Overview
Hailyn Chen is a litigation partner and co-managing partner of Munger, Tolles & Olson.
Clients across industries – from higher education and health care to entertainment and technology – trust Hailyn to navigate sensitive legal challenges and deliver results. She is widely regarded as one of the nation’s leading lawyers for institutions under scrutiny, particularly colleges and universities facing regulatory and reputational risk.
Hailyn was recently recognized as a Distinguished Leader in the 2025 California Legal Awards, and was previously honored as one of the Top 100 lawyers in California by the Daily Journal, a finalist for Managing Partner of the Year by The American Lawyer, and a Leader of Influence by the Los Angeles Business Journal.
Throughout her career, Hailyn has paved the way for other women attorneys of color to excel in their practices and continues to drive initiatives for mentorship and inclusion. In her free time, she enjoys long distance running and reading novels, nonfiction and cookbooks.
Experience
Higher Education Law
Hailyn has counseled numerous higher education clients in internal and government investigations, crisis management, criminal prosecutions and ongoing compliance issues related to government claims and federal grants. She is a member of the National Association of College and University Attorneys (NACUA) and has developed a broad understanding of the unique management, operational and regulatory challenges universities face. Hailyn guides clients through crisis management and helps them develop internal and external communication strategies with respect to these challenging issues.
Hailyn also has extensive experience representing universities in their handling of sexual misconduct and other sensitive matters, including in administrative writ proceedings and Title VI and Title IX lawsuits. This also includes addressing sexual misconduct by health care providers during the course of patient care. She counsels clients on compliance with Title VI, Title IX, the Clery Act and FERPA and recommends changes, where appropriate, to policies and procedures for investigating and resolving sexual misconduct allegations. Hailyn guides clients through crisis management and helps them develop internal and external communication strategies with respect to these challenging issues.
Noteworthy higher education matters include:
The University of California in a lawsuit which alleges that UC Berkeley is discriminating against Jewish students and academics in violation of Title VI and various constitutional provisions by not disciplining law school student groups that adopted bylaws that preclude speakers who are not anti-Zionist and by not taking sufficient action in response to protest activity. This lawsuit is among the most high-profile lawsuits arising out of the campus protests in the spring of 2024 and implicates the university’s response to numerous campus events that garnered significant media attention.
The ten schools leaving the Pac-12 Conference in litigation filed by the two remaining schools to seize control of the Conference’s money. The litigation resolved with a favorable settlement that safeguarded certain revenue distributions to the ten schools and control over important decisions while the ten schools remained members of the Conference.
University of California as lead counsel in a lawsuit alleging the university’s use of SAT and ACT in undergraduate admissions discriminated against students on the basis of race and disability. Hailyn led the team that successfully argued for dismissal of the complaint’s intentional discrimination claims. In 2021, following a preliminary injunction to compel UC to immediately implement a test-blind policy, she negotiated a settlement to resolve the pending appeal and safeguard certain features of the UC admissions process.The NCAA in a putative nationwide class action filed by former Division I baseball players alleging sexualized bullying and abuse by their coaches. The action seeks individual damages and a classwide injunction requiring that the NCAA prohibit, investigate, and discipline coach sexual abuse. MTO recently obtained dismissal of the lawsuit.
University of California in a class action lawsuit filed on behalf of all students across all ten UC campuses who were disciplined by the university for sexual assault or sexual harassment in the past five years. The lawsuit alleged that the university denied these students due process. The case was dismissed with prejudice at the pleading stage. This was a significant ruling for not just the University of California but also for other colleges and universities across the country facing an increasing number of these lawsuits, which threaten to upend college disciplinary processes.
The University of California in a year-long investigation into allegations of discrimination against and abusive and bullying conduct toward dozens of student-athletes for more than two decades by UC Berkeley Women’s Swimming coach Teri McKeever. The investigation culminated in a publicly disclosed, lengthy investigation report. In January 2023, the university announced it was parting ways with the coach after the report concluded the coach violated the university’s policies against discrimination and bullying.
University of Southern California in a pending putative class action alleging it misrepresented the nature and quality of its online graduate program in social work.
University of California in a criminal investigation and dismissing felony charges filed by the Los Angeles County District Attorney arising out of a UCLA chemistry lab accident that resulted in the death of an undergraduate student. MTO successfully negotiated a non-prosecution agreement with the district attorney, who in exchange for lab safety enhancements and five years of compliance reporting, agreed to dismiss with prejudice the felony complaint against the university.
University of California in obtaining an emergency restraining order and preliminary injunction shutting down a multimillion-dollar healthcare fraud scheme perpetrated against the UC Student Health Insurance Plan. The fraud scheme posed a significant threat to the financial well-being of the health insurance plan and affected more than 500 students across multiple campuses.
