Teresa Michaud

Teresa is an accomplished litigator who represents industry-leading companies on a range of cutting-edge disputes, including complex business disputes, class actions, intellectual property and international arbitration. Her practice focuses primarily on complex cross-border issues for the technology industry, and she has earned significant, precedent-setting wins on novel theories of liability for platforms, software, ecommerce and gaming companies. Throughout her multi-jurisdictional career, Teresa has successfully defended clients in courts and tribunals across the United States, England, Hong Kong and Singapore. She has managed contract and business tort disputes; consumer class actions involving consumer protection, false advertising, unfair business practices, data privacy and breach actions, wiretapping, and anti-gambling laws; copyright and trademark disputes; trade secret misappropriation; Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act; and the defense of other statutory and common law claims.

Teresa also regularly advises global companies on litigation avoidance and preparedness practices, including privilege risks, contract provisions, artificial intelligence, ecommerce terms and conditions, content moderation and regulation, gaming regulations, consumer regulatory concerns, data privacy and security practices, advertising and marketing claims, and intellectual property protection.

Teresa is admitted to practice law in California, New York, Texas, England and Wales. She is a Certified Information Privacy Professional/United States (CIPP/US).

Representative matters

• Complete defense verdict as co-lead counsel in a six-week jury trial for a global enterprise software company and its US subsidiary, including defeating six of eight claims for the foreign subsidiary in a breach of contract and fraud case filed in the Superior Court of California
• Complete defense verdict as first chair in arbitration hearing against a global platform on allegations of false advertising and unfair business practices related to algorithmic pricing practices
• Preliminary and permanent injunctions, summary judgment, and award of attorneys’ fees in the US District Court for the Central District of California on behalf of an international retailer enforcing franchise agreements covering five states
• 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
• Summary judgment for a global ecommerce platform on class action claims for copyright infringement
• 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
• Summary judgment in the US District Court for the Northern District of California on behalf of a global platform in a putative nationwide class action asserting Telephone Consumer Protection Act violations
• Defeat of temporary restraining order and preliminary injunction sought against a global consumer goods company in the US District Court for the Central District of California on alleged violations of the Lanham Act for trademark infringement
• Dismissal on behalf of an international restaurant operator and franchiser in a putative data breach class action filed in the US District Court for the Western District of Washington alleging negligence and violations of state consumer protection statutes resulting from a cyberattack aimed at personally identifiable information of online consumers
• Dismissal of a nationwide class action and California state class actions on behalf of a global semiconductor company alleging negligence and statutory privacy violations following a ransomware attack on operations systems
• Defense an international airline in two nationwide putative class actions consolidated in the US District Court for the Northern District of California alleging risk of identity theft and breach of privacy laws from the disclosure of personal identifying information for more than 2.2 million consumers
• Defense of a Taiwanese electronics manufacturer, US subsidiaries and a world champion professional gamer in a putative nationwide class action alleging violations of California state law on deceptive and false advertising, fraudulent inducement, California’s Unfair Competition Law, and breach of contracts related to the performance of motherboards

Presentations

• Instructor, “Global Attorney-Client Privilege Bootcamp,” individual client training sessions, 2019 – 2024
• Co-speaker, “Where Is the Metaverse Now that AI Is on Track to Take Over the World? Is the Metaverse Dying or Is AI the Slingshot It Needs for Hyper-Growth?” Association of Corporate Counsel, Southern California, January 17, 2024
• Co-speaker, “AI & Ethics for Attorneys: Rules of Professional Responsibility for the Use of Generative AI,” The Employer Report, January 16, 2024
• Speaker, “A Decade of AI Litigation,” London client event, October 12, 2023
• Co-speaker, “Maneuvering Through Virtual Worlds: Are You Ready for the New Reality?” Association of Corporate Counsel, Palo Alto, California, May 4, 2023
• Co-speaker, “Episode 68: Protecting Your Interactive Entertainment and Metaverse Assets,” TMT Talk podcast, July 5, 2022
• Co-speaker, “Session 5: Russian Counter Measures” (contract provisions and force majeure), 2022 Virtual Global Trade Conference, July 21, 2022
• Co-speaker, “Episode 11: CCPA Deep Dive: Focus on Private Right of Action and Class Action Risk,” Connect on Tech podcast, February 11, 2020
• Co-presenter, “Recent Class Action Trends in the Consumer Goods and Retail Industry – What You Need to Know and How to Avoid Class Action Disputes,” Insights Into Litigation & Government Enforcement webinar series, April 2019

Publications

• Co-author, “Will Private Litigants Be Able to Enforce Compliance Provisions of the CCPA?” IAPP, February 24, 2020
• Co-author, “A Common Thread in California ‘Organic’ Textile Lawsuits,” Law360.com, September 2017