Overview
Anne Conley is a litigator who focuses on complex civil litigation, with an emphasis on the legal challenges faced by the media, entertainment and technology industries.
Anne handles trial and appellate matters in cases across federal and state courts. Before a jury is even called, she helps clients achieve victory by winning on the pleadings and negotiating resolutions. She also has handled high stakes appeals, winning cases both in defense of trial court decisions and obtaining reversals.
Experience
Media, Entertainment and Technology Litigation
Snap Inc. in:
- Trial and appellate court proceedings in California and Georgia that allege that the company’s “Speed Filter” encouraged users to break the law.
- Defending against trade secret and patent litigation brought in federal court in Delaware by now-defunct social mapping application You Map.
The Walt Disney Company in:
- Winning complete dismissal—affirmed on appeal in the Ninth Circuit and review rejected in the U.S. Supreme Court—of character copyright infringement and implied contract/idea theft claims relating to the anthropomorphized emotion characters at the heart of Disney-Pixar’s acclaimed motion picture “Inside Out.”
- Successfully defending against other claims of copyright infringement related to the motion picture “Inside Out,” including another Ninth Circuit affirmance on appeal.
Walt Disney Pictures, Twentieth Century Fox and Paramount Pictures in successfully defending against claims for indirect profits based on alleged secondary copyright infringement following a third-party vendor’s use of motion capture software it did not own on some of the biggest films of the 2010s.
The studio members of the Motion Picture Association in obtaining a $50 million stipulated judgment and permanent injunction against pirate streaming service, Omniverse.
A major web-based dating company in a Ninth Circuit appeal involving the arbitrability of a high-profile sexual harassment dispute.
Complex Commercial Litigation
The University of California in:
- Obtaining the successful denial of a petition for writ of administrative mandate against the University asserting due process, fair hearing, and California Public Records Act and other claims related to a sexual harassment investigation.
- Obtaining the successful affirmance, on appeal to the Ninth Circuit, of a federal district court’s dismissal of Title IX claims against the University alleging retaliation and deliberate indifference arising out of the University’s handling of sexual harassment allegations against a professor.
Politan Capital Management LP in successfully defending against expedited securities litigation filed by Masimo Corporation alleging that Politan had made false or misleading statements and omissions in its proxy materials. Masimo’s motion for a preliminary injunction was denied and Politan’s nominees were elected to Masimo’s board.
An executive in the first case to test a recent California statute prohibiting the enforcement of noncompete agreements regardless of where it was signed and where the employee worked.
A major transportation company in an antitrust MDL proceeding involving claims of price fixing.
Colgate in a personal injury appeal concerning claims that Colgate’s Cashmere Bouquet talcum powder contributed to the plaintiff developing mesothelioma.
More
- The Best Lawyers in America, “Ones to Watch” list, 2024-2026
- Criminal Justice Award, ACLU, for her work challenging the constitutionality of jailhouse informant policies, 2020
Anne maintains an active pro bono practice. She has provided pro bono representation in various complex impact litigation matters involving criminal justice and immigration.
Publications
- Note, “Promoting Finality: Using Offensive, Nonmutual Collateral Estoppel in Employment Arbitration,” UC Irvine Law Review, Vol. 5, p. 651, 2015
