Christopher K.L. Young 

Newly minted partner Christopher K.L. Young has only been a practicing lawyer for six years, but he is already making a mark on the antitrust legal world with a string of high-profile victories.

One of the biggest has been a class action against tech manufacturers for forming a cartel to engage in price fixing the cost of capacitors -- components that store electrical charges. The suit accused defendants like Panasonic, Nippon Chemi-Con, and Matsuo of artificially inflating the costs of components used in manufacturing as far back as 2002.

Young managed the approval process of a $165 million settlement reached during a December 2021 trial involving three defendants, bringing the total case settlements to $604.55 million. In Re Capacitors Antitrust Litigation, 3:14-cv-03264-JD, 3:17-md-02801 (N.D. Cal., filed July 18, 2014).

"I love doing trials, starting out at the San Diego County Public Defender's Office," Young said. "I did my first criminal trial as a summer intern and caught the bug in my second year of law school."

Much of what Young does is plaintiff work centered around the tech world and artificial intelligence, which is a new frontier.

"As with any tech, there are growing pains. I am not against technology, but it should be done responsibly," he said.

For example, he and the firm have filed cases on behalf of numerous authors, including comedian Sarah Silverman, who wrote the memoir, "Bedwetter." Silverman's case is part of a class action filed this summer against Meta and Open AI's ChatGPT service for copying parts of the authors' books.

"You can't use people's protected materials in a for-profit product. You're in competition with them," Young said.

Another case involves Stability AI, which provides artwork on demand for web users. Young says that much of it is stolen from independent artists who have not been compensated.

When he isn't trying to get justice for clients, Young is volunteering in the community and speaks at local organizations to encourage teenagers who may be considering a legal career. He also takes some pro bono cases.

Most significantly, he had a disabled client who was detained in a national park for hours at gunpoint by federal rangers because he was with an off-leash dog. The client settled for both monetary and nonmonetary consideration and the U.S. National Park Service agreed it would conduct mandatory training of its officers.

--Tori Richards