Sierra Elizabeth, P.C.
Overview
Sierra is extremely talented. She has the ability to make complex matters simple. - Chambers USA (Client Quotes)
Sierra Elizabeth is a nationally recognized trial lawyer in Kirkland’s Los Angeles office. An innovative and formidable litigator, Sierra has extensive jury trial experience in high-stakes lawsuits involving product liability and mass torts, intellectual property, and other commercial disputes. Since 2020, Sierra has tried and won four bet-the-company jury trials, serving as lead counsel in some of the country’s most notable civil litigations. With billions of dollars in exposure, these wins include both plaintiff-side and defense verdicts and settlements. Her roster of clients includes 3M, BP, Abbott Laboratories, AbbVie, Constellation Brands, General Motors LLC, Eli Lilly, Live Person, Inc., among others.
She has been repeatedly recognized as a leading trial attorney by numerous legal and business publications. Sierra is ranked by Chambers USA, Law360, and has been profiled by The American Lawyer and has been highlighted in The Am Law Litigation Daily’s “Litigators of the Week,” feature, twice. Sierra has received extensive media coverage including in The Wall Street Journal, Reuters and the National Law Journal. Additionally, she is recognized as one of California’s “Top Women Lawyers,” by the The Daily Journal and as one of “Los Angeles’ Minority Leaders of Influence,” by the Los Angeles Business Journal as one of the “Top 100 Lawyers,” and has appeared as a guest legal correspondent for CNN Headline News.
Experience
Representative Matters
Toxic Tort/Products Liability/Personal Injury
- Represented AbbVie in products liability case alleging that its prescription eye drop product, Vuity, caused permanent damage to the plaintiff’s vision in both eyes. Kirkland successfully removed the case to federal court on a fraudulent joinder theory and secured dismissal in full.
- Serves as lead defense counsel for Abbott Laboratories in products liability litigation involving premature infant formula.
- Served as lead defense counsel for 3M Company in litigation concerning 3M’s allegedly defective dual-ended Combat Arms Earplugs™. Secured a complete defense verdict in the second (Dustin McCombs v. 3M Company, et al.) and fifth (Blum v. 3M Company, et al.) bellwether trials. The victories were profiled in The Am Law Litigation Daily’s “Litigators of the Week” features and received extensive media coverage including in The Wall Street Journal, Reuters and the National Law Journal.
- Represented Toll Brothers and its subsidiary, Porter Ranch Development Co., in litigation alleging malfeasance regarding the 2015 Aliso Canyon gas leak, the largest leak of natural gas in U.S. history. The parties ultimately reached a favorable settlement and the case was dismissed in September 2022.
- Represented Walmart Inc. in products liability and personal injury litigation involving the sale of baby food allegedly containing toxic heavy metals in California Superior Court.
- Represented beauty, health and wellness company in products liability litigation.
- Represented BP in multi-plaintiff litigation brought by residents alleging personal injury and property damage resulting from the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, specifically related to source control issues.
- Represented General Motors LLC in bellwether cases in connection with its defense of thousands of personal injury and fraud cases arising from GM’s ignition switch recalls.
- Represented a third-party defendant in litigation involving the alleged release of potentially toxic substances into the soil and groundwater of a California city.
- Represented a chemical company in multiple cases involving alleged injuries resulting from asbestos-contaminated talc.
- Represented the CEO and Chairman of Scotts Miracle-Gro Company in class action litigation involving the alleged misuse of pesticides in wild bird food.
- Represented an asbestos supplier in multiple cases involving alleged injuries resulting from asbestos-containing products.
- Represented a manufacturer of corrugated steel tubing in litigation brought by home owners alleging design defect.
- Represented Warner Bros. against a water safety diver who alleged that he suffered a career ending injuries on the set of the movie “Flags of Our Fathers.” Following a four-week trial, the jury awarded a unanimous verdict in favor of Warner Bros. The plaintiff originally sought more than $10 million in damages.
IP/Business Torts
- Represents Unisys Corporation in its trade secret misappropriation litigation against Atos SE, and Atos IT Solutions and Services, Inc.
- Represented Constellation Brands, Inc. in a breach of contract and trademark infringement trial in the Southern District of New York brought by Grupo Modelo, an Anheuser-Busch InBev company. After trial, the jury delivered unanimous verdict for Constellation Brands on all counts.
- Represented Constellation Brands and a number of its subsidiaries in lawsuit brought by Modelo de Mexico, an Anheuser-Busch InBev company, over whether hard seltzer is beer. Modelo sought to enjoin Constellation’s use of CORONA® trademarks on Constellation’s Corona Hard Seltzer, as well as Constellation’s launch of two Modelo Reserva beers. Kirkland defeated summary judgment motion on liability. After just over an hour of deliberations, a jury concluded that Constellation’s Corona Hard Seltzer and Modelo Ranch water products — both hard seltzers — are beer. Motion for new trial defeated. Unanimously affirmed on appeal.
- Represented LivePerson, Inc. in its trade secret misappropriation trial against [24]7.ai, Inc. The jury returned a verdict for LivePerson on every claim, and awarded $30 million in damages.
- Represented Eli Lilly in litigation against the Regents of the University of California (“UCSD”) in connection with a breach of contract lawsuit involving a clinical research study in San Diego Superior Court.
- Represented Sydney Holland in an action brought by Sumner M. Redstone alleging elder abuse and breach of fiduciary duty.
- Represented a leading independent production company in an accounting dispute against a movie studio related to 5 of its films.
