
- 9 AM – 5 PM
- Saturday
- Closed
- Sunday
- Closed
Business Profiles
Find Her Online
The links below lead to other places Diane Lockhart can be found online, professional directories and networking profiles maintained outside this site. They mark where she can be found, not what she has earned; that record lives in the credentials above.
A direct point of contact.
Reach Diane Lockhart
The next step is a direct conversation with Diane Lockhart. Reach out below to begin it.