Complex Civil Litigation
Hailyn has significant experience in preparing complex commercial litigation and class actions for trial, representing companies in various sectors including energy, financial services, entertainment and technology.
Representative matters include:
Airbnb in dismissing one lawsuit with prejudice and favorably settling a second one brought by Aimco, a multi-family housing management company, alleging that Airbnb interfered with its anti-sublet lease agreements and aided and abetted trespass at a property in Los Angeles and two properties in Florida. The Los Angeles matter was dismissed under the CDA immunity provision; the Florida matter was settled 20 minutes before trial.
Lyft as settlement counsel in a Judicial Council Coordination Proceeding (JCCP) mass tort action that coordinates the claims of hundreds of rideshare riders who allege they were sexually assaulted and harassed by their drivers. Hailyn has guided Lyft through the successful settlement of a number of these claims with multiple plaintiffs’ firms, and the JCCP litigation is currently stayed to allow the parties to continue their settlement negotiations. The matter is ongoing.
Tokyo Electric Power Co. (TEPCO) in years-long litigation stemming from the Fukushima nuclear disaster. Hailyn was a key member in preserving its victory. The Supreme Court rejected a certiorari petition from U.S. Navy sailors over alleged injuries the sailors suffered from radiation exposure. The district court dismissed a pair of suits in which sailors claimed that they had developed cancer.
Susman Godfrey LLP in its challenge to the Executive Order issued by the Trump administration that limits its attorneys access to government buildings and revokes their security clearances. In a ruling issued on June 27, 2025, United States District Judge Loren AliKhan declared the Executive Order targeting Susman Godfrey unconstitutional and permanently enjoined its enforcement in full.
Internal Investigations and White Collar Defense
Hailyn has significant experience in leading internal investigations, representing the company itself in some instances or the independent, special and/or audit committee in others. These investigations have covered a wide range of issues, including alleged financial misconduct, alleged misuse of government grants and university resources, and alleged sexual harassment, conflict of interest, nonprofit tax law, and False Claims Act violations.
Representative matters include:
The Board of Trustees of the Thacher School, one of the nation’s elite boarding schools, in an independent internal investigation into decades of alleged sexual abuse at the school. The investigation culminated in two lengthy reports. Hailyn’s investigation has been recognized by Learning Courage, experts in school sexual abuse, as a model for best practices.
A cattle ranch in state felony prosecution and federal and state civil investigations for recklessly starting a fire that resulted in one of the largest wildland fires in California history. Obtained dismissal of all criminal counts. Obtained favorable settlement with federal and state governments for pennies on the dollar.
The Board of Trustees of the J. Paul Getty Trust in an internal investigation related to expenditures of Getty Trust funds, corporate governance issues and the provenance of objects in its antiquities collection. The representation resulted in the successful settlement of claims with the governments of Italy and Greece. A parallel investigation by the California Attorney General was resolved as well.
A major motion picture studio in an internal investigation of numerous instances of alleged misconduct, including bullying and harassment, during a major production. The investigation included analysis of who at the studio knew of the misconduct and whether they handled the allegations appropriately.
Major companies, public and private, regarding sensitive issues including allegations of sexual harassment, corruption in vendor contracting, and alleged accounting improprieties by C-level executives.
More
- Distinguished Leader Honoree at The Recorder’s California Legal Awards, 2025
- Law Dragon Global Leaders in Crisis Management, 2025
- The Best Lawyers in America, 2026
- Los Angeles Business Journal’s Leaders of Influence: Litigators and Trial Attorneys, 2024
- Top 100 Lawyers List by The Daily Journal, 2023
- Managing Partner of the Year by Corporate Counsel, 2020
- California’s Top Women Lawyers by the Daily Journal, 2018-2021
- Member of the board of directors of Southern California Public Radio
- Member of the UCLA School of Law Advisory Board, which advises the dean of the UCLA Law School on significant issues.
- Member of the board of directors of the Attorney Liability Assurance Society (ALAS), the nation’s largest lawyer-owned mutual.
- Immediate past member of the Board of Trustees of the State Bar of California, having served for seven years on the Board as an appointee of the California Supreme Court. While on the Board, Hailyn was a member of the State Bar Board’s Ad Hoc Committee on Oversight and Accountability Reforms and has testified on those topics at Joint Oversight Hearings of the Senate Judiciary and Assembly Judiciary Committees.
- Former chair and member of the American Bar Association Litigation Section’s Woman Advocate Committee
- Member of the National Association of College and University Attorneys
Speaking Engagements
- “Confronting the unique mental health and well-being challenges encountered by law firm leaders” ALAS Podcast, May 7, 2025
- “Sexual Misconduct Arising out of Student Health, Athletic Medicine, and Academic Medical Centers,” National Association of College and University Attorneys (NACUA), June 2022
