Sara Pahlavan is a litigation counsel in O’Melveny’s San Francisco office and consumer class action group, representing clients in complex commercial litigation and class action defense across a range of industries including technology, insurance, financial services, education, and cryptocurrency. She has experience in state and federal courts across the country at all stages of litigation, and has served on multiple successful trial teams. Sara also has experience representing large international companies in white-collar criminal investigations. She maintains an active pro bono immigration, reproductive rights, and animal rights practice, where her work has included securing asylum for a West-African woman who was a victim of torture, as well as for two young brothers whose family members were the targets of political assassination.
Sara co-chairs the San Francisco office’s Women’s Employee Network and the Associate & Counsel Advisory Committee.
Prior to joining O’Melveny, Sara worked as an honors law clerk at the California Attorney General’s office in the Division of Public Rights, Environment and Land Use Sections, and at the Marin County District Attorney’s office.
- Successfully defended a leading manufacturer in the cryptocurrency mining industry in a trade secret and breach-of-contract case brought by a software licensing company, securing dismissal of all claims on summary judgment.
- Successfully defended a global investment firm in a bench trial involving breach of fiduciary duty claims in selecting proprietary investment options for its clients’ plans
- Represented a private holding company in a Chancery Court trial arising from a joint venture, which resulted in a successful settlement post-trial.
- Represented a multinational commodities trading company in an investigation involving the U.S. Department of Justice, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of New York, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission and Swiss authorities concerning alleged bribes paid to secure South American commodities contracts
- Successfully represented a private university in a class action seeking partial refunds of tuition and fees for the academic semesters affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.
- Represented a global pharmaceutical company in an investigation by the U.S. Department of Justice into its charitable giving and whether that giving violated the Anti-Kickback Statute and resulted in false claims.
- Represented a private university in an ERISA class action.
Languages
- Farsi
- French
Admissions
Bar Admissions
- California
- New York
Court Admissions
- US District Court, Northern District of California
Education
- New York University, J.D.
- University of California at Los Angeles, B.A., Geography/Environmental Studies, Political Science: magna cum laude; Phi Beta Kappa