Anne Conley is a partner in the Los Angeles office of Munger, Tolles & Olson.
Ms. Conley’s practice focuses on complex civil litigation and client counseling, with an emphasis on the legal challenges faced by the media, entertainment, and technology industries. She also has significant experience representing a wide range of clients in appeals and antitrust matters. She is repeatedly recognized in The Best Lawyers in America guide on its “Ones to Watch” list.
Ms. Conley handles trial and appellate matters in cases across federal and state courts. Before a jury is even called, Ms. Conley helps clients achieve victory in trial court by winning on the pleadings and negotiating resolutions. On appeal, she has handled high-stakes appeals in the United States Supreme Court, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, the California Supreme Court, the Georgia Supreme Court, the California Courts of Appeal, and the Georgia Court of Appeals, winning cases both in defense of trial decisions and in obtaining reversals.
Ms. Conley also maintains an active pro bono practice. She has provided pro bono representation in various complex impact litigation matters involving criminal justice and immigration. In 2020, Ms. Conley was honored with the ACLU’s Criminal Justice Award for her work challenging the constitutionality of jailhouse informant policies.
Prior to joining the firm, Ms. Conley clerked for Judge Alex Kozinski of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit and Judge Dean D. Pregerson of the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California.
Ms. Conley earned her J.D. summa cum laude from UC Irvine School of Law, where she graduated with Pro Bono High Honors for performing more than 200 hours of pro bono work. She received thirteen Faculty Awards for the highest performance in a course and four Dean’s Awards for the second-highest performance in a course. During law school, Ms. Conley served as an extern for Judge Richard Clifton of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit and as the Administrative Chair of the UC Irvine Law Review’s Executive Board. She won the Best Brief award and was an oral argument finalist in the Experian/Jones Day Moot Court Competition. She graduated from the University of British Columbia with a B.A. in philosophy and a minor in political science.
Experience
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- A major web-based dating company in a Ninth Circuit appeal involving the arbitrability of a high-profile sexual harassment dispute.
- 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 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.
Publications
- Note, “Promoting Finality: Using Offensive, Nonmutual Collateral Estoppel in Employment Arbitration,” 5 UC Irvine Law Review 651 (2015).
Education
-
UC Irvine School of Law (J.D., summa cum laude, 2015)
-
University of British Columbia (B.A., 2011)
Clerkships
- Judge Alex Kozinski, U.S. Court of Appeals, Ninth Circuit, 2016-2017
- Judge Dean Pregerson, U.S. District Court, Central District of California, 2015-2016
Bar Admissions
- California
Experience
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- A major web-based dating company in a Ninth Circuit appeal involving the arbitrability of a high-profile sexual harassment dispute.
- 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 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.
News
Publications
- Note, “Promoting Finality: Using Offensive, Nonmutual Collateral Estoppel in Employment Arbitration,” 5 UC Irvine Law Review 651 (2015).
Industries
Education
-
UC Irvine School of Law (J.D., summa cum laude, 2015)
-
University of British Columbia (B.A., 2011)
Clerkships
- Judge Alex Kozinski, U.S. Court of Appeals, Ninth Circuit, 2016-2017
- Judge Dean Pregerson, U.S. District Court, Central District of California, 2015-2016
Bar Admissions
- California