Overview
Craig Cardon is a partner in the Complex Litigation & Arbitration practice, based in the firm’s Century City office. Craig defends retailers, consumer brands, banks and technology platforms in mass arbitrations, large-scale class actions and governmental enforcement proceedings.
Craig leads one of the nation’s preeminent mass arbitration defense practices. Retailers, consumer brands, banks, technology platforms and other consumer-facing companies turn to Craig when they receive, or want to prepare for, coordinated arbitration campaigns involving tens of thousands of claimants. He has been referred to in pleadings by the plaintiffs’ bar as a “dark wizard” of arbitration. Rather than simply defending these actions, Craig has brought affirmative actions against mass arbitration claimant firms challenging questionable recruitment and abusive filing practices, and he has brought claims against arbitral providers for false advertising and the failure to enforce the terms of arbitration agreements. These cases have changed the landscape in mass arbitrations.
Craig is similarly a recognized leader in class action defense, with a focus on representing retailers, brands and other consumer-facing businesses in consumer class actions, primarily in the advertising and privacy space. He has represented such household names as Sephora, TJ Maxx, Williams-Sonoma, Nordstrom, Burberry, Coach, Kate Spade, Patagonia, Columbia Sportswear and other leading retailers and brands in high-stakes and precedent-setting consumer class actions. Craig was recently recognized as one of the Top 100 Lawyers in California by the Daily Journal (2025) and has been recognized for his retail industry expertise as a Law360 MVP in Retail (2015, 2016, 2017, 2018) and in Privacy (2014).
From his first year of practice to recently obtaining a unanimous defense jury verdict for a national retailer in a case under the California Invasion of Privacy Act (CIPA), Craig has maintained an active trial practice, providing companies with the confidence that when matters do need to be tried or arbitrated, they have his experience and knowledge on hand.
Prior to joining Paul Hastings, Craig was a litigation partner at another international law firm, where he founded and led the Privacy & Cybersecurity Team and the Retail & Fashion Team and served as a member of that firm’s executive committee.
Accolades
- Leading Global Cyber Lawyers, Lawdragon (2026)
- Top 100 Lawyers in California, The Daily Journal (2025)
- Client Service All-Star, BTI Consulting (2020)
- Future Star, Benchmark Litigation (2019-26)
- Top Cyber/Artificial Intelligence Lawyers, Daily Journal (2018, 2020, 2022)
- Leading Lawyer in America, Lawdragon 500 (2018)
- Incident Response 30, Cybersecurity Docket (2016)
- Litigation Star, Benchmark Litigation (2015-18)
- Retail and E-Commerce, MVP, Law360 (2015, 2016, 2017, 2018)
- Cyber Law, Legal 500, 2010-2017 (2019-26)
- Best Lawyer in America, Best Lawyers (2008-27)
Education
- Loyola Marymount University, J.D.
- University of California, Los Angeles, B.A.
Representations
Mass Arbitration
- Represented renowned video game company in mass arbitration over in-game targeted advertising. The matter involved bringing affirmative claims against claimants’ counsel for interference with contract and false advertising claims against arbitral provider.
- Represented branded national apparel retailer in coordinated mass arbitration over product pricing claims.
- Represented major national bank in mass arbitration over consumer banking fees.
- Represented multiple retailers and brands in dozens of mass arbitrations over web tracking privacy claims, including conducting numerous bellwether arbitrations.
- Represented international cosmetics retailer in mass arbitration relating to claims of discrimination from product recommendations.
- Represented leading consumer-facing technology platform in mass arbitration related to service pricing.
- Represented e-comm sporting goods sites in connection with mass arbitration arising out of data breach.
False Advertising
- Obtained dismissal for The Children’s Place in precedent setting PFAS class action relating to school uniforms.
- Defeated class certification for Vital Farms on behalf of allegations challenging humane and pasture-raised nature of egg production. Excluded plaintiffs’ conjoint damages expert on Daubert challenge.
- Defeated damages class certification on behalf of Lenovo in a false advertising and reference pricing class action.
- Obtained order on writ to Ninth Circuit on behalf of Williams-Sonoma, reversing the District Court’s attempt to aid plaintiffs’ counsel’s attempt to find new plaintiff as beyond the permissible scope of Rule 26.
- Represented Pottery Barn in a false advertising and reference pricing class action. Defeated class certification.
- Represented Nordstrom in a reference pricing class action. Won affirmance in the First Circuit of the dismissal of all claims.
- Represented Burberry in a reference pricing class action in SDNY. Won dismissal.
- Represented The TJX Companies in sales tax class action. Won dismissal.
- Represented Kate Spade in a reference pricing class action. Won dismissal of key claims.
- Representing multiple retailers in consumer class actions seeking refunds based on later disallowed tariffs.
Privacy and Data Security
- Represented Sephora, Dick’s Sporting Goods and The TJX Companies in a putative class action alleging violations of the CCPA. Won dismissal of the CCPA claims.
- Represented Running Warehouse and affiliated sports e-commerce sites in a series of data breach class actions. Won affirmance in the Ninth Circuit of orders compelling arbitration and dismissing the actions.
- Represented Williams-Sonoma in a JCCP coordinated data collection class actions. Won affirmance on appeal of the order denying class certification.
- Represented Sephora in email pixel class action. Won affirmance on appeal in the Ninth Circuit of dismissal of all claims.
- Represented Sonic Drive-Ins in consolidated data breach class action MDL proceeding. On the eve of trial, won Daubert motion entirely excluding the plaintiffs’ damages expert and severely limiting their causation expert.
- Obtained dismissal of Sur La Table in email subject line class action under controversial Washington state law.
- Obtained dismissal of Patagonia in email pixel class action.
- Defeated class certification on behalf of Levi Strauss in data collection class action.
- Obtained dismissal of The TJX Companies in data collection class action. Dismissal affirmed by the First Circuit.