Akhil Sheth refuses to be outworked. He has built a reputation as a world-class litigator, skilled writer, and champion of diversity in the legal profession. Those who know him know he can be counted on for responsive and insightful counsel, particularly for matters in federal court.
His colleagues and clients regularly seek out Akhil to work on federal trials, including trials where he has 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.
Federal trial court feels like home to Akhil in part because of the nearly four years he spent working for federal judges in one capacity or another. Before joining the firm, Akhil 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 externed for 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 regularly volunteers to help unrepresented litigants who are in federal court at the Public Law Center’s Federal Pro Se Clinic.
Akhil is active in the community, particularly with efforts to increase diversity in the legal profession. This includes the:
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 Law School Admission Test (LSAT) program for a national standardized test preparation company.
When he’s not helping clients, 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.
Representative Matters
Representative matters include:
- Helping one of the world’s largest computer manufacturers recover overcharges caused by an international optical disk drive price-fixing cartel in litigation filed in the Northern District of California.
- Helping a leading mattress manufacturer respond to an investigation into its advertising practices conducted by several California district attorneys.
- Helping an international financial services company understand a novel question of comprehensive general liability policy interpretation.
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
Publications
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