- Represented Goldcrest Film Distribution III Limited in an action to recover several million dollars from Summit Distribution, LLC in connection with the film Twilight.
- Represented a private equity fund in a breach of contract action to recover profits related to its $375 million film financing investment in films produced by Paramount Pictures Corporation. The case settled favorably before trial.
- Represented a hedge fund in a profit participation dispute against a movie studio related to its $1 billion slate financing agreement.
- Represented 19 Entertainment and DCP Productions in a breach of implied-in-fact contract case regarding the television show “So You Think You Can Dance.”
- Represented affiliates of the Royal Bank of Scotland in multiple actions brought by institutional investors alleging federal and state securities law violations arising out of the sale of residential mortgage-backed securities.
- Represented corporate client in a several hundred million dollar suit filed against multiple foreign defendants, alleging that the client was defrauded out of purchasing an insurance company. The case settled favorably shortly before trial.
Prior Experience
Davis Polk & Wardwell, LLP (New York), Summer Associate
Kirkland & Ellis, LLP (Los Angeles), Summer Associate
Los Angeles District Attorney’s Office, Extern
Pro Bono
Represents a class of parents and guardians of Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) students asserting claims for discrimination based on race and wealth, as a result of LAUSD’s failure to provide its students with basic educational equality during the COVID-19 school closures.
Partnered with the Minnesota Department of Human Rights to investigate the City of Minneapolis and its police department after the murder of George Floyd.
Successfully defended a mother against the State of Michigan’s claims that she had mentally and emotionally abused her child. At the conclusion of the bench trial, the trial court found that the claims were unsubstantiated and rejected the state’s petition to take jurisdiction.
Achieved two misdemeanor convictions following a four day criminal jury trial as a volunteer Deputy City Prosecutor and participant in the Trial Advocacy Prosecution Program (TAPP) for the City of Hermosa Beach.
Successfully defeated an unlawful detainer action by a landlord trying to unlawfully evict a family whose property was covered by the Los Angeles Rent Stabilization Ordinance.
Partnered with the Asian Pacific American Legal Center as trial counsel in action by a group of defrauded parents and students seeking to recover damages from an art school.
More
Thought Leadership
Press Mentions
“They’ve Got Next: Consumer Litigation Fresh Face Sierra Elizabeth,” Bloomberg Law, February 28, 2022
Q&A, “‘I Love to Try Cases.’ Sierra Elizabeth Tackled 2 Very Different Pandemic-Era Jury Trials,” The Recorder, July 30, 2021
“Rising Star: Kirkland & Ellis' Sierra Elizabeth,” Law360, June 7, 2021
Q&A, “How Kirkland Partner Sierra Elizabeth Balances Clients and Her Own Clothing Line,” Reuters Legal, April 2, 2021
Q&A, “Trial Recess: Kirkland's Sierra Elizabeth on Unity Amid Crisis,” Law360, May 4, 2020
Recognition
Recognized by The Legal 500 U.S. for Product Liability, Mass Tort And Class Action - Defense: Toxic Tort, 2024
Recognized by Chambers USA for Litigation: General Commercial, 2024
Named to the Los Angeles Business Journal’s list of “Top 100 Lawyers,” 2024
Recognized by the Los Angeles Business Journal as a Leader of Influence for Litigators & Trial Attorneys, 2021, 2024
Recognized by Benchmark Litigation as a “Future Star,” 2024
Named to Benchmark Litigation's “40 & Under Hot List,” 2021–2024
Recognized by Chambers USA as “Up and Coming” for Litigation: General Commerical, 2023
Named to Daily Journal’s list of “Top 40 Under 40,” 2023
Recognized by the Los Angeles Business Journal as one of Los Angeles' Minority Leaders of Influence, 2021–2023
Named to Insider's list of “Rising Stars of the Courtroom,” 2022
Recommended by The Legal 500 U.S. for General Commercial Disputes, 2022
Recommended by The Legal 500 U.S. for Product Liability, Mass Tort and Class Action: Consumer Products, 2022
Named to Savoy's “Most Influential Black Lawyers,” 2022, 2024
Recognized by the Los Angeles Business Journal as a Women of Influence: Attorney, 2022
Named “Litigator of the Week” by The Am Law Litigation Daily, 2021
Named to Law360’s list of Top Attorneys Under 40, 2021
Named among the Daily Journal’s list of “Top Women Lawyers” in California, 2021–2022
Named in The National Bar Association's list of 40 Under 40: Nation’s Best Advocates, 2020
Memberships & Affiliations
Member of the Women in Law Empowerment Forum (WILEF) Global Advisory Board
Member of the Black Entertainment and Sports Lawyer’s Association
Member of the John M. Langston Bar Association of Los Angeles
Co-chair of Kirkland’s Racial and Ethnic Diversity Subcommittee
Member of Kirkland’s Firmwide Diversity & Inclusion Committee
Kirkland ALLSA Student Group Liason for USC and UCLA Law
Kirkland African-American Affinity Group Coordinator Los Angeles
Credentials
Admissions & Qualifications
- California
Courts
- Supreme Court of California
- State Court of Chatham County (pro hac vice)
- United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit
- United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit
- United States District Court for the Central District of California
- United States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania (pro hac vice)
- United States District Court for the Northern District of California
- United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois
- United States District Court for the Southern District of California
Education
- Duke University School of LawJ.D.cum laude
Staff Editor, Duke Law Review
Children and Education Law Clinic
- Duke Graduate SchoolM.A., Psychology
- University of MichiganB.A., Psychology; Crime and Justice Minor
All-American for the women’s track team
Point guard for the women’s basketball team