Sarah L. Cronin
Partner
Sarah represents and advises companies and individuals in disputes with their insurance companies, successfully recovering tens of millions of dollars on behalf of her clients. These disputes are often resolved pre-litigation and include the resolution of claims for property damage, business interruption losses, unpaid defense costs, production shutdowns, error and omissions claims, and claims arising out of the entertainment and media industry, construction industry, and manufacturing and retail cannabis industry, among others.
Sarah is a recognized leader among her peers. She is a co-deputy editor of the Communications Lawyer, the American Bar Association’s publication on media and First Amendment law.
Sarah is also active in her community, serving on the board of directors for the Independent Shakespeare Company in Los Angeles.
Experience
Experience
Representative Matters
Entertainment and Media
- Represented a major film studio in successfully defeating numerous nationwide lawsuits brought against a billion-dollar motion picture franchise
- Represented a cable network and two actors, among others; obtained a dismissal of a $200 million copyright infringement claim relating to a popular series
- Represented a television network in obtaining a ruling that the anti-SLAPP statute applies to employment discrimination claims brought against a media defendant
- Represented a radio network through a bench trial, and obtained a dismissal of fraud and breach of contract claims; secured an award of more than $550,000 in attorneys' fees in the client's favor
- Represented a film production company in a financing dispute over a motion picture
- Represented a cooperative association of 450 family-owned dairies, maker of the best-selling brand of butter in the Western U.S., in a class action filed in Los Angeles Superior Court, alleging that the labeling of certain of their dairy products was false and misleading and in violation of the California Unfair Competition statutes and the Consumer Legal Remedies Act. The judge dismissed the case with prejudice on federal preemption grounds
- Successfully retrieved numerous Internet domain names incorporating clients' trademarks from cybersquatters all over the world
Insurance
- Represented a production company in successfully securing coverage for the defense and indemnity of a claim for copyright infringement
- Represented a production company in successfully securing coverage for the collapse of a set during the filming of a motion picture
- Represented a major motion production studio in successfully securing coverage for the injury of a stuntperson
- Represented one of the nation's top commercial construction companies in multi-million-dollar insurance coverage disputes nationwide
- Represented a general contractor in successfully obtaining insurance coverage for a multi-million-dollar construction defect claim
- Represented a manufacturing company in successfully obtaining insurance coverage for a pollution liability claim
Insights
Insights
Credentials
Credentials
Education
- J.D. University of California, Hastings College of the Law 2007
- Senior articles editor, Hastings Journal on Gender and the Law
- B.A. St. Peter's University 2002
- Goalkeeper, NCAA Division I Women’s Soccer I, 1998 – 2002
Bar Admissions
- California
Court Admissions
- 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
Professional Memberships and Activities
- Past co-chair, California Chapter, Media Law Resource Center (MLRC)
- Past co-chair, American Bar Association Forum on Communications Law's Media Advocacy Workshop
- Past chair, ABA Tort Trial & Insurance Practice Section (TIPS), Media, Privacy and Advertising Law Committee
Recognition
Recognition
- Variety, Legal Impact Report, 2023
- Los Angeles Business Journal
- Leaders of Influence: Thriving in Their 40's, 2021
- Women's Leadership Awards Rising Star of the Year Nominee, 2020
- Women's Council and Awards Nominee, 2018 – 2019
- Super Lawyers, Rising Stars, Southern California, 2015 – 2017
Community
Community
Volunteerism
- Member, Board of Directors, Independent Shakespeare Company, Los Angeles
- Represents transgender woman seeking asylum in United States
- Represents de facto parent in juvenile dependency action