Litigation and Dispute Resolution partners Natalie Spears and Sulema Medrano were selected for inclusion in Crain’s Chicago Business’ 2025 list of “Notable Litigators & Trial Attorneys.” This recognition is for senior leaders with 10 years of experience who demonstrate involvement in significant litigation and trial proceedings.

Spears, a co-head of Dentons’ global Technology, Media and Telecommunications sector and a former member of the US Board, is a trial lawyer who represents clients in courts across the US in a wide range of matters, including media defense, complex commercial litigation, and IP and advertising disputes. She has been routinely called upon to secure the media's First Amendment rights, often in high-profile cases of public importance, including her successful defense of Netflix and filmmaker Ava DuVernay in defamation lawsuits brought over the acclaimed series When They See Us, a dramatization of the story of the five teenagers wrongfully convicted of the “Central Park jogger” rape in 1989; defeating a defamation lawsuit against Netflix over the documentary Jeen-yuhs: A Kanye Trilogy; and winning dismissal of a defamation case over MSNBC’s coverage of the events of January 6.

Medrano is an accomplished trial lawyer with extensive experience leading trial teams to verdict, particularly in cases related to commercial disputes and insurance claims. She honed her courtroom skills as an Illinois prosecutor, and she is known for defending her clients in complex disputes related to breach of contract, regulatory compliance, business torts and professional liability. Medrano is National Coordinating Counsel for a large US insurance carrier in connection with vicarious liability litigation against auto manufacturers and dealers, and she is lead regional trial counsel for another large US insurance carrier. She also serves as client manager and go-to outside counsel for several Fortune 200 companies in a wide range of industries, including food and beverage, transportation, healthcare, manufacturing and insurance.