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Susan M. Hartman
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Susan M. Hartman

Of Counsel

Technology, Licensing and Commercial Contracts Practice Group Co-Leader

Pittsburgh, PA
 
 
 

Susan M. Hartman concentrates her practice on representing clients in complex commercial agreements with their suppliers, customers, service providers, distributors and other strategic partners. Susan is a member of the Technology, Licensing and Commercial Contracts practice group and is a Shareholder in the firm's Corporate Section.

She is the Firm’s representative to the TerraLex Global Legal Network, a network of 150 law firms located in 100 countries.

Susan's clients include international manufacturers of industrial, aerospace and consumer products; companies in the health care and financial services markets; and emerging growth technology companies. With more than 30 years of experience, Susan brings a sophisticated understanding of how complex agreements work on an operational basis and provides practical advice to help clients stay competitive and manage risk. For larger corporations, Susan often works as an adjunct member of the in-house legal team to assist with commercial transactions that are outside of the ordinary course and involve significant risk to the corporation.

Susan is active in the TerraLex network, participating in a number of Practice Groups, and also serving on the TerraLex Women’s Global Connection. This participation has enabled her to establish relationships with attorneys in law firms throughout the world, and she often coordinates work with international law firms for our Firm clients.

Susan was described by International Asset Management as ""[Pennsylvania's] most effective transactional IP specialist"" and named to the publication's Patent 1000 - The World’s Leading Patent Professionals list for her technology transactions practice, which involves advising clients on the acquisition, use, development and commercial exploitation of technology transactions and intellectual property-related assets. Susan has worked with research-oriented universities and entrepreneurial companies spun out of such institutions in connection with a full range of technology transfer, technology protection and commercialization matters. She has also worked with companies using government or university facilities to further develop their technologies under various arrangements including external sponsorship agreements. She has been selected for inclusion in The Best Lawyers in America® since 2021 under the Corporate Law category.

Representative Experience

Health Care/Financial Services
  • Represented a supplier of information technology services in the health care industry in the negotiation of a long-term application service provider agreement, which resulted in the outsourcing of substantially all of the information technology functions of the customer.
  • Represented a health care system in a multi-year collaboration agreement with a biopharmaceutical company to build a platform for discovering and validating genetic factors for range of diseases, improving individualized patient care and accelerating innovation in drug discovery. The collaboration included one of the largest United States populations of participants.
  • Represented a health care provider in the negotiation of a license for a medical records software system to be implemented across multiple facilities.
  • Represented a major bank in connection with acquisition and implementation of electronic commerce systems in connection with treasury management functions.
Industrial and Aerospace
  • Represented a supplier of products to the aerospace industry in the negotiation of long term supply agreements with a number of the largest aerospace companies in the United States and internationally.
  • Assisted an industrial manufacturer in the evaluation of its sales process and recommended process improvements to mitigate risks associated with use of form terms and conditions.
  • Negotiated license and consulting agreements for the implementation of an enterprise resource planning system for a provider of mill services.
  • Represented a provider of voice-activated inventory management devices in the negotiation of contracts to install the company's technology around the world and assisted the company in negotiating a number of international reseller agreements.
Consumer Products
  • Represented a consumer products company in negotiation of a long term raw material supply agreement.
  • Negotiated an exclusive trademark license agreement for a consumer products retailer to manufacture and distribute branded products in its retail stores.
  • Reviewed an indemnity agreement required by a major international retailer for all consumer product suppliers.
Emerging Companies
  • Represented a supplier of cyber security training software in negotiating a master distribution and services agreement with a global supplier of managed security services.
  • Represented a developer of a new point-of-care diagnostic test in the negotiation of an exclusive license and distribution agreement with an international supplier of therapeutic products.
  • Represented a developer of 3-D printing technology in negotiation of a product placement agreement with a major toy retailer.