Laura A. Seigle is a partner in the Los Angeles office of Irell & Manella LLP, where she is a member of the litigation workgroup, focusing on intellectual property and entertainment litigation. She has chaired the Hiring Committee and has served as the Diversity Coordinator. Since arriving at Irell & Manella in 1994, Ms. Seigle has represented a broad array of clients through trial, as well in appeals in the Ninth Circuit, Sixth Circuit, and California Court of Appeal. She was a member of the trial team in City of Hope v. Genentech, which resulted in the largest verdict ever affirmed by the California Supreme Court. 

Representative Matters

Ms. Seigle has tried numerous cases to verdict in federal and state court, including:

• Ms. Seigle obtained a favorable verdict for a studio after a two-week jury trial in which the executive producers of the television program "Profiler" alleged that they were owed millions of dollar in contingent compensation.
• Ms. Seigle represented an outdoor advertising company in a six-week jury and bench trial concerning a joint venture resulting in a multi-million-dollar compensatory and punitive damages verdict for her client, and the rejection of $80 million contract, fraud and fiduciary duty claims against her client.
• Ms. Seigle defended the creator of an environmental website displaying photographs of the entire California coastline against Barbra Streisand’s claims that a photograph of her house in Malibu infringed her privacy and publicity rights. After a multi-day evidentiary hearing, the court granted the anti-SLAPP motion that Ms. Seigle had brought on behalf of the website creator, and rejected Ms. Streisand's request for a preliminary injunction.
• Ms. Seigle was one of the trial attorneys representing City of Hope National Medical Center in its litigation against Genentech arising from Genentech's failure to pay royalties owed on patents that helped revolutionize biotechnology. The two-month trial culminated in a $500 million jury verdict for City of Hope, including $200 million in punitive damages.

Ms. Seigle's other noteworthy cases include:

• Representation of Peter Jackson’s production company in a contract dispute concerning “Lord of the Rings."
• Representation of Activision against copyrights claims brought by eight rappers who allege that their performances appear in Activision's "True Crime: Streets of L.A." videogame.
• Representation of three studios against copyright and idea-submission claims brought in connection with the television program, "Sister, Sister." Ms. Seigle successfully moved to dismiss the case, and then briefed, argued, and won the Ninth Circuit appeal.
• Representation of a recording artist against a copyright infringement claim involving a Grammy-winning song. Ms. Seigle successfully moved for summary judgment and successfully defended the judgment on appeal in the Sixth Circuit, resulting in a published opinion, Coles v. Wonder, 283 F.3d 798 (6th Cir. 2002).
• Defending many companies in cases where they prevailed before trial on a motion to dismiss, a demurrer, or a motion for summary judgment.

For several years, Ms. Seigle has been named to the Southern California "Super Lawyers" list by Los Angeles Magazine.

Ms. Seigle is a member of the Board of the Los Angeles County Bar Foundation and the Yale Law School Association of Southern California.

Before arriving at Irell & Manella, Ms. Seigle clerked for Judge Diarmuid O'Scannlain in the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit.

Bar & Court Admissions

• 1994, California
• U.S. Court of Appeals, Ninth Circuit, Sixth Circuit; U.S. District Court, Central, Northern, Eastern, and Southern Districts of California.