Practice Focus

Mira El Sonbaty represents clients in complex commercial litigation in state and federal courts. Her practice focuses on intellectual property, unfair competition/consumer protection (including California Business & Professions Code section 17200), and environmental law. Her clients include Internet, software, and technology companies, products manufacturers, and a major oil company. Ms. El Sonbaty is a regular contributor to the blog on consumer advertising legal issues, www.consumeradvertisinglawblog.com. Ms. El Sonbaty is committed to pro bono work, focusing on intellectual property, immigration, domestic violence, adoption-related advocacy, and civil rights matters.

Ms. El Sonbaty was a summer associate at Arnold & Porter LLP in 2001. Prior to joining the firm, she was an extern for the Honorable Margaret M. Morrow of the United States District Court, Central District of California, and an intern at NAACP Legal Defense Fund and Bet Tzedek Legal Services. At University of Southern California Law School, she served as Articles Editor of the Southern California Interdisciplinary Law Journal.

Representative Matters

Intellectual Property and Unfair Competition

• Represented an Indian Internet service provider in a trade secrets and unfair competition action against Yahoo! Inc. and its wholly owned subsidiary, Yahoo! India.
• Represented a software company against breach of contract and misappropriation of trade secrets claims arising out of a software development and marketing agreement.
• Representing live event video production company in trade secret, fiduciary duty, and unfair competition litigation against its former president and his new competing venture.
• Represented VeriSign, Inc. and subsidiary in action alleging breach of mutual confidentiality agreement based on alleged disclosure of confidential information in patent applications and use of such information in the development of products practicing the patented technology.
• Represented a major tobacco company in litigation alleging violations of unfair competition and consumer protection statutes.

Environmental

• Native Village of Kivalina v. ExxonMobil Corp., et al. Represent defendant in a leading public nuisance and conspiracy lawsuit seeking to hold a subset of selected energy companies liable for alleged harm caused by global warming to an Inupiat village on the western Alaska coast, purportedly as a result of defendants’ greenhouse gas emissions.
• Advised environmental compliance company to successful resolution of dispute with major automobile manufacturer.

Other Litigation

• Was member of team which represented Visa Inc. in antitrust matters alleging violations of federal and California antitrust statutes.
• Enforced contractual provisions for arbitration of health maintenance organization member claims.

Pro Bono Matters

• Representing transgender client in withholding of removal and Convention Against Torture case.
• Representing organization in trademark and domain name protection dispute.
• Represented family of three in asylum case. Successfully tried case and obtained relief under the Convention Against Torture.
• Adoptions Coordinator for the Los Angeles office and liaison to Public Counsel. Successfully supervised colleagues in several adoption proceedings.
• Represented victim of domestic violence in Violence Against Women Act case. Obtained legal status, enabling client to reside in the United States without depending on her husband’s status.
• Represented inmate in section 1983 matter.