IADC member M.C. Sungaila recently joined Haynes and Boone, LLP as Partner in the Appellate Practice Group in the Orange County office.
M.C. has briefed and argued appeals raising cutting-edge and core business issues throughout California and the nation. Clients call on her to craft approaches to emerging legal issues across multiple cases and jurisdictions and to provide pretrial and trial consultations in significant cases.
At the core of her broad appellate practice is M.C.'s passion for the rule of law and for helping shape undeveloped areas within it. Her work has helped to:
-
Preserve the attorney-client privilege
-
Develop the standards for the admission of expert testimony
-
Determine limits to the reach of class actions and securities laws
-
Extend the assumption of the risk doctrine
-
Develop rules for preventing compelled speech under the First Amendment
-
Define the scope of the duty to warn sophisticated users of product hazards
-
Limit the reach of medical monitoring claims
-
Clarify the standards for interstate enforcement of non-compete agreements
-
Secure important rights for women worldwide
-
Reverse significant judgments for clients
-
Limit franchisor liability for the acts of franchisee employees
-
Define the scope of the Establishment Clause under the California Constitution and preserve a public school yoga physical education program
M.C. received a 2015 California Lawyer of the Year (CLAY) award from California Lawyer magazine, Daily Journal Corporation for the precedent-setting franchisor vicarious liability case she argued before the California Supreme Court, Patterson v. Domino's Pizza. Recognized as a "Notable Appellate Practitioner" by Chambers USA, Chambers & Partners (2013-2015), clients describe her as a "gifted appellate lawyer who consistently delivers bottom-line results" and praise her "great practical sense," "laser" focus on key issues and ability to "advise on the business side just as well as she does on the legal side." She has also been recognized by the Daily Journal, Daily Journal Corporation as one of California's 100 Leading Women Lawyers (2005, 2010-2015) and in 2015 as one of the state's Top Labor & Employment Lawyers.