Kate Mangels 

One reason Kate Mangels decided to move to Kinsella Weitzman from Skadden was that she wanted to handle criminal cases as well as civil. She has gotten her wish lately, working with partner Shawn Holley. And she’s been able to work on matters she called “criminal-adjacent.”

A good example of that type of case is her work representing former L.A. Dodgers starting pitcher Trevor Bauer. They represented Bauer in an arbitration with Major League Baseball over his suspension based on a 2021 accusation of sexual assault. Police later declined to file charges. As a result of their work, the arbitrator reinstated Bauer immediately just before Christmas, which significantly scaled back his original, two-season suspension.

Mangels and Holley also represented him to oppose a domestic violence restraining order sought by his alleged victim, even though Bauer wanted no relationship with his accuser. “The reason it was so important for our client to fight it, … was because there were these inflammatory allegations made in her filing, which were picked up by certain media outlets,” Mangels said. ‘It was important to set the record straight with respect to those issues.”

During the four-day hearing, Mangels argued motions to exclude some testimony from experts and from law enforcement, and they succeeded in dissolving the restraining order.

Now they are pressing ahead with Bauer’s defamation suit against the woman and her countersuit for sexual assault and battery. Bauer v. Hill, 8:22-cv-00868 (C.D. Cal., filed April 15, 2022).

In their next trial in November, now partner Mangels and Holley will defend actor Shia LaBeouf against a sexual battery civil suit filed by his ex-girlfriend, a British singer and dancer who goes by the name FKA twigs. Tahliah Barnett v. Shia LaBeouf, 20STCV47437 (L.A. Super.Ct., filed Dec. 11, 2020).

As she wanted, Mangels has also handled several larger civil cases. A few years ago, she represented a woman in a dispute over income from a building she owned with her brother. The case involved probate issues as well as contracts and real estate valuation. She prepared a successful summary adjudication motion, and the woman received more than $1 million, including fees. Lotito v. Lotito, 19STCV28288 (L.A. Super. Ct., filed Aug. 9, 2019).

In another civil matter, she obtained favorable settlements of a complaint and cross-complaint in a dispute over a producer’s credit and compensation for a film project. Shulman v. Guerin, BC720405 (L.A. Super. Ct., filed Sept. 4, 2018).

— Don DeBenedictis