Overview
Sean D. Unger is a partner in the Litigation Department of Paul Hastings and is based in the firm’s San Francisco office.
Sean represents and advises clients in mass torts, class actions, antitrust and competition matters, trade secret cases and intellectual property disputes in state and federal courts around the country. His practice emphasizes appellate litigation. He has briefed or argued cases in numerous state and federal courts of appeal. He has represented both parties and amicus before the United States and California Supreme Courts. Sean has also represented clients in need of post-trial disaster mitigation. He has successfully brought post-trial motions for new trial and motions for judgment as a matter of law, reducing or eliminating multi-million-dollar judgments.
Clients have included a broad range of companies, including Andersen Windows, Samsung, Gallo Wineries, GE, LG Display, Babcock & Wilcox and Quanta Computers.
Sean previously served as a law clerk to the Honorable Richard S. Arnold of the United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit and the Honorable Boyce F. Martin, Jr. of the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit. He also served as an adjunct professor of law at University of Arkansas, Little Rock, William H. Bowen School of Law.
Accolades
- Ones to Watch, Commercial Litigation, Best Lawyers in America (2024)
- Ones to Watch, California, Best Lawyers in America (2024)
- Ones to Watch, Northern California, Best Lawyers in America (2022-23)
- Northern California Rising Stars, Super Lawyers Magazine (2013-18)
Education
- Harvard Law School, J.D.
- University of California, Berkeley, B.A., Phi Beta Kappa
Representations
Litigation
Appellate and Post-Trial Representations
- Representing a defendant in a Price Anderson Act case before the Third Circuit;
- Representing a video game company before the California Court of Appeal;
- Representing an OEM to eliminate 90% of a verdict in a multi-million dollar patent dispute;
- Representing a manufacturer in a case before the U.S. Supreme Court;
- Representing a manufacturer of windows to defend denial of class certification before the California Court of Appeal.
Consumer Class Action and Competition Representations
- Representing a manufacturer in successfully opposing class certification in a consumer dispute;
- Representing a components manufacturer in antitrust MDL proceedings, including successfully briefing various summary judgment motions; and
- Representing a lender in negotiating and implementing class settlement in suit challenging debt-collection practices.
Engagement & Publications
- "Supreme Court Opinion on Preclusive Effect of TTAB’s Registration Decisions Has Important Implications for Trademark Owners," Bloomberg BNA, co-author (2015)
- "Ninth Circuit Comes Around on CAFA," Law360, co-author (2015)
- "Ninth Circuit Will Clarify Process Service for International Corporations," Law360, co-author (2015)
- "Peeling the Onion: Appellate Lawyers’ Take on Disparate Cases," Bloomberg BNA, co-author (2015)
- "Class Actions and the Ninth Circuit: Different Consumer Contracts Defeat Predominance," Bloomberg BNA, co-author (2014)
- "Supreme Court in Daimler AG v. Bauman Limits General Jurisdiction Over Foreign Companies," ABA Section of Public Utility Communications and Transportation Law, co-author (2014)
- "High Court Continues To Restrict Personal Jurisdiction," Law360, co-author (2014)
- "Courts Continue To Accentuate the Ascertainable Class," Law360, co-author (2014)
- "Ninth Circuit Clarifies Scope of Rule 26 Expert Discovery," Law360, co-author (2014)
- "Settling With Named Plaintiffs in Federal Class Actions: Does Timing Matter?," Bloomberg BNA, co-author (2013)
- "An Appellate Lawyer’s Role in a Trial," Bloomberg BNA, co-author (2013)
- "Emerging Trends in Class Action Settlements in the Ninth Circuit," Bloomberg BNA, co-author (2013)
- "Bifurcated Discovery in Class Actions," Bloomberg BNA, co-author (2011)
- "Clemens v. Daimler – The Ninth Circuit Addresses a New Twist in the law of Cross-Jurisdictional Tolling," Mealey’s Litigation Report: Class Actions, co-author (2008)
- "Speeding Things Along," Los Angeles Daily Journal, co-author (2008)
- "The Rise and Fall of the U.S. Capital Markets: The Potential Impact of Recent Developments on U.S. and Foreign Securities Laws," Bloomberg Law Reports: Securities Law, co-author (2008)
- "Court Weighs Whether Mergers Wipe Out Derivative Actions," San Francisco Daily Journal, co-author (2006)
- "Judge Arnold’s Four Rules: A Model for a Life in the Law," 27 U. ARK. LITTLE ROCK L. REV. 387 (2005)
Involvement
- Board Member – East Bay Community Law Center
- Former Board Member – AIDS Legal Referral Panel
- Member – Ninth Circuit’s Pro Bono Program