Desirée F. Moore

Partner
Desiree Moore

Desirée Moore is an experienced disputes lawyer who helps clients proactively plan for and effectively manage all manner of crises, including as they materialize in regulatory investigations or litigation. Desirée is adept at balancing sophisticated public relations with smart legal action, blending her savvy as a litigator with her innate talent for crisis communications. She also aids her clients in actively identifying and addressing potential risks linked to social media use in and outside of the workplace, and helps them develop and implement effective social media use policies.

Desirée counsels an array of clients, including corporations, educational institutions, nonprofit organizations, national governing bodies, sports leagues, and high-profile individuals, as they navigate urgent and extremely sensitive legal issues. Desirée guides her clients following instances of data breaches; online defamation, harassment, and impersonation; university and other education scandals; sports matters; controversies involving public figures, key-person transitions and investigations; and leaked confidential and proprietary information.

Desirée has proven to be a successful trial attorney in state and federal courts. She has managed high-level disputes in a number of industries, including in the data breach, cryptocurrency, social media, sports, intellectual property, entertainment, labor and employment, and class action defense arenas in trial and appellate courts. She also has significant experience in both U.S. and international arbitration.

Experience

Representative Matters

Data Breach and Incident Response Work
  • Represented a global employee staffing company following a data security incident that impacted thousands of employees worldwide. Drafted all U.S.-based documents, such as notifications to a state attorney general and multiple consumer reporting agencies. Organized and oversaw international counsel on all matters of notification and regulatory enforcement. The related regulatory inquiries resolved without enforcement
  • Represented a medical data management company in a significant data security incident pertaining to international and domestic data
  • Advised a clinical laboratory in a data security incident that impacted hundreds of thousands of employees and patients, and drafted all of the documents required to notify individuals, a state attorney general, and several consumer reporting agencies. The related regulatory inquires resolved without enforcement
  • Advised a prominent employee benefits group through a data breach involving a cloud computing service compromise that impacted approximately 150,000 individuals. Drafted all of the required written notifications. The related regulatory inquiries resolved without enforcement
  • Advised a bank in the wake of a data security incident involving sensitive information of high-profile clients
  • Represented a prominent mobile application developer throughout extensive Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and attorney general inquiries surrounding the disclosure of personally identifiable user information
  • Guided a global chemical company following a data breach involving highly sensitive employee information. Drafted all necessary documents and written notifications
  • Recovered $35 million on behalf of a prominent energy client following an incident in which funds had been misappropriated and converted to cryptocurrency in a business email compromise. Worked closely with the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and Department of Homeland Security (DHS)
  • Advised a major wood-processing supplier following a data security incident involving data of thousands of employees and drafted all required documents. The regulatory inquiries resolved without enforcement
  • Advised an India-based data management company following a data breach involving the dental records of thousands of U.S.-based patients
  • Regulatory Inquiries and Investigations
  • Represented an employee benefits group before the Office for Civil Rights (OCR) after allegations of improper access to personal health information. The OCR inquiry was resolved without enforcement
  • Represented a national clinical laboratory before the OCR following allegations of improper access to medical records. The regulatory inquiry closed without enforcement
Sports-Client Representations
  • Represented and counseled prominent national governing bodies, local affiliated organizations, and club teams in the Olympic movement in matters before the U.S. Center for SafeSport, Congress, and other regulatory bodies and law enforcement agencies
  • Represented prominent sports leagues in internal investigations, executive departures, SafeSport inquiries, and ownership transitions
  • Represented a volleyball franchise in all manner of employment, regulatory, and pre-dispute and dispute work
  • Represented a Major League Soccer club in all manner of employment, regulatory, and pre-dispute work, as well as management transitions and the launching of a professional women's soccer team under the auspices of the National Women's Soccer League
  • Represented a national governing body in all manner of regulatory inquiries and investigations, and related lawsuits
False and Defamatory Online Content
  • Represented a major food manufacturer in the removal of a defamatory online news article that was globally disseminated in print and digitally. The article was removed from all digital media, including the media entity's social media platforms, and a correction was issued in print
  • Obtained a favorable settlement in a JAMS arbitration on behalf of a water heater and boiler supplier against a contractor that made defamatory claims on social media
  • Represented an international food supplier after a consumer posted a defamatory viral video on a social media platform. The video was taken down, and consumer ceased and desisted any further unlawful conduct
Litigation
  • Co-led defense counsel in a high-profile litigation against a national governing body (NGB) in a lawsuit that raises Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO), sex trafficking, and sex abuse claims against the NGB and officers and employees
  • Co-led defense counsel in a putative class action digital assets litigation relating to fallout of FTX
  • Co-led counsel on behalf of the heirs of a prominent German banker in an action to recover Van Gogh's Sunflowers painting that was misappropriated by Nazis in World War II
  • Co-led defense counsel in a lawsuit between two digital asset companies alleging breach of contract for services pursuant to a master services agreement
  • Argued and won an appeal on behalf of a European national ministry of foreign affairs in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit in an action claiming the misappropriation of artwork and other property in World War II
  • Co-led defense counsel in various "Benzene" lawsuits alleging toxins in haircare products
  • Co-led defense counsel in a high-profile "naturals" litigation against a major sparkling water manufacturer in the Northern District of Illinois; named "Legal Lion" in Law360 over successful dismissal of action and retraction of claims
  • Led counsel in a putative class action privacy lawsuit against the developer of a mobile application that tracks the fertility of users; allegations of improper disclosure of the personally identifiable information of app users
  • Represented an individual defendant in a high-profile cryptocurrency matter
  • Led trial counsel in an intellectual property infringement matter on behalf of two Polish media conglomerates against a major international piracy operation in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois. Obtained a permanent injunction against the pirates and a favorable settlement on behalf of the media clients
  • Represented a motion picture financier/producer following the trial of a $11 million declaratory judgment action related to a breach of settlement contract. In a bench trial, the judge rendered a verdict in favor of the financier/producer
Education and Higher-Institution Representations
  • Represented a prominent New York City private school after a former celebrity student posted defamatory, viral content about the school. All content was removed, and the former student retracted any public affiliation with the school
  • Represented a student following their wrongful suspension for alleged racially insensitive acts on campus. The student was absolved of allegations and permitted to return to school
  • Represented a student athlete falsely accused of misconduct on social media. The accuser retracted all false statements, and the accused student went on to play Division I athletics at the college of his choice
  • Ensured a high school student was permitted to go on to a prominent college after an initial determination of misconduct before graduation. The student maintained enrollment in college without incident
  • Represented a former coach at a prominent suburban high school after the coach was terminated for speaking out against student misconduct
Media and Social Media Advice and Guidance
  • Represented a national nonprofit following an incident in which defamatory remarks were made in an article for a widely circulated national publication. The article was subject to a full retraction and removal
  • Ensured effective revisions to an article concerning COVID efforts and representations of a client in the industrial cleaning industry in a widely circulated national publication
  • Represented a nonprofit organization following a prominent journal on nonprofit ethics publishing defamatory content. The content was fully retracted and removed
Policy Group Work
  • Prepared holding statements and a response plan in the wake of a client oil spill
  • Prepared holding statements and communications in response to accusations that a client government contractor had nefarious ties to China

