Aalok Sharma
Biography
Overview
Aalok Sharma is a commercial litigation partner, based in the Los Angeles and Silicon Valley offices. Aalok also serves as co-Head of the Firm's Global Technology Industry Group.
Aalok has a national and international practice handling complex business disputes. He has extensive trial experience in federal and state courts and before arbitral tribunals. He represents clients throughout the world in high-stakes litigations and regulatory investigations in the tech, internet and social media space. His practice includes cases involving complex international contract disputes, privacy and defamation, intermediary liability, data protection/privacy, trade secrets, unfair competition, and corporate governance disputes. He leads a global team of over 600 lawyers, and is lead counsel in cases spanning 160 countries.
Aalok's work and courtroom success has earned him recognition as a leading lawyer in the legal community. He is recognized as one of the "Top 100 Lawyers in California" by leading California legal newspapers, the Los Angeles Daily Journal and the San Francisco Daily Journal. And years before, those publications also recognized him as one of the "Top 20 Lawyers in California Under the Age of 40."
Some of Aalok's notable clients include Meta (formerly Facebook), WhatsApp, Instagram, Snap, Twitter, Spotify, Line and PayPal.
Experience
- Meta (formerly Facebook): Aalok is Meta's lead international outside counsel, responsible for handling virtually all of the company's international civil litigation;
- Lead and strategize complex civil and criminal cases and regulatory investigations for the world's leading technology clients in over 160 countries. Dozens of these cases are pending or were resolved before the highest courts throughout the world – including numerous cases before the European Court of Justice, the India Supreme Court, the Israel Supreme Court, the Austria Supreme Court, the Italy Supreme Court, the Colombian Supreme Court, and the Brazil Supreme Court. The cases and regulatory investigations pertain to cutting-edge issues involving data privacy, data protection, intermediary liability, challenges to terms of use, free speech and privacy and defamation.
- Co-chaired federal court trial: Venture Corporation Limited ("Venture") v. Wherify Wireless, Inc. ("Wherify")(CV04-8583RGKI). Filed suit on behalf of Venture to recover millions of dollars for the product it manufactured for Wherify. Wherify filed a counterclaim seeking over US$95 million in lost profits and compensatory damages. A final judgment was entered in favor of the Firm's client and Wherify was denied any amount of its US$95 million lost profits and compensatory damages claim;
- Co-chaired state court trial: Aharoni v. Malibou Lake Mountain Club, Ltd. (BC 302066). Defended Malibou Lake Mountain Club in a real property dispute involving thirteen causes of action, including breach of contract claims, breach of fiduciary duty claims, claims alleging violations of the Davis-Stirling Common Interest Development Act ("Davis-Stirling Act"). A final judgment was entered in favor of the Firm's client as to every cause of action, and included a large attorneys' fee award in our client's favor;
- First chaired arbitration trial before three-judge arbitral panel representing the plaintiff in a multi-million dollar breach of contract action concerning the performance of professional services. Obtained favorable verdict for the Firm's client;
- Represented a cable service provider in defense of class and unfair competition claims on behalf of cable television, telephone and Internet subscribers alleging the late fee assessed by the provider violated state unfair competition laws. The Court granted summary judgment in favor of the Firm's client. The court of appeal affirmed. Utility Consumers' Action Network, Inc., v. AT&T Broadband of Southern Cal., Inc., et al., 135 Cal App. 4th 1023;
- Represented an advertising agency against the former agency president and officers, their new company, and their financial backer for unfair competition, breach of fiduciary duty, trade secret violations and breach of contract. This case resulted in a favorable settlement for the client; and
- Represented an energy company concerning federal pre-emption issues before the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals.
Co-author "Late Fees Protected From Class Action Attack by White & Case Victory," California Litigation Report, September 22, 2006
Co-author, "Satisfaction Not Guaranteed: California's Conflicting Law on the Use of Accord and Satisfaction Checks," 33 Loyola of Los Angeles Law Review 1, 1999
Los Angeles Daily Journal and San Francisco Daily Journal, 2016 "Top 100 Lawyers in California"Los
Angeles Daily Journal and San Francisco Daily Journal, 2011 "Top 20 Under 40"
