Sara Victoria Porter

Sara represents clients in high-stakes commercial litigation matters in state and federal court and arbitration. She is experienced in managing a broad range of disputes, including multi-jurisdictional business disputes; consumer class actions involving consumer protection, false advertising, unfair business practices, data privacy, wiretapping, and anti-gambling laws; trade secret misappropriation claims; copyright and trademark disputes; and the defense of other statutory and common law claims. Sara’s practice focuses primarily on complex-cross border disputes for clients in the technology industry. Her passion is litigating novel theories of liability for platforms, software, ecommerce and gaming companies in the rapidly evolving digital world, as well as providing proactive, business-focused advice tailored to the unique needs of each client.

Sara also maintains an active pro bono practice, and she has represented juveniles sentenced to life without the possibility of parole in resentencing proceedings and appeals; domestic violence victims in parole proceedings; low income tenants in unlawful detainer proceedings; and two individuals in active participation proceedings related to civil gang injunctions.

Sara’s representative matters:

• Complete defense verdict for a large, publicly traded cannabis company following a highly publicized five-week jury trial in Los Angeles Superior Court in which the plaintiff, a former company executive, made a nine-figure damages demand based upon various alleged contract and fraud claims
• Complete defense award as second-chair counsel, including substantial fees and arbitration costs, on behalf of an investor-owned utility company following a multiweek arbitration over a failed renewable energy project in which the claimant, the project developer, asserted various contract claims and sought millions of dollars in damages
• Dismissal for a global platform in the US District Court for the Northern District of California against alleged violations of California’s Consumers Legal Remedies Act and Unfair Competition Law relating to claims that “loot boxes” in video game apps constitute unlawful gambling devices
• Dismissal for a video and mobile game developer in the Superior Court of California against alleged violations of California’s Consumers Legal Remedies Act and Unfair Competition Law relating to claims that “loot boxes” in video game apps constitute unlawful gambling devices
• Dismissal for semiconductor manufacturer in the US District Court for Central District of California against alleged violations of state privacy laws, including the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) and Confidentiality of Medical Information Act (CMIA), following a ransomware incident impacting employee data
• Precedent-setting decision for a Chinese state-owned entity in a breach of contract case regarding application of The Hague Convention on the Taking of Evidence Abroad in Civil or Commercial Matters
• Order compelling individual arbitration of a putative consumer class action, based on an arbitration agreement contained in website terms and conditions on behalf of an international travel reservation platform, resulting in a favorable settlement in arbitration

Sara’s presentations and publications:

• Speaker, “International: TMT Talk Podcast Series – Episode 74 – Disputes in Virtual Worlds,” June 2023
• Co-author, “Why Strong Cybersecurity Is Key to Protecting Trade Secrets,” Law360, February 2023
• Co-author, “Takeaways From Holmes’ Unsuccessful Trade Secret Defense,” Law360, March 2022
• Speaker, “Not All Secrets Are Trade Secrets: Lessons Learned From the Elizabeth Holmes Unsuccessful ‘Trade Secret’ Fraud Defense,” North America Trade Secrets Webinar and Video Chat Series, February 2022
• Speaker, “When to Patent and When to Maintain as Trade Secret,” Baker McKenzie, March 2021
• Contributor, “CCPA Litigation Trends,” Bloomberg Law, September 2020