Sarah Kelly-Kilgore

Sarah Kelly-Kilgore, a managing partner of Greenberg Gross' Los Angeles office, said one thing she loves most about her career is working with women on behalf of women.

"There are so many inspiring women out there doing amazing things and being able to help support them, I think, is a really critical part of my job," she said.

Kilgore specializes in complex commercial litigation and has built a reputation as a skilled trial and appellate lawyer for high-stakes, bet-the-company cases.

Among her top cases currently she is colead counsel in a trade secrets action filed on behalf of actress and top real estate agent Cindy Ambuehl, who alleges her former assistant sabotaged her business and improperly acquired proprietary information for the purpose of competing against her. The case is set for trial in October. Ambuehl v Collins, 20STCV13565 (L.A. Super. Ct., filed April 7, 2020).

Kilgore's recent wins include a 2020 jury verdict against Uber Technologies Inc. in a billion-dollar trade secrets case. She represented telecommunications entrepreneur Kevin Halpern, who maintains that he invented the concept and technology underlying what is now Uber's basic business model. Kilgore was colead counsel in the first phase of a bifurcated trial. After two days of deliberations in February 2020, the jury voted 9-3 in the plaintiff's favor. Halpern v Uber Technologies, CGC-15-545825 (S.F. Super. Ct., filed May 14, 2015).

As a former college water polo athlete, Kilgore said she's driven by competition and loves to win, whether she's working on the plaintiff or the defense side.

While many cases settle before trial, Kilgore said her approach is to always plan for the possibility of a trial.

"From the very outset, I'm looking at the case and thinking, 'What do we need to prove when going to trial?'" she explained. "Even when you're in the midst of a heated discovery dispute and it's not going great, I'm thinking of how to best pitch this to the judge. It all comes back to: What do you have to prove at the end of the day to win your case?"

- Kelly Puente