Dawn Sestito

Partner

Dawn Sestito is a partner in O'Melveny's Los Angeles office and member of the Business Trial and Litigation Practice. Dawn has experience in trials and administrative hearings, arbitrations, mediations, and all phases of business litigation. Her practice focuses on commercial litigation, including litigation involving intellectual property, unfair business practices, energy and the environment, natural resources, employment issues, contract disputes, and damages issues.

Illustrative Professional Experience

• Represented consumer electronics company in Section 337 investigation pending before the U.S. International Trade Commission
• Representing consumer electronics company in patent disputes pending in E.D. Texas and other district courts
• Representing petroleum company in a dispute over the calculation of damages/prejudgment interest under contract
• Representing petroleum company in ongoing litigation with the federal and state governments related to natural resource damages resulting from an oil spill
• Represented petroleum company in an oil and gas contract dispute, including defending client in two administrative hearings and appeals and in a separate lawsuit for damages
• Represented financial services firm during multi-week arbitration involving business disputes with former employees
• Represented financial services firm in breach of contract dispute
• Represented national package delivery company in class action lawsuit alleging unfair business practices and misclassification of employees
• Defended biotechnology company in two class actions involving allegations of unfair business practices, violations of the California Labor Code, and employee misclassification
• Defended large municipality in 70 individual actions premised upon Section 1983 (free speech and due process) and employment discrimination and retaliation claims

In addition to her regular practice, Dawn also devotes a significant amount of time each year to pro bono matters, including work with the UCLA Ninth Circuit Appellate Advocacy Clinic.

Professional Activities

Admitted to Practice,  US District Court for the Central and Eastern Districts of California; US Court of Appeals, Ninth Circuit
Member,  Values Award Committee, WAN executive committee
Honors,  Southern California "Rising Star" in annual surveys conducted by Law & Politics Media Inc. and published in Los Angeles magazine and the Southern California edition of Super Lawyers; O'Melveny Values Award recipient (2005).