Akhil Sheth is an associate in the firm’s Antitrust and Commercial Litigation groups. He works with his clients to provide responsive and insightful counsel. Akhil represents individual and corporate clients across a range of industries within federal court. His recent federal trials include cases where he represented:
- A leading technology company in precedent-setting antitrust and contract litigation to determine fair, reasonable, and non-discriminatory (FRAND) licensing terms for a worldwide portfolio of standard-essential mobile-telecommunications patents.
- A national health plan in a large ERISA class action challenging coverage guidelines related to residential and outpatient treatment for mental health and substance use disorders.
- A major oil company in product liability litigation related to a widely-used gasoline oxygenate.
Before joining the firm, Akhil spent nearly four years working for federal judges in one capacity or another. He served as a law clerk to the Honorable Andrew J. Guilford of the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California. He also completed externships with the Honorable Virginia A. Phillips and the Honorable Josephine L. Staton. Akhil is a former student of the Honorable Cormac J. Carney and the Honorable Mark L. Wolf.
Akhil’s pro bono practice also extends to federal court. There, he has represented victims of revenge porn as well as transgender prisoners in California and Texas. Akhil also volunteers every month at Orange County's Federal Pro Se Clinic.
Akhil is active in the community, particularly with efforts to increase diversity in the legal profession. This includes the:
Akhil is also a Fellow of the American Bar Foundation, “a global honorary society of attorneys, judges, law faculty, and legal scholars whose public and private careers have demonstrated outstanding dedication to the highest principles of the legal profession and to the welfare of their communities.”
A member of the UC Irvine School of Law’s second graduating class, Akhil also remains heavily involved with his alma mater. Among other things, he serves as a judge for the school’s various mock trial and moot court competitions and mentors UC Irvine law students, as well as law students at Chapman University’s Fowler School of Law. At UC Irvine, Akhil was a research editor and lead article editor for the UC Irvine Law Review. He also won best brief and overall runner-up at the American Bar Association’s First Amendment & Media Law Diversity Moot Court.
Before law school, Akhil earned a B.S. in biochemistry from UC Riverside. He also taught for and eventually co-ran the Southern California LSAT program for a national standardized test preparation company.
When he’s not working, Akhil enjoys playing fetch with his deaf dog Otter and working to address animal welfare and cruelty issues. He is also an avid basketball player and fan and aspires to attend a game in every NBA city.
Affiliations
Admitted to practice: California, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, U.S. District Court for the Central District of California, U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of California, U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, and U.S. District Court for the Southern District of California
Speeches & Presentations
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"Resolving Competitor Disputes Generally and in the NBA: A Focus on NBA Game Protests." OCBA Young Lawyers Division HoopLaw CLE & Clippers Game Night
(December 1, 2019).
Speakers: John S. Gibson, and Akhil Sheth.
Publications
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"Digital Competition Reports and Merger Enforcement," CPI Antitrust Chronicle
(December 2019).
Authors: Alexis J. Gilman, Akhil Sheth, Angel Prado, and Eric Fanchiang.
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"INSIGHT: The FTC Tech Task Force-Are Lawsuits On The Horizon?" Bloomberg Law
(September 13, 2019).
Authors: Alexis J. Gilman, and Akhil Sheth.
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"INSIGHT: The FTC Tech Task Force—Answers To Important Questions (Part 1)" Bloomberg Law
(September 10, 2019).
Authors: Alexis J. Gilman, and Akhil Sheth.
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"Supreme Court Weighs In On Protecting Trade Secrets and Confidential Information From FOIA Requests," Crowell & Moring's Trade Secrets Trends
(August 9, 2019).
Authors: Akhil Sheth and Julia Milewski.
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"To Cooperate, or Not To Cooperate?" Daily Journal
(June 28, 2019).
Authors: John S. Gibson, Christy Markos, and Akhil Sheth.
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"Conspiring Computers: Algorithmic Price-Setting, Artificial Intelligence, and the Antitrust Laws," ABTL Report, Orange County, Volume XXI No. 1
(Spring 2019).
Author: Akhil Sheth.
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"Multi-Agency Report Emphasizes Importance of Competition in Health Care," AHLA Antitrust Advisor, Vol. 2, Issue 1
(February 2019).
Authors: Alexis Victoria DeBernardis and Akhil Sheth.
Client Alerts & Newsletters
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"FTC and DOJ Issue Draft of Long-Anticipated Vertical Merger Guidelines,"
Antitrust Law Alert
(January 15, 2020).
Contacts: Alexis J. Gilman, Shawn R. Johnson, Wm. Randolph Smith, Jeane A. Thomas, CIPP/E, Andrew I. Gavil, Martin J. Mackowski, Akhil Sheth
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"District Court Decision in FTC v. Qualcomm Spawns Controversy: Four Issues to Watch on Appeal,"
Antitrust Law Alert
(June 3, 2019).
Contacts: Lisa Kimmel, Ph.D., John S. Gibson, Mark A. Klapow, Wm. Randolph Smith, Jeane A. Thomas, CIPP/E, Akhil Sheth, Kate M. Watkins
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"An App Store Set Up This Way Won’t Keep The Plaintiffs Away: Six Antitrust Takeaways from Last Week’s Apple v. Pepper Decision,"
Antitrust Law Alert
(May 23, 2019).
Contacts: John S. Gibson, Chahira Solh, Andrew I. Gavil, Akhil Sheth
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"Apple v. Pepper: Tearing Down the Illinois Brick Wall?—Who Can and Cannot Sue Online Platforms Under the Federal Antitrust Laws,"
(December 21, 2018).
Contacts: Chahira Solh, John S. Gibson, Andrew I. Gavil, Akhil Sheth, Christy Markos
Firm News & Announcements