Susan LeaderSusanLeader
Partner, Complex Litigation
Susan Kay Leader is co-chair of the Complex Litigation and Arbitration practice of Paul Hastings and is based in the firm’s Century City office. Susan litigates and tries cases in high-stakes commercial matters and class actions in federal and state courts. She has first chaired more than two dozen trials, arbitrations and international arbitrations and has represented clients in a variety of industries, including entertainment and media, hospitality, funds and renewable energy sectors. Susan’s broad base of experience includes handling a wide variety of commercial litigation matters, trademark and copyright infringement, employment disputes, products liability disputes, franchise law violations, False Claims Act, and RICO and Sherman Act violations.
Within a 12-month period, won two complete defense verdicts for RWE Renewables following bench trials in the Southern District of New York. In the first trial, held in November 2023, successfully defeated a $70 million claim that RWE and its predecessor had breached the implied covenant of good faith and fair dealing by delaying construction of a wind farm during the COVID pandemic. Less than a year later, in October 2024, prevailed at a second trial against the same plaintiffs, this time defeating a $112 million breach of contract claim stemming from an internal reorganization. For their work for RWE, Paul Hastings were twice named “Litigator of the Week Runners-Up” by The American Lawyer.
Acted as second-chair trial counsel and secured a criminal defense victory for Aubrey Shelton, former CFO of Silicon Valley startup RepairPal. U.S. District Judge Jacqueline Scott Corley of the Northern District of California declared a mistrial after a jury deadlocked on 12 criminal counts of embezzlement. For their success, the Paul Hastings team was named a “runner-up” in The American Lawyer’s “Litigator of the Week” recognitions.
- Litigator of the Week “Shout-Out”
The American Lawyer
- America’s Top Lawyers
Forbes
“Litigation or Arbitration? Seven Factors to Consider,” American Bar Association Litigation Section, Vol. 37, No. 1, Co-author with S. Mancall-Bitel and A. Rabbani
2023
“With Global Court Backlogs, Parties May Turn to Arbitration to Resolve Pandemic-Related Disputes,” The Impact Lawyer, Co-author with J. Rubin
April 2020
Co-author with J. Slowik and S. Kim, “9th circuit ensuring federal courts remain open for class action defendants,” Daily Journal,
SEPTEMBER 17, 2019
“Planning for the Worst,” China Law & Practice, Co-author with B.M. Manisco and K.W. Chin
SEPTEMBER 4, 2018
“An Uneasy Relationship: The SEC and the Electronic Communications Privacy Act,” Bloomberg BNA’s Securities Regulation & Law Report, Co-author with P.I. Altman, E.E. Abshez, and K.A. Handschumacher
FEBRUARY 13, 2017
Past President
Association of Business Trial Lawyers
Member
Complex Court Committee, Los Angeles County Bar Association
- August 2017