Insights

Credentials
+

Education

  • J.D. Loyola University Chicago School of Law 2005
    • Executive conference editor, Loyola Law Journal
    • President, Student Bar Association
  • B.A. magna cum laude University of California at San Diego 2002

Bar Admissions

  • Illinois

Court Admissions

  • U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit
  • U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois
  • U.S. District Court of Colorado

Professional Memberships and Activities

  • Member, Board of Governors for Loyola University Chicago School of Law, 2018 – present
  • Member, Questions Committee, Economic Club of Chicago, 2019 – present
  • Co-chair, National Association of Women Lawyers Leadership Program, 2022
  • Chairperson, USA Gymnastics Ethics and Grievance Committee, 2018 – 2021
  • Council member, Middle East North Africa Rule of Law Initiative, American Bar Association, 2017 – 2019
  • Member, Judicial Evaluation Committee, Chicago Bar Association, 2012

Languages

  • Italian
  • Spanish

Recognition
+

  • Crain's Chicago Business, Notable Gen X Leaders, Accounting, Consulting, and Law, 2021
  • Chicago Law Bulletin, Top 50 Women in Law, 2021
  • Chicago Law Bulletin, 40 under 40, 2020
  • Loyola University Chicago School of Law, St. Robert Bellarmine Award, 2020
    • Earned for distinguished contributions to the legal profession and to the School of Law within 15 years or less of practicing
  • Law360, Legal Lion, 2019

Community
+

Volunteerism

  • Member, Board, Ingenuity, 2018 – present
  • Member, Executive Committee and Board, Global Fine Art Awards, 2017 – 2018
  • Junior member, Board, Reach Out & Read Illinois, 2012 – 2013

Personal Activities

  • Author, Foodie Tales – A Family Cookbook Inspired by Classic Children's Literature
  • Author, Thrive: A New Lawyer's Guide to Law Firm Practice, American Bar Association, 2013
  • Gourmet cooking
  • Art