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Clara J. Shin

Partner

San Francisco +1 415 591 7058

  • About
  • Representative Matters
  • Credentials
  • About

    Clara Shin co-chairs Covington’s Commercial Litigation Practice Group, which The American Lawyer recognized as the "California Litigation Department of the Year." Clients call on Clara in late stages of litigation to take matters to trial or reorient the strategic direction of a case.

    In the last few years, she obtained complete wins valued at more than $2.5 billion, in each instance taking over from prior counsel and rebuilding the defense strategy.

    Clara’s representative matters include substituting in as lead counsel for Lilly nine months before the arbitration hearing and defeating trade secret, fraud, and breach of contract claims valued at $1.8 billion; substituting in as lead counsel for McKesson five months before trial and winning a complete defense verdict in a trade secrets trial with $500 million at stake; and substituting in as lead counsel for Dropbox, Inc. five months before trial and winning summary judgment in a trademark suit where the damages exposure exceeded $100 million.

    Earlier in her career, Clara served as a White House Fellow and Special Assistant in the White House Office of the Chief of Staff. She also helped to design and launch the AmeriCorps national service program under President Clinton.

    Clara has been recognized for her litigation victories, including as a  litigation “Game Changer” by The Recorder, twice for delivering the year’s top verdicts by the Daily Journal, and as a "Top Intellectual Property Attorney" and "Top Women Lawyer" by the Daily Journal.

    Areas of Expertise

  • Practices and Industries
  • Representative Matters
    • Lead counsel for Dropbox, Inc. in a trademark litigation suit brought by a military contractor plaintiff seeking over $100 million in damages, and won summary judgment.
    • Co-led arbitration team that obtained a complete defense victory for a leading pharmaceutical company against plaintiff’s trade secret and breach of contract claims totaling more than $1.8 billion.
    • Led trial team that obtained a complete defense victory for a McKesson Corporation subsidiary against a trade secrets plaintiff seeking damages of nearly half a billion dollars, and successfully argued the ensuing appeal.
    • Lead counsel for Uber Technologies, Inc. in various commercial lawsuits and arbitrations, and secured a federal district court order dismissing all claims brought by an Argentina-based plaintiff and granting Uber monetary sanctions.
    • Led litigation team that won two dismissals for Poly in a trademark infringement lawsuit, including a court dismissal of all claims and then a voluntary dismissal of the second amended complaint.
    • Led trial team that won a unanimous jury verdict against Quiksilver on willful trademark infringement and federal unfair competition claims; punitive damages; and attorneys’ fees and costs.

    • Lead counsel for McKesson Corporation in a $190 million breach of NDA and trade secrets lawsuit that was successfully resolved.
    • Lead counsel for Microsoft Corporation in a breach of license agreement and copyright infringement case where Microsoft won a summary adjudication ruling on its contract claim and defeated a Second Circuit petition for a writ of mandamus and motion to stay enforcement of the summary adjudication ruling.
    • Lead counsel for Abbott Diabetes Care Inc. and Abbott Laboratories in securing a precedential affirmance by the Federal Circuit of the district court’s denial of attorneys’ fees.
    • Represented Autodesk in a successful Ninth Circuit appeal of an adverse ruling regarding the Copyright Act's first sale and essential step doctrines.

    Areas of Expertise

  • Credentials
    Education
    • Stanford Law School, J.D.
        • Stanford Law Review, Editor
        • Environmental Law Journal, Articles Editor
    • Smith College, B.A.
    Bar Admissions
    • California
    Government Experience
    • White House
    Judicial Clerkship
    • Hon. Dorothy W. Nelson, U.S. Court of Appeals, Ninth Circuit, 1999 - 2000
    Accolades
    Memberships and Affiliations
    • Board Member, National Women's Law Center
    • Board Member, People for the American Way
    • Trustee, Rosenberg Foundation
    • Former Board Member, Smithsonian Institution’s National Portrait Gallery, National Partnership for Women and Families, ACLU of Northern California, United States District Court Northern District of California Historical Society, One Justice, Music National Service, Asian Pacific Fund

    Areas of Expertise

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