Blanca Fromm Young

Ms. Young’s complex litigation practice focuses on trials, intellectual property disputes, and investigations and False Claim Act litigation. Ms. Young has been recognized as one of the “Top Women Lawyers” by the Daily Journal and as a “Winning Litigator” by the National Law Journal. Ms. Young is a past co-chair of the ABA Section of Litigation’s Trial Practice and Trial Evidence Committees, and currently serves on the board of the Federal Bar Association’s Qui Tam Section.

Trials

Ms. Young has tried cases to juries, judges and arbitrators across a wide range of substantive areas. Ms. Young has co-led trial teams in several recent high-profile trials. She represented Netflix in a jury trial regarding alleged invasion of privacy (2024); Disney in a jury trial related to facial motion capture technology (2023); PNC bank in jury trial related to patents on mobile check deposit technology (2022); Kite Pharmaceuticals in a patent infringement case related to a cancer therapy (2019); and several movie studios in a jury trial against a movie streaming service for mass copyright infringement (2019).

Intellectual Property

Clients often turn to Ms. Young for representation in significant intellectual property disputes. She has represented movie and television studios, recording companies, streaming services and entertainment trade associations in disputes related to copyright infringement and the exercise of their First Amendment rights. She also represents clients in patent litigation. Notable results include:

• A defense verdict against one plaintiff and minimal damages against another on behalf of Netflix in an invasion of privacy case arising from the documentary Our Father.
• Dismissal of a putative class action lawsuit against Netflix alleging that the series Thirteen Reasons Why caused suicides in young people who watched the show.
• Judgment for Disney in a case alleging copyright infringement of facial motion capture technology used in Beauty and the Beast
• A $62.4 million jury verdict for movie studios in a mass piracy case against VidAngel, a movie streaming service. The result was honored as a Daily Journal Top Verdict and earned Ms. Young a place on the National Law Journal’s list of Winning Litigators.
• A defense verdict for a producer of a true crime series against a now-convicted criminal who sought to block the producer’s investigative journalism.
• Successful defense of Kite Pharmaceuticals (a subsidiary of Gilead Sciences, Inc.) against accusations that Kite’s life-saving blood cancer treatment Yescarta infringed patents held by Juno Therapeutics.

False Claims Act and Government and Internal Investigations

Ms. Young frequently represents corporations and executives in government and internal investigations, and in litigation under the False Claims Act. She has handled such matters across a broad range of industries including the financial services, insurance, education, railroad, defense and energy industries. Ms. Young serves on the board of the Federal Bar Association’s Qui Tam Section and is a frequent speaker and author on the False Claims Act. Representative matters include:

• Represented municipality in False Claims Act litigation alleging misuse of federal housing funds.
• Secured summary judgment on behalf of a government contractor responsible for evaluating the integrity of data collected by another contractor at Hunters Point Naval Shipyard in San Francisco.
• Secured summary judgment on behalf of a national laboratory accused of whistleblower retaliation.
• Represented a university in connection with the nationwide “Varsity Blues” controversy arising from a college consultant’s fraudulent activities to secure colleges admissions by misrepresenting applicants as student athletes.
• Represented a major educational institution and its CEO in numerous government investigations and in multiple government and private lawsuits related to compliance with Higher Education Act requirements.
• Represented an insurance company in a series of qui tam matters alleging fraud in connection with the adjustment of claims in the aftermath of major hurricanes.

Public Service 

Ms. Young’s pro bono work focuses on criminal justice and access to justice. She has represented individuals in habeas proceedings in state and federal court. In connection with a Blue Ribbon Panel on Transparency, Accountability, and Fairness in Law Enforcement, Ms. Young led a working group investigating the San Francisco Police Department after the discovery of racially biased text messages sent by San Francisco police officers.

Ms. Young is a past member of the San Francisco Bar Association’s Lawyer Referral and Information Service Committee and the San Francisco Bar Association’s Judiciary Committee. In 2011, Ms. Young received an Award of Merit from the Bar Association of San Francisco for her efforts to secure funding for San Francisco’s courts during a time of fiscal crisis.