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Sears, William R.

William R. Sears

Partner

willsears@quinnemanuel.com
Direct Tel: +1 213-443-3282
Los Angeles
Tel: +1 213 443 3000 Fax: +1 213 443 3100

Will is a partner in Quinn Emanuel’s Los Angeles office, and was previously associated with the firm’s New York office.  His practice focuses on antitrust, competition, and class action litigation.  Will has significant experience on “both sides of the V.”  On behalf of plaintiffs, Will has recovered billions of dollars for shareholders and investors.  Most recently, Will was a critical part of the team representing a class of shareholders in the Dell Class V litigation, which settled for $1 billion in cash—a record in the Delaware Chancery Court—and for which Will’s team received The American Lawyer’s “Litigator of the Week” award.  Will has also obtained landmark settlements in numerous antitrust class actions, including a $1.86 billion settlement in In re Credit Default Swaps Antitrust Litigation (S.D.N.Y.) and numerous other settlements ranging from $25 million to the hundreds of millions. For his achievements, Will was recognized as one of Law360’s “Rising Stars” in 2023—an award reserved for “attorneys under 40 whose legal accomplishments belie their age.”

On the defense side, Will has represented major companies at every stage of litigation, from the motion-to-dismiss stage through class certification, summary judgment, and trial.  Among other victories, Will has secured pleading-stage dismissals of antitrust claims against a pharmaceutical company, a sports organization, and an international salmon producer.  Will also has substantial experience with defending against privacy lawsuits, and is currently representing a major technology company in a privacy class action in the Northern District of California.

A former college debate coach, Will has deep stand-up experience that includes trials in both state and federal courts, and arguing dozens of motions in courts around the country.  Clients have described Will’s “execution and management” as “exceptional,” and a partner at another firm recently called Will “definitely one of the Top 3 cross-examiners/depo takers I’ve ever seen.”

Will re-joined Quinn Emanuel in 2017 following a clerkship for the Honorable Cynthia M. Rufe in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, and previously worked in the firm’s New York office.  Prior to joining the firm, Will graduated from Columbia Law School, where he was James Kent Scholar, won the Greenbaum prize for best oralist in the school’s Harlan Fiske Stone moot court competition, and served as the Senior Executive Editor of the Columbia Journal of Environmental Law.

 

  • Columbia Law School
    (J.D., 2014)
    • Harlan Fiske Stone Scholar, 2012
    • James Kent Scholar, 2013-2014
  • Wake Forest University
    (B.A., English, magna cum laude, 2010)
    • Phi Beta Kappa
    • Dean's List
  • The State Bar of California
  • The State Bar of New York
  • Law Clerk to the Honorable Cynthia M. Rufe:
    • United States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, 2016-2017

 

  • Legal 500 USA, Antitrust: Civil Litigation/Class Actions: Plaintiff, Recommended Lawyer, 2024
  • Daily Journal, Top 40 Under 40 Lawyers,  2023
  • Lawdragon 500 “Next Generation” Antitrust, Class Action Litigation, 2023, 2024
  • Law360 “Rising Stars” Banking, 2023
  • Full-Impact Regulations and the Dormant Commerce Clause, 39 Colum. J. Envtl. L. 157 (2014): Winner of the 2013 Columbia Journal of Environmental Law Best Note Award