Mr. Newman has extensive experience in defending class actions and other representative litigation, as well as proceedings commenced by government officials on behalf of the general public. He has defended many cases under California’s Unfair Competition Law and Consumers Legal Remedies Act, representing a broad range of companies, including banks, insurers, retailers, manufacturers and Internet-based businesses. Mr. Newman also has handled litigation involving a variety of other issues, including securities fraud, accountants’ malpractice, actuaries’ malpractice and insurance.

In June 2009, Mr. Newman will be recognized at the Library of Congress by the William C. Burton Foundation for excellence in Plain English legal writing.

Mr. Newman also was a key member of the pro bono legal team that obtained freedom for Mario Rocha, a Los Angeles teenager who was wrongfully convicted of murder; Mario served ten years in prison before ultimately being released on habeas corpus. Mr. Newman’s other pro bono projects have included service as a volunteer arbitrator and mediator in cases assigned by the Los Angeles County Superior Court. He also previously served on the State Bar Litigation Section’s Complex Litigation Committee.

Mr. Newman was a member of The University of Chicago Law Review and of The Harvard Crimson. He began his career as a law clerk to the Hon. M. Blane Michael, of the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit.

SELECTED CASES

Sanchez v. American Express Travel Related Services Co., 865 N.E.2d 410 (Ill. App. Ct. Mar. 29, 2007) (affirming summary judgment in case relating to foreign currency conversion practices)

Berry v. American Express Publishing, Inc., 147 Cal. App. 4th 224 (2007) (establishing that Consumers Legal Remedies Act does not regulate credit agreements)

Baker v. Washington Mutual Finance Group, LLC, 193 Fed. Appx. 294 (5th Cir. July 24, 2006) (approval of complex class action settlement)

Discover Bank v. Superior Court, 134 Cal. App. 4th 886 (2005) (upholding class action waiver and compelling arbitration)

Batzel v. Smith, 333 F.3d 1018 (9th Cir. 2003) (establishing immunity for Internet publisher against defamation suit)

Wiz Technology, Inc. v. Coopers & Lybrand, 106 Cal. App. 4th 1 (2003) (affirming summary judgment in accountants’ liability case)

Cel-Tech Communications, Inc. v. Los Angeles Cellular Tel. Co., 20 Cal. 4th 163 (1999) (counsel for amicus curiae Los Angeles Area Chamber of Commerce in Unfair Competition Law/Unfair Practices Act matter)

Activities

Author, "The Law of Unintended Consequences," San Francisco Chronicle, November 12, 2008; Co-author, Cities Use Novel Tactics in Actions Against Subprime Lenders, Pratt’s Journal of Bankruptcy Law, April 2008; Co-author, Supreme Court of Canada Upholds Arbitration Agreements With Class Waivers, 8 Class Action Litig. Rep. 743 (BNA 2007); Author, Certifying Mandatory Punitive Damages Classes, 6 Class Action Litig. Rep. 255 (BNA 2005); Author, ‘Holder’s Actions’ -- A New Type of Shareholder Lawsuit, (Wall Street Lawyer.com: Securities in the Electronic Age, May 2003); Author, Proof of Personal Jurisdiction in the Internet Age, 59 Am. Jur. Proof of Facts 3d 1 (2000); Co-author, A Review of Year 2006: Significant Arbitration Decisions Rendered by Federal and California State Courts," 124 Banking L.J. 216 (2007); Co-author, Shock Waives, Los Angeles Lawyer (March 2006); Co-author, Summer Class Actions: U.S. and California Supreme Courts Revisit Arbitration Issues, Alternatives to the High Cost of Litigation (Sept. 2005); Co-author, Fighting Bogus Arbitrations, American Bankruptcy Institute Journal (June 2005); Co-author, "Recent Developments in Consumer Class Action Litigation" (PLI, Consumer Financial Services Litigation, 2004); Guest lecturer, UCLA Law School, "Negotiating and Drafting a Class Action Settlement Agreement" (Fall 2004); Presenter, State Bar of California’s Fifth Annual Unfair Competition Law Program, Scope and Standing under the Consumers Legal Remedies Act (2007); Presenter, "Privilege Pitfalls" (ACCA, 2004); Presenter, "Recent Developments in Class Action and Section 17200 Litigation and Legislation" (ACCA, 2003)

Admitted to Practice

All federal and state courts in California; U.S. District Court, Northern District of Illinois; U.S. Court of Appeals, Fourth, Fifth and Ninth Circuits; U.S. Supreme Court

Education

J.D., with honors, University of Chicago, 1995

A.B., magna cum laude in Economics, Harvard University, 1992