Former Michael Kors General Counsel Lee S. Sporn Joins Olshan

Olshan Frome Wolosky LLP today announced that Lee S. Sporn has joined the firm as Of Counsel in its Intellectual Property Law practice, where he will focus on clients in the luxury goods, fashion and retail industries. Sporn is an internationally renowned intellectual property and corporate lawyer and a leader in the fashion and retail law industry. 

“Lee’s unparalleled experience across the board in intellectual property, corporate and advertising law are the perfect fit for Olshan, and will greatly strengthen our existing capabilities in this area,” said Steven Gursky, head of the firm’s Intellectual Property Law practice. “Olshan’s intellectual property law and corporate clients include renowned international brands across a broad range of industries including fashion and luxury brands, and Lee’s extensive experience, which also encompasses labor and employment matters, commercial real estate, retail operations, securities law and compliance, is the perfect complement to our clients’ needs.” 

Sporn has served as General Counsel and in key management positions, most recently as Senior Vice President - Business Affairs, General Counsel & Corporate Secretary at Michael Kors Holdings Limited. Beginning in 2003, Sporn was part of the senior management team that over his thirteen year tenure transformed the company into one of the most successful fashion brands in the world, culminating in the company’s successful initial public offering in 2011. 

Prior to Michael Kors, Sporn was Senior Vice President, General Counsel & Corporate Secretary at Kasper A.S.L., Ltd., and he spent over eleven years at Polo Ralph Lauren Corporation, including as its Vice President of Intellectual Property and Associate General Counsel. Sporn’s areas of responsibility included initial public offerings, product and territorial licensing, acquisitions and management of substantial licensees, joint venture agreements, supervision of major litigation, managing and enforcing the worldwide intellectual property portfolio, and a range of compliance and legal issues relating to all production, advertising and public relations matters.

Sporn noted that, “I’ve worked with Olshan’s lawyers for many years as both a client and across the table, and I am looking forward to joining the firm’s outstanding team.  I’ve seen first hand their collaborative team approach to client service, and I look forward to building strong relationships with clients and the team.”

In 2016 Sporn was awarded the Luxury Law Summit's Lifetime Achievement Award. He is at the forefront of academic and industry leadership, including serving as Professor from Practice at Cardozo Law School where he helped create, and is now Co-Director of, its unique Fashion, Arts, Media and Entertainment Law Center (FAME). In addition, he serves as a Lecturer in Law at the University of Pennsylvania School of Law and Adjunct Professor at Villanova Law School. Lee is a contributor to Fashion Law, A Guide for Designers, Fashion Executives & Attorney (Fairchild Books, 2014), and was the project creator and co-editor of the seminal treatise, Trademark Counterfeiting, Aspen Law & Business.  He served as Chairman of the International Anticounterfeiting Coalition and served on its board as a member of its Executive Committee for over a decade, and has been a frequent lecturer to federal, state and local law enforcement personnel, as well as to the trade, on matters relating to intellectual property protection and licensing. Sporn has been featured in publications including Corporate Counsel, Global Legal Post and Women’s Wear Daily.

Sporn received his J.D. Magna Cum Laude from Brooklyn Law School where he was a notes editor on the Brooklyn Law Review and received the Stanley Nathanson Award for outstanding leadership & scholarship. Following Brooklyn Law School, Sporn was an associate at Proskauer Rose. He received his B.A. at Oberlin College of Arts & Sciences and Oberlin Conservatory of Music.

About Olshan

Olshan Frome Wolosky LLP, a law firm based in New York, represents major businesses and entrepreneurs in their most significant transactions, problems and opportunities. Olshan’s clients range from public companies, hedge, venture capital, private equity and other investment funds to entrepreneurs and private companies worldwide. Clients choose Olshan for innovative strategies and sophisticated, game-changing advice in corporate, securities law, equity investment and shareholder activism, complex commercial, corporate and securities litigation, real estate, intellectual property, bankruptcy and creditors’ rights, and advertising. Since its founding, Olshan has offered an alternative to the AmLaw 50 law firm business model with responsive, independent and client-focused legal counsel provided by the firm’s senior lawyers.