Mary-Christine “M.C.” Sungaila

As an appellate expert involved in a broad range of major cases, Sungaila has built a reputation as a go-to attorney for high-profile work from amicus briefings to oral arguments.

Her recent wins include several with the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. One successfully challenged a district court’s invalidation of employment arbitration agreement, representing a growing federal and state over the arbitrability of Private Attorneys General Act claims. Another affirmed a district court’s dismissal of a breach of fiduciary duty complaint on behalf of Mentor Graphics Corp.

And another revived a gay Mexican man’s asylum bid, overturning case law that heightened requirements for asylum-seeking child sex abuse victims who didn’t report their abuse to authorities. Sungaila led a team of UC Irvine School of Law students that persuaded the 9th Circuit to order an immigration board to consider new evidence regarding the man’s asylum bid. Rodriguez v. Sessions, 13-72682 (9th Cir. March 8, 2017).

The petition was similar to a 2016 petition Sungaila won on behalf of a transgender woman from Mexico who also was seeking asylum. The victory has been hailed a major advance for transgender rights in immigration law. Avendao-Hernandez v. Lynch, 800 F.3d 1072 (9th Cir. Sept. 3, 2015).

Sungaila said her practice continues to expand nationwide, and she’s seen an explosion in oral arguments, handling nine appellate arguments in 2018.

“In addition to the U.S. Supreme Court, where I have had a longstanding amicus practice- I filed briefs in the Federal Circuit, Second Circuit, Ninth Circuit, and New Mexico and Arizona appellate courts, and consulted on briefs in other jurisdictions,” Sungaila said.

Sungaila also writes amicus briefs in major actions, including on behalf of Bet Tzedek Legal Services in support of heirs to an Impressionist painting stolen by the Nazis on the eve of World War II. Cassirer, et al v. Thyssen-Bornemisza Collection, 15-55550 (9th Cir. July 10, 2017).

She also was lead counsel for amici in a 9th Circuit appeal over a district court’s refusal to issue a preliminary injunction requiring the immediate release of civil complaints in a lawsuit brought by Courthouse News Service. Sungaila represented Orange County Bar Association, Family Violence Appellate Project, and other non-profit organizations in support of the Orange County Superior Court clerk.

Sungaila also chairs the RAND Institute for Civil Justice’s Board of Overseers, and she recently published Mother’s Thoughts For the Day, her first non-legal book, based on daily notes she’s received from her mother.

— Meghann M. Cuniff