Anne M. Voigts 

Anne M. Voigts is a certified appellate specialist who has argued more than 60 cases in federal and state appellate courts and has written merits briefs and cert petitions for the U.S. Supreme Court. She described her practice as “issues and appeals … with a sort of minor in privacy,” including expertise in the California Consumer Privacy Act.

“That’s a really enjoyable part of my practice,” she said.

For instance, Voigts represents The Gap in a class action accusing it and other retailers, plus a data analytics company, of illegally sharing individual customers’ transaction data as part of a system to spot questionable merchandise returns.

Voigts and the other defense counsel won motions tossing out the CCPA allegation and several others, leaving “a very streamlined case.” Hayden v. The Retail Equation, 8:20-cv-01203 (C.D. Cal., filed July 7, 2020).

She is lead defense counsel for Shutterfly in litigation claiming the company didn’t do enough under the CCPA and other statutes to protect personal data from a ransomware attack. Voigts won a motion to dismiss on the grounds that the plaintiff needed to show how the company’s precautions were insufficient and what personal data was affected. Lingle v. Shutterfly, 37-2022-00024493 (S.D. Super. Ct., filed June 23, 2022).

Voigts also handles many other categories of cases, including high-profile pro bono matters. She contributed to an amicus brief filed by pharmaceutical companies in the case from Texas questioning the FDA’s approval of the abortion drug mifepristone, now pending at the Supreme Court. Alliance for Hippocratic Medicine v. FDA, 23-10362 (U.S., filed April 14, 2023).

She also is part of the team that obtained an injunction blocking an Alabama statute that makes it a crime to seek certain medical care for transgender children. She also contributed to the briefing in the appeal to the 11th Circuit. Eknes-Tucker v. Governor of the State of Alabama, 22-11707 (11th Cir., filed Nov. 18, 2022).

As a member of the Northern and Central District’s Criminal Justice Act panels, she is handling a RICO conspiracy case, a couple of potential jury trials and several motions for compassionate release.

“Being able to do that work has been incredibly rewarding,” Voigts said of the criminal cases. “It’s a chance to make a real difference in someone’s life. You may not necessarily be able to prevail, but sometimes … [showing clients] they are being heard and the judges are paying attention … makes a real difference in the way people feel about the system.”

On the non-pro bono side of her practice, she won a petition to vacate the certification of a class action in a securities case that raises several novel and important issues. In re Tivity Health, 22-0502 (6th Cir., filed June 22, 2022).

Voigts said she loves appellate practice. “To me, the fun is when you really get to talk about the issues,” she said. She tries to make her arguments compelling so that the judge or judges don’t “just feel like they should rule in my client’s favor, but that they want to rule in my client’s favor.”

— Don DeBenedictis